65 Falcon Big Block.... Front end set up questions. Brakes, etc...

I would like any info on front end disc brake conversions for a 65 Falcon with a 429. Any help would be appreciated :-) Thanks, Kevin

you'll have to be more specific in what you're requesting... you make it sound like a 65 Falcon came with a BBF from the factory.

Are you asking how to make one fit in a Falcon?

Welcome to the site

My Falcon is a factory 6cyl car. We are putting a 429 in it. I understand there will be some engineering that cones along with this but I was hoping someone has some good secrets to make this job a bit easier. We will be putting disc brake on as well and like I said, I was just hoping for a few inside tricks if anyone has done this. I know we can do it!! Thanks for the welcome, I LOVE this site and BBF horsepower and I'm glad to be a part of it :-)

use a cutting torch and a welder...makes any thing fit! on a serious note! the use of Rod and Customs front end kit (mustang 2) set up will free up all the room you will need.

65-429 falcon...welcome to the forum! I have been trying my hardest to get my friend to put a 460 in his 65 falcon. We went with fox body struts, custom lower arms, caster/camber plates, Aerospace brakes. raised the towers up 2" and notched them back several inches. we did this for a big block, but he has chickened out and put the 347 back in.

as soon as i can learn to down size my pictures i will post a few.

Sounds like a cool deal, T-Bolt, and would love to see some pics when you get em up.

As for how we put a BBF into my 65 Falcon, Rod & Custom Motorsport Mustang II front end:

I installed the kit 65 TBolt mentioned. Pretty straight forward. The car runs low 9s and straight as a arrow with that front end.
One bad point is the cross member does limit you to where you want to set the motor at. If you look at Alston Chassis mustang ll, you will see he does not use a perpendicular ( spelling?) crossmember, he uses a sort of strut. In my opinion, Alston Chassis kit give you more room to play with but not as strong as the Rod and Custom.

Tom

The Rod & Custom front is basically for street cars or what ever. the alston kit for racing....lighter design.
there is also a company that makes a low cost crossmember.... check this out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoYOYT1iZTYseries..you can see videos on You Tube

AJE had one at BG last fall that said for a Falcon but i wouldn't be surprised if it was a Mustang unit. Their website only shows Mustang units. They are not the same btw. This is the route I would go if it were me. It gives you latemodel rack and pinion and a huge selection of affordable mustang brakes.

http://www.ajeracing.com/64-70Mustang.php

yes Jason but not everyone has $3000 to throw at a front end...


Randy

A word of warning on the "new redesigned" AJE Fox strut K members for the early fords, if you buy one be sure and measure everything......and I mean EVERYTHING. Unfortunately I had to work on one a few weeks ago and it was a FUUKING mess. The current AJE design is either their 2nd or 3rd design rework of their original Fox K member for the early Ford and either they have a problem with their new jig layout, or their workers are just making stupid mistakes.

The one I worked on had at least 3 different centerlines depending on what part of the K member you were measuring. The rack & it's mounts were installed offset to the driver side about a 3/8", but the lower control arm mounts were offset the other direction to the passenger side about 1/2". One lower control arm mount was welded together without enough inside clearance, so you couldn't get either the A-arm or it's bushing in there with out grinding both. And two important front gussets that tie the top half to the lower half were welded on directly in the path of the rack's boots, instead of behind the rack boots. And it's welds looked more like crappy stick welds than wire welds. Plus there was a joint or two they forgot to weld. I compared this crappy "new" redesign K member to one of their first desigsn for the early Fords. The original design had no support for the rear control arm bushing because they mounted it in single-shear only, but the fit/finish/workmanship was much better. This "new" design cures any support problems for the control arm bushings since everything is now mounted in double-shear, but if the one I worked on is the "norm", the fit/finish/workmanship just fuukin sucks.

The guy that owned the K member said that his shop has run into a few of the new redesigned K members that also had fuuk-ups too. They have spoke with AJE a few times about these problems & AJE claims the production problems are now fixed. BUT it would still be smart to double check everything if you buy one of their K members, just to be sure.

'65 T-BOLT wrote:as soon as i can learn to down size my pictures i will post a few.

If you don't have Photoshop or Photosuite (or etc, etc) just use Windows MS paint to shrink pics.

I was considering running one, but I've heard very bad things about the AJE stuff.

X's 20 on what Dave said..

Everyone I talked to that bought AJE had nothing but problems. They had to re-engineer it.Over-priced P.O.S.
Al

I watched that YouTube video you posted. Reminds me of those balsa wood airplanes with rubber band propellers! Diiligas Dave, have you watched that video and what are your comments? Also what the heck does the "W" mean?

Tom

747JetMech wrote:I watched that YouTube video you posted. Reminds me of those balsa wood airplanes with rubber band propellers! Diiligas Dave, have you watched that video and what are your comments? Also what the heck does the "W" mean?

Tom

Matt if you remember here a while Back Bruno was wining about how W's don't count, well this is daves way of givin Bruno heck and not saying a word....


Randy

the Coug wrote:yes Jason but not everyone has $3000 to throw at a front end...


Randy

A budget was not mentioned. But that being said, even if you do a MII it is still going to cost you $2k or more. When you want to put something where it was not designed to be then it costs more than normal. That is plain and simple. The only way to change that is if you have the skill, knowledge and equipment to build your own stuff which is rare.

DILLIGASDAVE wrote:A word of warning on the "new redesigned" AJE Fox strut K members for the early fords, if you buy one be sure and measure everything......and I mean EVERYTHING. Unfortunately I had to work on one a few weeks ago and it was a FUUKING mess. The current AJE design is either their 2nd or 3rd design rework of their original Fox K member for the early Ford and either they have a problem with their new jig layout, or their workers are just making stupid mistakes.

The one I worked on had at least 3 different centerlines depending on what part of the K member you were measuring. The rack & it's mounts were installed offset to the driver side about a 3/8", but the lower control arm mounts were offset the other direction to the passenger side about 1/2". One lower control arm mount was welded together without enough inside clearance, so you couldn't get either the A-arm or it's bushing in there with out grinding both. And two important front gussets that tie the top half to the lower half were welded on directly in the path of the rack's boots, instead of behind the rack boots. And it's welds looked more like crappy stick welds than wire welds. Plus there was a joint or two they forgot to weld. I compared this crappy "new" redesign K member to one of their first desigsn for the early Fords. The original design had no support for the rear control arm bushing because they mounted it in single-shear only, but the fit/finish/workmanship was much better. This "new" design cures any support problems for the control arm bushings since everything is now mounted in double-shear, but if the one I worked on is the "norm", the fit/finish/workmanship just fuukin sucks.

The guy that owned the K member said that his shop has run into a few of the new redesigned K members that also had fuuk-ups too. They have spoke with AJE a few times about these problems & AJE claims the production problems are now fixed. BUT it would still be smart to double check everything if you buy one of their K members, just to be sure.

I had not heard that but it is good to know, thanks.

Well you could always just do the crites notch. That would be the lowest cost option. I personally don't like it because it has to be a nightmare to change header gaskets. It is hard enough with my small block that I couldn't imagine a big block.

if you're gona run a cage you can use fox mustang stuff with coilover kit and put r/p on it too.mount the strut to the top down bars and fab or maybe use a tube fox a frame on bottom.thats what i used and it's worked well for a race car.

747JetMech wrote:Diiligas Dave, have you watched that video and what are your comments?

Not yet, the video is just too big for crappy dial up.

747JetMech wrote:Also what the heck does the "W" mean?

Wat Da Coug said.



You know a lot has been said for years (good/bad) about swapping the Mustang II stuff (home built & kits) under other cars. But as far as the "kits" go no one really ever makes the distinction between choosing a light weight "drag only" kit vs a beefier "street rod(ish)" kit. Most people against the Mustang II stuff mention it lacking enough suspension travel. And It's true that the stock Mustang II's somewhat short control arm length does increase tire side-scrub numbers a bit if a decent amount of suspension travel is allowed. But it's really the drag only kits (with the super short coil overs) that can end up being really short on travel numbers. And if the "drag kit" happens to use A-arms that use spherical joints (instead of OEM ball joints) the travel is going to need to be even less to avoid binding.

I think this is where some people might sometimes make the mistake & buy the wrong "style" Mustang II kit for a car's intended use because they might be looking at price instead of how the car will be used.

So if someone had made up their mind that a Mustang II setup was the only way to go (vs Fox struts, or modifying the stock setup) it would be wise to buy the kit that matches the car's intended use vs buying a kit on price only.

this is one pic of the 65 falcon

sorry they are big...i did shrink them down

that looks pretty sweet, T-Bolt. I was contemplating doing something similar, but not being there to go over the build up, I just decided on a MII from RC.

that's cool! my friend wants to sell all the front suspension out of the Falcon and go with the Mustang 2 cross member from the Weld it series! I think he is worse than a woman!