So I have finally decided to go forward with Project 315. They plan is to stuff a 315/35/17 under the Falcon. I found a good right up on
TFFN with lots of pictures. I will be copying his work except for I will be using prefabbed wheel tubs from Summit Racing. After the frame notching and leaf spring relocation I should have 14 inches of tub to fit the 12.5 inch tires into.
A lot of people will not tackle a project like this because you need expensive tools, but you really don't. I don't have an air compressor or anything to fancy. I use a Harbor Freight cut off saw that cost $29 and a Harbor Freight nibble that cost $45. My welder is a Hobart that I got off of Craigslist. The welder matters. The big three are Lincoln, Miller, and Hobart. All the other cheap ones make it hard to weld thin metals because they don't control the heat as well. You can do this with a new cheap welder, but I recommend buying a good used one.
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| Harbor Freight Cut-off saw. Works great so far. |
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| Harbor Freight Nibbler to cut sheet metal |
The first thing you need to do is get some 1" x 2" .120 wall rectangle tubing and cut it so you can weld it to the inside of the frame.
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| 1" x 2" .120 wall rectangle tubing to re-inforce the frame rail |
Working with old cars you need to spend lots of time cleaning before welding
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| 1963 Ford Falcon frame cleaned up for welding |
After cleaning and getting the metal cut you are ready to weld up the the brace on the inside of the frame rail. Take your when trimming and it will make the welding part easier.
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| Brace ready to be welded before frame notching |
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| 2nd brace welded in for frame notching on a 1963 Ford Falcon |
After you get the two braces welded on then you are ready to cut out the wheel tub and 1" of the frame.
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| Frame notched 1" to fit 315's on a 1963 Ford Falcon |
This is the wheel tub and frame after you cut the notch out.
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| 1963 Ford Falcon wheel tub and frame after notching |
I used the old wheel tube to trace onto the Summit Racing wheel tub.
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| Tracing the Falcon wheel tub onto the Summit one. |
Next I took my Harbor Freight sheet metal sheers and cut a little off of the line so I would have some metal to bend over for the Pittsburgh seam.
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| Summit wheel tub ready to cut |
Next I used a cresent wrench to bend over the metal to make a lip. Then I came back with a body hammer and dolly to get a smooth edge.
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| Bending over the metal on the summit wheel tub |
It will be rough and uneven that is where the body hammer and dolly come into play.
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| Rough edge after bending with cresent wrench |
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| Use this to smooth the edge of the wheel tub |
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| The body hammer and dolly make the edges much smoother to fit into the Pittsburgh seam |
After all this you are ready to weld in the tub. After that you measure for the top and do some welding and you will be ready for some big tires.
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| Wheel tub almost done on 1963 Ford Falcon |
Both wheel tubs are finished now. I just need to get some seam sealer and weld up a few spots on the frame.
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| Finished up mini tub on the Falcon |
Here are the tires that will be going on the car after I measure for a
9" rear end.
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| Toyo TQ Proxies 315/35/17 on 10.5" rims |
Here is the finished product. Once the car is running I will get some better pictures outside of the garage with better lighting.
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| 1963 Ford Falcon with 9" rear and 315/35/17 tires |
Love the blog... I'm doing the same swap in a 64 Falcon Futura 4-door. I assume you don't post what you are doing on ttfn. They are such purists that would ban you if they saw that an LS was going in a falcon.
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of reading over at TFFN, but you are right. They would burn me at the stake for doing the LS swap. lol I really like LS1Tech if you haven't check it out. Great forum for all things LS and not to much flaming. Are you doing a LS and turbo or just LS.
ReplyDeleteI will likely just do the swap 1st and add the turbo later. I've built a few turbo kits for Fords, but this is my 1st dive into ls motors. I saw your posts on ls1tech and another site too. I've been on ls1tech for a few years.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
what was the backspacing on your rims
ReplyDeleteMy rear rims are 17 x 10.5 with 6.8 backspacing. I bought the rims first and then narrowed my rear end to make everything fit right.
ReplyDeleteDoes the backspacing matter? I am looking to do this same project with my 64 falcon and have some 15x10 with 3.7 back spacing
Deletegreat work I'm looking into a first gen falcon myself looking to swap in a LY9 converted to carb w/ MSd 6014 backed by a th400 or 700r4. might get a shot of nitrous as well.
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to have more pictures of the finished product? I'm looking to notch my frame on my 60 and I like how you did it, but am a little foggy on the bracing and how you welded it back in.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any more pictures. You want to cut the 1x2 to fit and weld it onto the inside of the frame first, then cut half of the original frame out and box it back in.
ReplyDeleteDid you run into any issues with the leafs? Don't they mount on the outside of the frame rail and need to be relocated inboard?
DeleteWhat size rear end did you end up installing? Shortened or stock width?
ReplyDelete