‘64 Falcon Track Project

All the Ford Sisters...Falcon, Mustang, Maverick & Fairlane, etc. Try and keep your post relevant for Comet users
comethead
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

SASSY wrote:
Sun Jan 22, 2023 8:36 am
Your trans is a piece a art! Very nice.
Overdrives use up power anyway and for what you do with the Falcon 0-30 mph isn't a concern,,,,, is it? :lol:
I like the low-mid 3s for a rear gear. Sassy has ~330ft lb torque from about 2600rpm and loves to pull and I like the M90 singing!
Look forward to updates on your changes.
Thanks Fred! I have one more project after the gears…1” lower all around. Hoping to get a test and tune in for early March and I’ll update you all.

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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comethead
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Lou's Comet wrote:
Sun Jan 22, 2023 10:43 am
Looks great! I see you have the David Kee tail housing, with all 3 shifter mounting locations. Is it a pretty nice fitting piece?? Something I may need to get depending on where I want my shifter.

Also really like your trans crossmember. Is that something you fabricated yourself, or store bought?

Like Fred said transmission is a work of art!

Lou
Hey Lou thanks! The David Kee tail housing fits perfect and is extremely light. For some reason the aluminum tail and main housings aren’t for sale on his website currently. Must be the Covid supply chain issues everyone else is having. My buddy wants one of those housings too so I periodically check the website to see if they have a “buy” option.

Just FYI if you find a 67/68 Fairlane tail housing it has the shifter mounts in the middle.
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Add this part https://www.mustangsetc.com/64-73-4-spe ... extension/ and you have the Mustang rear mount. The only other shifter mount location that the Kee housing has is the Falcon/Comet forward mount. 2 out of 3 ain’t bad! :D

Also, I got the trans mount from Melvins https://www.parts123.com/parts123/dynde ... 1018aAADJY Seems like its way more expensive than I remember though.

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

Lou's Comet
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Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:56 pm
Location: Jeannette, Pa.

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Lou's Comet »

comethead wrote:
Mon Jan 23, 2023 1:26 am

Hey Lou thanks! The David Kee tail housing fits perfect and is extremely light. For some reason the aluminum tail and main housings aren’t for sale on his website currently. Must be the Covid supply chain issues everyone else is having. My buddy wants one of those housings too so I periodically check the website to see if they have a “buy” option.

Just FYI if you find a 67/68 Fairlane tail housing it has the shifter mounts in the middle.

Add this part https://www.mustangsetc.com/64-73-4-spe ... extension/ and you have the Mustang rear mount. The only other shifter mount location that the Kee housing has is the Falcon/Comet forward mount. 2 out of 3 ain’t bad! :D

Also, I got the trans mount from Melvins https://www.parts123.com/parts123/dynde ... 1018aAADJY Seems like its way more expensive than I remember though.

Joe
Thanks Joe.

I have the tail housing with the rear mustang mount, thinking the mounting plate may bolt to it and get me the middle mount?? Kind of using it opposite . I don't need the falcon comet mount. So if the extension would work the opposite way,,,,,from mustang mount to fairlane mount would be a lot cheaper than the David Kee housing.

Thanks for the links!

Lou

comethead
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Hey Lou the only thing that might affect using the adapter plate in reverse is the curvature of the housing. If you look at the Fairlane housing above you’ll see its flat where the shifter sits. The Mustang housing has a consistent curvature throughout. But I’m not 100% sure it wont work.
I have a Mustang tail housing and that adapter plate. Ill experiment with it and post up a pic for you.
Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

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poboyjo65
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by poboyjo65 »

Lou if you move the shifter back a little you will probably have to cut the hump brace ;

the stock shifter comes out right in front of it.
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I use a 70 torino/fairlane toploader which has a 17'' tailshaft (the longest one ford made) to get behind the brace. But I still had to cut the brace some to clear the linkages.
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I made a shifter mount plate so my shifter is somewhere between front & back mounts on the trans.
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Johno

Lou's Comet
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Lou's Comet »

comethead wrote:
Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:37 am
Hey Lou the only thing that might affect using the adapter plate in reverse is the curvature of the housing. If you look at the Fairlane housing above you’ll see its flat where the shifter sits. The Mustang housing has a consistent curvature throughout. But I’m not 100% sure it wont work.
I have a Mustang tail housing and that adapter plate. Ill experiment with it and post up a pic for you.
Joe
Thanks Joe!

I am guessing that the rear mustang mount/position is probably the one I will need. But always good to have a plan B,

Lou

Lou's Comet
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Lou's Comet »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Tue Jan 24, 2023 12:55 pm
Lou if you move the shifter back a little you will probably have to cut the hump brace ;

the stock shifter comes out right in front of it.

Yea,,,, might have to do something with the brace. The stock shifter location is going to be too far forward. I am hoping that the rear Mustang position will work without cutting brace. But if I need to cut it I will, and a little touch up paint, good to go!

Lou

comethead
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Another 2 day track event in the books. But first…a lead up to that weekend.
After I installed the aluminum toploader an old problem strangely reappeared. The trans would slowly drift out of 3rd gear in a high RPM coast. I had fixed the problem before with the iron case but the aluminum case brought it back. Tried a longer bolt in the 3/4 shifter rail detent. That locked up the shift rail. Threw in a new set of shift rails and detents from David Kee. No joy. Seemed like the aluminum case had won that battle.
After a long list of discrepancies with that housing I decided it was time to remove it and swap back to the iron case…5 days before the track weekend I had already paid for! :x
To ensure it would not come out of 3rd gear I ordered a new 3rd gear and synchro slider. Allstate Gear came through with super fast shipping. Custom fit the slider to the original inner hub and put it all together the day before the track. Seemed to work on the street. Track time confirmed the problem was fixed once and for all, and the trans shifts better than ever.

The car ran great and the new gearing changed its track behavior drastically. Had to relearn every corner to keep the engine in its ideal rev zone of 5500-6500 RPM. Top end felt faster and I was keeping up with the fast cars without hitting the 6700 RPM rev limit as much. I forgot to change the speedo driven gear with the new rear gears so I wasn’t sure how fast I was going but my buddy with the yellow Falcon usually hits 135MPH on the front straight and I was pulling on him :twisted:
By Sunday I had roasted my front race Hoosiers again and the fun ended a little early. I threw on the street tires and did some practice laps focusing on the turns and braking.

Here’s some pics and short video:
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Passenger session wearing shorts on a hot day haha!
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New sticker. Thanks Johnnie!
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Camber destroys front tires again!
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Last edited by comethead on Mon May 29, 2023 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image


Lou's Comet
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Lou's Comet »

Nice pictures + videos, car sounds great!
Looks like you had a lot of fun, bummer about the trans problem sucks when ya spend good money and it doesn't work the way it should. Glad you got it fixed in time for track days.

Lou

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Joe Travers
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Joe Travers »

Thanks for the vids, Joe!
You're hoofing it now. Go Air Force 👍
You running the Comp 270S in your engine? Sounds mean.

Joe II
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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poboyjo65
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by poboyjo65 »

sounds bad ass Joe! Thanks for the vids & pics!!!

Joe T not air force ! He's Army! so I had to get him a US Army Air Corps roundel stickers for ole Skydog. thought the crackled look would fit in. yea I know he aint that old but that old car reminded me of an old warbird from WWII the way he had the 289 ci stenciled on the scoop. He being an army man I didnt think he would want air force badges. Air Corps would later branch off from the army to become US Air Force.
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Johno

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Joe Travers
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 1:32 pm
Joe T not air force ! He's Army! so I had to get him a US Army Air Corps roundel stickers for ole Skydog. thought the crackled look would fit in. yea I know he aint that old but that old car reminded me of an old warbird from WWII the way he had the 289 ci stenciled on the scoop. He being an army man I didnt think he would want air force badges. Air Corps would later branch off from the army to become US Air Force.
Yeah, old AAC for sure but he's forcing some air through that radiator! :lol:

Joe
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Jims65cyclone »

Good stuff, Joe! 8) Man, you could see the air in that one tire! :shock: One more lap with that one and you'd have been baling hay! :lol: Did you forget your gopro again? I was hopin' to ride a couple of laps with you. :(

Jim
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comethead
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Lou's Comet wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 9:39 am
Nice pictures + videos, car sounds great!
Looks like you had a lot of fun, bummer about the trans problem sucks when ya spend good money and it doesn't work the way it should. Glad you got it fixed in time for track days.

Lou
Thanks Lou! Yeah I really wanted the light weight case to work out. Just too many issues for me to want to keep it. I think it would be ok for the street. I might build up another 4 speed and put it into the Comet.

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

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