A couple of years ago I got a call from the daughter of a local guy who had passed away. Seems he had a lot of Falcons, Falcon parts, engines, transmissions, etc. I agreed to stop by and check it out and so did Roger. What we found was shocking to say the least. Cars that had been outside for a very long time, some sinking into the ground, and three garages absolutely full of crap almost to the rafters and you could barely walk in them. We were able to give her some advice and myself and a couple of brothers spent quite a bit of time helping her get the cars out (she found buyers for the most part or traded labor for a car). On one day my brother Cory and I probably moved (organized) 10 engines and a dozen transmissions in one of the garages.
The first day I showed up and I'm told "I found another one". I asked "another what?". The reply was another Falcon. Sure enough it was in a shed and all you could see was the front end. The rest of it was covered with old tires as was the rest of the shed. Eventually with all the tires out it revealed other car parts (like late 50's Chevrolet pickup hood) and probably a dozen rear axle assemblies in the back of the shed.
My brother, Lee, came to look at the cars one day and ended up buying the tire buried 63 door sedan and the 62 4 door wagon deluxe. It took some effort getting them ready to load on a trailer but both cars saw all four wheels rotate and not be locked up.
Fast forward to now and my dad (who got us into Falcons and Ford) has been somewhat itching to get involved in a project. He's had some health issues and proposed that he and I take over the wagon project as a father - son deal. I couldn't pass that up. As a teen when he was working on the 65 Sprint as well as other cars I had very little interest in being in the garage and helping. I just wanted to drive them. Now, I wish I had paid attention and helped because I know next to nothing about working on these. But, it's time to learn. So, father - son project here I come.
I'll start with some photos of what we're working with. Surprisingly the car, with the exception of the drivers floor is really solid. Roof rails, bottom of the doors and tailgate look really good. The fuel tank is out and the rear floor and bottom of the quarter panels are surprisingly in good shape.
The initial plan right now is to go through the suspension and brakes, dual master cylinder conversion, new fuel tank and sending unit, decide how bad, if at all, the electrical is and paint. My brother has a 200 6 cyl and C4 transmission from a 79 or 80 Mustang that will go in it. He's had some work done on the head and put a 2 barrel Weber carburetor on. The interior is really nice - no cracks in the dashboard and the original upholstery has no tears. It doesn't hurt that the dash and seats were covered with newspaper and then filled with stuff so sunlight never hit those parts even with the eastern Washington summer heat. We know that most of the window and door seals, etc. will need to be replaced. And it will need a new windshield. Since the hope is to control costs a little to help keep my wife and my mom happy, we will keep this a 4 lug car and I'm hoping for slot mags or another set of wheels for it. I've located some 15" that will work - just waiting to hear back from the seller.
For paint, I am leaning toward the metallic black that is on my daughter's 2015 Ford Fusion. It really pops when the sun is shining on it directly. If we go black the car will be named Dad's Toy 3. My dad's first project - 1961 Ford Starliner - was black and we had Dad's Toy painted on the trunklid. The 65 Sprint was painted black and received Dad's Toy 2. It's really only appropriate if the wagon ends up in black that it be named Dad's Toy 3.
Now comes the steady flow of photos for what we're working with. A portion of the driver's floor will be replaced and then we'll clean up the rest and treat it.
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