64 Fairlane Strut Front Suspension Conversion Its Done! JIT for the bash!

Mike!...any updates?

Its been a little slower lately. I had family things last weekend so I didn't get to work on it and the week before I forgot to take the camera out to Dad's. He has the steering almost done. Bump steer is all figured out. He started working on the merge collectors because we have to pull the motor out before we can do much more. I'm going out on Sunday to yank the motor so we can finish the steering shaft and cut the towers back. I'll try to remember the camera this time.

Mike, before this transformation.....what springs were you using in the front of the 64? Sorry if I asked this question before. With the iron headed 460 my headers damn near touch the ground. Two inches off the ground to be exact.

Actually the one on the passenger side was a stock V8 spring that came with the car. I bought a new set from Coil Spring specialties in Kansas City, MO. We replaced the drivers side because it was sagging. It was such a pain to change that I left the stock one on the passenger side. Supposedly the ones I bought were made for a 64 Fairlane with a big block but I think they were the same diameter as the stock one. I'll measure them on Sunday if I get time.

Engine is out. Time to start cutting the towers back for some more room. Merge collectors are coming along.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/512fairlane/sets/72157626729744988/

looks great!

We finished the shock towers and there is a ton more room. My headers will be able to come straight out of the ports now instead of taking an immediate turn. I can fit my entire hand between the shock tower and heads now. Headers won't take 4 hours to install anymore!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/512fairlane/sets/72157626697097533/

Nice work Mike!

Coming together. Right header is almost finished. Lots more room but it got a little crowded around the starter.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/512fairlane/sets/72157626887028962/

Mike...I like!

Its coming together. Got some paint on it last weekend. Started final reassembly today. Headers are getting coated. The good news is I think we can make the bash!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/512fairlane/sets/72157627165885052/

thats a damn fine looken job!

Thanks. Our two month project has turned into four months but I think I'll be happy with it.

Damn Mike! looks fantastic!....you will be using some sort of shock tower brace...right?

Yes Jason. I use the stock braces to the firewall. The old towers flexed a little without those but the square tubes under the fenders help alot.

It's finished! Just in time for the bash next weekend! It sounds much better with the Charlie Evans valve job, home ported intake and much improved headers. It runs and drives pretty good. Its a little hard to turn when driving around slow but should be fine for a drag car. I'm not sure it would be great on the street with the manual rack but its not bad. Special thanks to Dad for busting his tail to help me get this ready. I wouldn't be doing this without him.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/512fairlane/sets/72157627203518609/

Mike Mike Mike! SWEET job! everything looks bitchen! clean and awesome car!.....I might just keep the Fox struts under my car and not worry about MII.

WOW Mike, nice work! Can't wait to see it in person this weekend

Thanks guys. The bash has been our incentive to get this thing done. I'm pretty excited to see how much better it runs. The new headers and valve job have got to make an improvement. I did a lot of work on my intake also so hopefully I didn't screw it up. The motor sounds a lot better. I'm not sure how long my valves had been leaking but it is definitely crisper. We put travel limiters on too which is something I always wanted to add. Hopefully I can tune 60 fts and reaction times a little with those. We saved close to 50 lbs total.

Mike, I will be all over your fairlane this weekend!

'65 T-BOLT wrote:Mike, I will be all over your fairlane this weekend!

Wow you're coming down from Maryland? That's great. Help yourself to my car. I'll even jack it up for you so you can crawl under it. Just bring a rag along and you can even clean off the undercarriage while your under there . It looks pretty dirty from the firewall back now that the front end has fresh paint. It will be nice to meet you. See you Friday.

512Fairlane wrote:

'65 T-BOLT wrote:Mike, I will be all over your fairlane this weekend!

Wow you're coming down from Maryland? That's great. Help yourself to my car. I'll even jack it up for you so you can crawl under it. Just bring a rag along and you can even clean off the undercarriage while your under there . It looks pretty dirty from the firewall back now that the front end has fresh paint. It will be nice to meet you. See you Friday.

.....cool! see you there!

Mike how did the Fairlane run with the new front suspension? Did you pick up any e.t.?
Justin

Yep. It picked up some. It went a best of 6.44 at 107 mph. My previous best was a 6.48 at 105 in cool April air. I was spinning some on the starting line and occasionally downtrack at Windy Hollow. I need to find the right strut adjustments and adjust my travel limiters. It wasn't transferring weight like it used too but I think it was because I had the limiters tied down too much. I can't wait to get it on the quarter mile in some good air. I still have a bad 2nd gear flare problem. It was hitting the rev limiter every time in 2nd. The suspension felt pretty good although the rack and pinion is a lot more sensitive than the old box. It turns a little too easy if I'm not careful. Overall I'm pretty satisfied. We'll get it dialed in.

You did one heck of a job. I am glad it worked out for you. Hopefully we can both the race the 10.0 class down at Gateway next year, fingers crossed.
Justin