Saving Granddad's Falcon

[dhbfaster]

Ohhhhhh. I don't even want to see those pics yet...gotta see the real thing. Phil, no more pics!

[dhbfaster]

These bottle caps sure cleaned up nice...stainless is amazing stuff.

[BadBird]

Now I see why you want the trailer with the rock guard. WOW this is looking beautiful. Hope you saw the private message about my trailer. If that doesn't work, let me know and I will see what I can do. Fantastic car and love the color. Larry

[dhbfaster]

I finally got a chance to take some better pics of some of my freshly plated handles...these were done by a buddy of mine- very nice. I returned the "new Ford licensed" handles I bought before because they looked horrible. They would never actually be acceptable on a new car today or back in 61. Now I have the opposite problem...I'm not going to want to open the door without a cloth diaper in my hand...

[dhbfaster]

Got one piece totally done before running out of hog rings.
The other pieces are each about 50% done, but 80% figured out.
I think it looks really nice...nicer than I expected. The pic below is the rear bottom bench.
It took a while to get everything figured out, but i ended up using all new padding. Jeff...a big craft project is accurate...emphasis on the word "big."!
It's a good thing I didng to the swap meet.

[Jeff W]

That looks nice and tight. Good work.

[redfalken]

These bottle caps sure cleaned up nice...stainless is amazing stuff.

Just saw this and remembered that I had a template to spray paint the FORD letters in the wheel covers. I used self-etching paint and it holds up pretty well. You can get the template from my website.

http://www.redfalken.com/pages/fordhubs.html

Everything's really looking awesome! Can't wait to see the results of all your hard work and patience some day!

[Luva65wagon]

This is gonna be one awesome car when done. Just be sure to keep posting reminders of when you are planning to put the engine in. I juggle things, like time, precariously on the thin wire these days, but I want to be there for that.

[dhbfaster]

Kenny...thanks! I was wondering about the best way to paint those. I think 61 letters were white. Lower priority at the moment though.

Roger...thanks, gotta get the car back first, then get through my sons graduation...then I will be politely bugging you for a date.


Larry, speaking of getting my car back...I need to talk to you about your trailer. Did you get my PM? Please pm, email or call me. I don't seem to have your number.

Seats...got the rear back rest done. Others still in progress. Very busy week! And gone for the long weekend. Heater...ready for reassembly. Thanks for everyone's support!

[dhbfaster]

While I'm at it...here's a pic of my "upholstery" shop BEFORE I started all the work...and also a pic of the finished rear seat. (Anyone need some extra white stuffing?? I have a feeling I'll have extra. Let's just say the price was right on that stuff.)

Also, a pic of some of the tools...notice the hog ring pliers are "Chick Tools" brand...I thought this came from Eastwood. These work very very well.

Last but not least, I have a question about the tail-pipe and muffler. The muffler needs to be replaced, and I figure...yea, might as well do a new pipe-otherwise it would be the last rusty thing on the car- that anyone can find anyway. The Midas guy told me he didn't need the car to bend the pipe. Can I really trust that? Can they really bend a new pipe correctly without the car there? That would sure be nice.

[Luva65wagon]

Don,

I think they may have "plans" for most anything. That said I would not do it. I would use the existing rusty stuff to get you to a good custom muffler shop (~Midas ~not) and have them do a nice custom install. Maybe in stainless so it never rusts again. You don't really pay that much more for awesomeness. This way you can have it on the rack and look at where they are going to run it - maybe compare it to the old stuff - and make decisions to get it the way you want it the first time.

[dhbfaster]

I have a little time on this, but since we're on the subject- Any recommendations on a good muffler shop down my way?
I don't think I've bought a muffler for 30 years or so...

[Luva65wagon]

Don- I'm sure there is one. I know a lot of people go to some guy out in Snohomish for his quality of work. But that is not Federal Way. Most places will do good work if you watch them and act like you could be the one doing it if only you had the tools. Because of the restoration quality, most good shops will feel it is important to do a good job because of the exposure they "might" get - either good or bad, depending how it goes.

[dhbfaster]

Looking for a carb spacer for the 1961 to go with the Holly 1904 carb. Attached is a pic of mine. It's so corroded at the water line that there's actually a hole (where shouldn't be). I'm not sure if the white stuff is corrosion, or some else's bubble gum fix, but if I can't find a new one I may need to find someone to weld it.
Anybody know where I might find one?
I have found the version for 1963 and later at Falcon Enterprises and at C&G Ford Parts...and tried all of the following with no luck: Macs, Rock Auto, Mike's carb parts, Melvins, Summit, eBay, and Dennis Carpenter. Of course...I might have missed it. Appreciate any ideas from the advisory board!

By the way, I found this manual online for the 1904. (It says, it's for GMC, but I assume it's pretty close.)
http://c1518311.r11.cf2.rackcdn.com/...904_manual.pdf

Thanks as always!

[redfalken]

Wasn't there a powdercoated one at the swap meet? I know there were several variations but it looked very similar. This one looked like someone had carved a ditch on one side with a Dremel. It was to draw vacuum to the carb.

I don't know where it ended up??