I have a totally stock 1963 Ford Falcon and I was wondering what set up I should use to make this thing a totally steetable loud!!! gasser which is kind of era specific to the early 60's.

The Falcon has at the moment: A 144 c.i. beast of a straight six.
Two speed Ford trans with the
annoying slush box...haha...
Stock interior.
Little tiny weenie tires
Rear end I would put in a Go-Kart
enough of this...

What do you think I should do for everything from straight axle kit to rims to rear end. Also can you give me a clue about any of the front clip work, should I just start over and cut the whole stock thing off the Falcon or keep the stock and put the straight axle on. What kinda engine would work, i would like to stay ford but staying in the era specific range would be nice. Thanks, I'm new at this Gasser crave so all help would be much appreciated!

Thanks All!!!

This brings back memories. When I was in high school my best friend had a cherry 61 Falcon two door, six and three on the tree. This car was immaculate. We talked at length on what he should do with it, and of course we had no dinero to act on any idea we came up with. Fate stepped in and solved the dilemma. His car was stolen one Saturday night and it was about four weeks later when he received a phone call from the Houston, Texas police department telling him they had his car. We drove over to Houston to claim it. We dropped our jaws when we saw it. The thieves had taken the little white Falcon two door, jerked out the entire drive train, inserted a Ford 9", Muncie four speed, and a 350hp 327 Chevy. They had also torched off the Falcon's front end and spliced on a straight axle from something, what we were never sure. It was a real hatchet job, My friend said yes, it's my car, but not all of that stuff. The cops said either take it all or leave it all. The drive home was a trip for my friend. The Falcon was all over the highway. I couldn't tell if it was because of the steering, or my friend sticking his foot in the carb. It took us almost a year to sort the Falcon out, but it turned in to a solid 12 second street machine on street tires...it was a real trip Great memories.

Vince

See, i love hearing stories like this...everything turning out good in the end. The thieves kinda did a job I want to do but less butch like you said. I would like to have my car done by senior year so I could pull up in a straight axle gasser, having all the rice rocket guys look scared and the ladies just lookin.

-Tyler

(problem is I only want to spend 6 grand at the most) thats only the stuff i really need, not counting interior and paint

well, just talkin out my rear, i'd say you could build a hell of a motor for 3k or less. i mean a real motor scooter for that falcon. you could go sbf, 302, 351, or stroke either of the prior..... or drop in a bbf..... you pick which one. their both gonna move that little car. then your gonna need a bad built c4 to motorvate it, around 1.5k. hook that to a built 9" rear you pick up cheap somewhere, you could do the rear for less than a grand. another thousand and change to get the brakes and the front end right, hell thats 7k. sorry, i couldn't do it. but it could be done.

Thanks Larry, Yeah I'm pretty sure that it could be done too, It'll be close but possible. I've seen totally complete 351 Cleveland with a c4 trans at my local swap meet for $900, I keep getting close to buy it but my grampa (an old hot rodder building a 47 ford) says the heads are bad, never explaines why but I trust him. Does that engine sound good? Also I need to know where to get a straight axle made to fit my falcon. Also, what about the front end? And will power drums work to stop my little bird?

-Tyler

-Straight Axle Tech-

WAY back when I was working my way thru college... I used to work for some Itallian brothers (3) that had an old Falcon ( 60 ) drag racer. A straight axle front and an early Olds rear. Pontiac powered with an old B&M 4-spd Hydro. What a beast. They used to terrorize the St. louis, Mo. area drag strips on the weekends..

Thank you for the straight axle tech page, i really appreciate it and am learning a lot from you more experienced rodders

-Tyler

Just a handling comment:

On today's smooth roads, you don't lose much with a beam front axle. Most of you guys aren't driving an IRS car, so you're already half way there. I've read that the MG Model TC (beam front axle) would generate better skid pad figures than the MG Model TD (IFS). It's the bumpy roads that'll slow you down.

And, the sixties gassers really got squirrely when they started raising them so far off the ground! This was necessary, of course, with those concrete tires they called "slicks" back then. With today's tires, that would be totally unnecessary.

So, here are your choices: Lose a part of the sixties look by keeping it low and using modern tires and you've got a decent handling car for the street. Or, go for the full sixties gasser wars look and keep it parked in a Winn Dixie parking lot somewhere.

(Gorgeous car, KULTULZ!! Ford still makes a 2door (Escort??) that has the same smooth lines. Looks like it was designed by the same team that did the Jaguar XKE. If I was a kid again, that's what I'd start with.)

I know the handling and the over all ride isn't going to be very nice but I really like straight axle cars (especially the 60's gassers). I also plan to use the slicks they used back in the day (cheaters) to get that gasser look. Thanks though for the imput and concern.

-Tyler

I sympathize with you 63Falcon, it's really hard to change some peoples minds about sacrificing one thing to get another. A lot of people talk about handling like they take their rods to gymkhanas every weekend and race around like a sports car or something. They forget there is a drawback to slamming a car or chopping the top or tubbing,etc. I believe it's time for a change! Cars have been scraping the ground for too long, time to raise them back up to get an aggressive stance again. Oh yeah and dump the rap music too!

Oh my god, I can't agree with you more on every aspect of that post.

-Tyler

hey tyler i was wondering if you made any progress on your falcon or how it turned out. if you could give me any tips on how to get a straight axel uunder my 61 falcon id greatly apreciate it thanks
Brett

leave it stock ride height, go for engine/trans/rearend, front disc brake swap first.

Then go for the 60s straight-axle look. Just add hilborn injection and you've got it made!

p.s. a decently built up 351 and a good converter... go 20 then nail it... instant smoke screen.

Have you ever driven a short wheel base, high power, up in the air car? It's no fun at all on anything except a straight. A straight axle in a unit body car can be done, but it's a lot of custom fab work, nothing that will bolt in, and if you mess it up, you throw the whole car away. Not trying to pee in your wheaties, but those are facts! You could probably repair the car after botching a straight axle install, but it would be a lot of work. You can jack the stock front end up an inch or two with taller, stiffer springs cheap enough without ruining anything, and use some shackles for the back. That might be a start. But if you insist, look at OddRodder's gallery (http://hotrodders.com/gallery/showg...name/oddrodder). He's got a straight axle 62 Rambler. It's a bit bigger than the Falcon (about the size of an early 60s Fairlane), but it's a unit body too. See what he did. It isn't way up in the air, just enough to get the axle in.

Those ricers will end up laughing at you more than anything else -- but a gasser is a totally different type of car. If you're planning on driving it on a regular basis on the street you should seriously reconsider. A gasser is a track car, not a daily driver! It won't handle worth a crap on the street -- it will be at best like driving a jacked up Jeep. Slow way down for the corners or you'll end up on the roof!