'65 Falcon front suspension...what would the gurus at RRR do?

[FalconDave]

OK, so last year I picked up a halfway decent '65 Falcon Futura 4-door. I LOVE this car, right up my alley in terms of style. My dad had a Falcon back in the '60s, so this is a tribute to him and a way for me to learn a little bit more about wrenchin'. Pretty solid body, all the trim is there, boxes of extra stuff like brake parts, antenna & new rugs. Got a solid-running 170 that shows nice compression and no problems.

My next major thing I need to work on is the front suspension. Putting it mildly, it's effing horrid. Driving is pretty scary, she bounces & slides all over the road and chews tires. Major camber problems, the outside edges of the fronts are gone.

My summer project is to replace the bald tires with a new set of 185 70 13s (I know, all the gearheads around here say to go up to 15s and switch to 5-lug, but the budget doesn't allow it) & upgrade the suspension.

So I'm currently on a quest to get all the parts I need for a front suspension overhaul. Any recommendations for kits / upgrades / etc? I'm trying to stay away from all the over-engineered stuff geared toward racing / performance. I want to replace all the crucial stuff like upper & lower control arms / ball joints, and inner / outer tie rods, coils springs, shocks, etc. Just trying to make sure I'm not forgetting anything crucial.

So if you were upgrading the front suspension to make her a daily driver / yard-sale & booze run car, what would you do?

Sorry for all the words & thanks for helping a new guy!

 

[Torch]

scarebird disc brakes

you could probably find larger wheels without having to spend too much for rare 5 lug parts

on the other hand one with 5 lugs and a factor v8 went through u pull its a couple months ago...prolly long gone

 

[rainman]

I'd get a Speedway straight axle kit, and GO GASSER!!
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[zzrodder]

If you're planning to replace that many parts on that outdated and poorly handling front end, consider swapping in a Mustang II type front end. You be way ahead in handling, braking and steering with discs and rack and pinion steering. Plus, you can cut out those big shock towers that make the engine compartment so confined and replace them with flat plates. Fatman has complete kits, probably Speedway too - or if you can still find an original MII front end, that is another option, though they are getting scarce now.

 

[zzrodder]

If you are really set on rebuilding you stock front end, the 64 - 66 Mustang front end is virtually the same thing, so parts for them will fit your Falcon too.

 

[Bamamav]

Granada disc brakes should bolt on, too. They are 5 lug, though.

 

[FalconDave]

Thanks for the replies. I wish I lived in a place where the local U-Pull got Falcons. That's bad-ass, we get effed-up soccer-mom minivans & ricer cars here. Also wish I could swing the Fatman stuff, my cousin is a pretty heavy cat in the local hot rod scene and is always telling me to get some of their stuff. But I'm poor. Been checking out the Scarebird stuff and that's more my speed. I'm definitely gonna upgrade to discs and I'll most likely go with their stuff. For now I've gotta do something about the suspension, because the car handles like a shopping cart The Mustang / Falcon compatibility makes things a lot easier, after a bit of research I realize there's a ton of stuff out there. Just need to find the best quality stuff for the price. After spending all of Saturday under the front end removing rust & rotted undercoating, cleaning things up and making an inventory of what I need to replace, I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do.