Falcon Suspension Upgrade

  • 🎬 Video
  • ℹ️ Published 3 years ago
preview_player
UCW5N2LPIeiPQsU9NzqaDFtQ

falcon suspension upgrade

Episode 109

Manic Mechanic

Shimming the upper A-arm for better caster. 3/8 inch of shims will help the cars caster and make it handle a little sharper.

Roller Spring Perches. Roller Spring perches will help free up the springs to do their jobs. If you lose the rubber spring perches and get the roller perches from Opentracker Racing you will get a slight drop in the suspension but better handling due to the freeing up of the bushing. Ford used these on earlier Falcons.

Get new strut rod bushings. This will keep the suspension stable and going in the right direction. This is often overlooked.

Camber adjustment kit.
This isn’t going to help the suspension but it will help you when you go to get an alignment. The Camber kit move adjustment from the upper a-arm to the lower arm like in later Falcons and Mustangs.

Hydraulic vs Gas shocks
We like the way the car handles with hydraulic shocks far better, the cost will be the main stopping point for a lot of owners.
$399.00—Opentracker Racing

1 inch sway bar. This will help handling as well. And will work in good concert with the other changes we covered.
$149.00—Opentracker Racing

Arning drop or Shelby Drop. This will drop the upper control arm by 1 inch and give better roll control of the front suspension. This can provide a small amount of body drop as well.




Upper Control Arm Assembly 1963-65 Ford Falcon: C4DZ-3082R

Lower Control Arm Assemblies: C4DZ-3078A ($59.95 ea)
See PDF catalog on line.

Strut Rod Bushings 1962-63 Ford Falcon Ranchero: C2DA-3470B

Roller Spring Perches – Street Performance Ford: ORP-1001

Lower Arm Camber Kit 65-66 Mustang – Falcon Comet: ORP-1040

Roller Idler Arm With Frame Bracket 60-65 Falcon / Comet With 1″ Sector Shaft & V8 Steering: ORP-1154

Front Sway Bar 1″ (1964-1966) Mustang – Falcon Comet: SD-S1MS-5482-A

1″ Spring Perch Move Template: ORP-1032
$15.00

💬 Comments
Author

Great info! I have the OpenTrackerRacing suspension parts ready to install on my ‘65 Falcon wagon. I’m looking forward to seeing the difference this summer 😁

OTR is also offering a 16:1 manual steering box for Falcons as well for guys like me that that have a manual steering setup. This is the same box as used in the early GT Mustangs. While the steering effort will be a bit more at low speeds it should be great for steering response!

Author — @robkallok77

Author

This is great stuff. I used those perches on my 68 Torino GT convertible. Along with Global West lower arms, alignment kit, springs and a set of drop upper control arms. A set of Eaton rear springs and QA1 adjusts springs on all four corners. Rids and handles like a dream!!

Author — @kennyleejohnson5253

Author

Great parts, I’m sure they’ll make a dramatic difference.

Author — @AmpasaurusWrecks

Author

Ball bearing idler kits for all cars were a common parts store upgrade back in the 60s. No vertical flex/ toe change is the most valuable aspect.

Author — @hotrodray6802

Author

I love good information about how to make Falcon-chassis cars handle well with stock-based components. There's so much support on the internet for putting an MII-style suspension in these cars, but that's a huge cost and takes your car off the road for a considerable amount of time. There are also complete, bolt-in suspensions which work well. They're even more than an MII setup without considering labor, and you have to buy/install it all at once.

Author — @johnbarker5009

Author

Very informative .... Thx !
When I did my 61 Falcon V8 swap from a 72 maverick I used 66 Mustang upper and lower A-frames to accommodate for the larger ball joints, steering column out of a 68 Mustang . all of the maverick parts were pretty much a straight up swap .
Brake lines, master cylinder etc.

Author — @grayg9838

Author

Love the suspension talk! Need more information on the shock treatment 🍻🍻

Author — @TheSaxon25

Author

The shelby drop works great for the 66 through 69 fairlane and it does drop front alittle but also straightens the steering arms out to get rid of the bump steering

Author — @jakesports1983jt

Author

As always good info for those classic Fords out there.

Author — @johnearl9666

Author

I had a 1964 260 T10 Fatura. Original tires 650x13. It was a 5 lug car. I got a set of F70-14 Jetson radial tires. This is was 1970 when radial tires were not a common tire. I took the car to an old country boy alignment shop. At the time there were no alignment specs for the car. He did a lot of shimming and off the top of his head adjustments. The Falcon was the easiest driving car I have ever had. It was not harsh like my BMW. It was smooth.

Author — @davidhofman4341

Author

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to seeing the suspension work on the Ranchero. Cheers!

Author — @jeffj1324

Author

High durometer rubber bushings at the front of the strut rods will put a lot of load on the sheetmetal in the frame that the rods go through, and I've seen them crack time and time again. A better solution are the replacement rods with the heim ends that Global West and a few other companies sell. You can adjust camber with them as well.

Author — @mattfarahsmillionmilelexus5783

Author

I owned a 1964 Falcon Future Conv over 20 years. I used every item you displayed from Auto Krafters and they did do the job, unfortunately they didn’t offer the roller bearing parts then.
Thank you

Author — @eddiekane3945

Author

Theoretically, the 1" Arning drop will lower the front by approx 1/2”. I did it on my 82 XE wagon and can confirm.

Author — @gergatron4793

Author

A year ago you did a video about 64/65 Falcon door interchangeability. I have a 1963.5 Falcon two-door hardtop sprint that needs a driver's side door. Do you know if a any other year or body style may fit? I posted the same question are the aforementioned video as well.
I have been a fan for a while. Keep up the good work!

Author — @Thomas-yq3li

Author

Ive been researching coil overs for a month, I think I’m more confused now, so many options.
Ive got a 63 falcon with a V8 looking for a great company that sells just the coil over upgrade. Im looking for a suspension upgrade and mainly height adjustment capability.

Author — @derekhogle6186

Author

I did the same Open Tracker roller spring perches, roller idler arm, and adjustable QA1 Shock similar to the Viking you have. 1 1/8 sway bar because I have a 390. I also installed 620 grab-track-springs. Still plan to install the 1" arning drop. I will install Street or Track A arms and that should wrap up my front suspension. Please cover camber in more detail on the video.

Author — @morganleblanc730

Author

I have been thinking about purchasing an old Falcon recently. Its body is really good and not messed up real bad. I’m 14 and have about 2k raised. Do you think I could fix up a decent shape one at my age with 2k?

Author — @EXENTR1K

Author

Fine Tuning ride height. slight increases. remove shock.. use spring compressor to pull the spring upward. remove spring perch.. knock out bolts. replace with slightly longer grade 8 bolts and pickup a bag of 3/8 grade 8 flat washers.. and new grade 8 nuts. now you can put grade 8 flat washers between the bottom of the spring perch cross bar and the top of the upper control arm. this effectively moves the upper control arm farther down and brings your ride height up. i normally put a grade 8 flat washer on the underside of the upper control arm also.. before the nut goes on.. so i am sure i am spreading the load. i did this on my 70 Ranchero and drove it that way for 2 decades.
please verify that your shocks are mid stroke when installed at ride height.. too many fairlanes and torinos have only an inch and a half of compression left in the shock stroke.. 66 and up.. you can change out the special carriage head bolts for some longer versions you have modified. you can make a 1" thick to 1-1/4 thick spacer to fit under the cage to put the stroke of the shock back closer to the middle. you can take the cage to a machine shop and have them knock out a pair of spacer plates ..

Author — @waynep343

Author

Best thing you can do to these cars is the Shelby drop and adjustable caster/strut rods. Get about 3 degrees positive caster and she'll track like a dream. All in all $130 total.

Author — @AimlessMoto