65 Ford Falcon Squire Wagon

[SteveG]

I haven't looked, but according to the guy I bought the car from who is a Falcon/Rancher/Comet nut says the wagon tanks are super rare. This one is actually in really good condition. I've had it out of the car to replace the float and the inside looked great. It has minimal surface rust, too. I think I'll just fix this one and call it good.

[SteveG]

I got the tank back in last week... piece of cake. I think it took me longer to drain and refill the 14 or so gallons of fuel than it did to remove and install the tank.

In other news, I took the seat out again and got the bottom disassembled. After I got the frame stripped and hack repairs out of the way it doesn't seem all that bad. I'm taking it to an upholstery shop tomorrow to get prices. I also want to replace the insulation I removed when I had the carpet out the first time shortly after I bought the car.

This time I also had hose for my vacuum and was able to give the carpet a good cleaning. By the way, for those of you with a Kirby vacuum, you can buy a 12 foot hose that makes cleaning cars out really easy. No more fighting the hose and having to move the vacuum cleaner around to reach the whole car.

[Broncodawg]

Boy those seat springs were rode hard by a Caballero del Grande! Nice grocery getter!

[SteveG]

Boy those seat springs were rode hard by a Caballero del Grande! Nice grocery getter!

46 years worth of ass takes its toll! It's a fun grocery getter and the utility of a wagon is great. After I get a hitch on the thing it'll be even better.

[SteveG]

I'm still trying to track down another Falcon bench I can steal some parts out of to repair mine. I think I found one in So Cal but haven't gotten confirmation on it yet. In the meantime, the car needs to make it to the Kettleman City Car Show next weekend, so a couple pillows and a piece of wood are going to have to do the trick!

[ChaseTruck754]

Awesome!

[SteveG]

Awesome!

It works well and is actually plenty comfortable!

The upholstery is repaired. I'm still on the lookout for a donor seat I can steal some springs out of. The good news is the springs are the same all the way across, so even if I find one as trashed as mine, it'll be a big help.

[300]

I always assumed the upholstery guys had a source for that spring material. I will keep an eye out, I will be in a target-rich environment this weekend. Do back seats use the same?

[SteveG]

The rear seats are different. The upholstery guy said he can find spring material and fix it but that's another $200 and there's no guarantee I'll be happy with the results. If I can find an original Falcon seat the springs will fit right in and I can do it myself. I'll also know what I'm getting and I know what it'll feel like (same as the passenger side of mine).

It would be easier to just pay him to fix it but this is an ultra-low budget project. Paying someone to fix the cover was splurging for this car. Originally I was going to buy a square of random colored vinyl and hand stitch it myself!

I called several upholstery shops looking for the spring material and no one had it. I, too, figured it was something they would all have on hand.


Call me if you find something. Thanks!

[SteveG]

I put about 300 miles on the upholstery-less seat this weekend. The pillows and board worked like a champ!

[philofab]

Www.furniturefix.com

Way more hi tech than a board.

[SteveG]

http://Www.furniturefix.com

Way more hi tech than a board.

I was getting close to giving that stuff a shot but Don came through and hooked me up with a donor seat to take some springs out of. I initially thought it was the same. Then I got if home and compared it to mine and realized it was really different. I was so bummed that I put it on the back burner while I worked on other non-related projects.

I spent the weekend at my parent's house at a family reunion and got motivated by my brother's projects. I went to look at the seat frames again and I realized while they weren't the same, I could make it work. I swapped a bunch of springs around, modified several of them, repaired others and what do you know? Once again I spend more time figuring out how to get around doing something than I did actually fixing it. I still need to tie a few of the springs together but it's mostly done. I had to throw it back in the car so we can take it to the drive-in but I hope to put the upholstery back on it soon.

[SteveG]

I finally got the lower seat frame buttoned up. It ain't perfect, but it's actually pretty comfortable. I used a mattress topper (folded in three) to replace the crapped out cotton cushion. It even got the wife's approval for comfort. We'll see what she says after the 5 hour drive to Antioch!

Even though the match isn't exact, it isn't as different in real life as it is in the photo. The tear had gotten a lot worse than the first photo....

The wrinkle in the center of the seat is driving me nuts but it's going to have to stay as-is for now as I have other projects I need to finish ASAP. The seat back will have to wait.

[BajaF250]

Steve,
The new seat looks GREAT... much more comfortable than the "pillow" fix!

[SteveG]

It is much more comfortable but lacks the character that springs and a pillow had. I'll have to find some other way to be cool.

In other news, the wrinkles in the center went away after putting some butts in the seat for a few short trips.

[SteveG]

The ride height on this thing has been excessively high since I got it, so I finally got started on performing the "Shelby Mod" (relocating the upper control arm mount) and lowering the front end last night. Most online sources showed removing the upper control arm, dust shield/bump stop, etc. But I was able to unbolt the upper arm and just swing it out of the way... piece of cake!

I got one side drilled and the coils out of both... hope to cut the coils today and reinstall them tonight.

[philofab]

How do you cut your coils Steve?

I cut them with a torch, then flip them over quick and push against the ground to make a square end to fit in the buckets before they cool.

I've had people tell me it's wrong to do it that way but I've been doing it since I was 15 without issue.

[300]

Try checking the ride height with the stock springs with the arm in the new pivot points. I found on my Mustang that it was right about where I wanted it without cutting the spring. Probably about 2+ inches lower. It leveled it with the sagged-out rear leaf springs.

You can use a chop saw or cutoff wheel to cut springs, leaves less of a heat affected zone than a torch, which will shatter pretty easily.

[philofab]

The spring should not become brittle unless you harden it via cooling to rapidly, IE quenching it in water or oil.

[SteveG]

How do you cut your coils Steve?

I cut them with a torch, then flip them over quick and push against the ground to make a square end to fit in the buckets before they cool.

I've had people tell me it's wrong to do it that way but I've been doing it since I was 15 without issue.

That's exactly how I do it.

You can use a chop saw or cutoff wheel to cut springs, leaves less of a heat affected zone than a torch, which will shatter pretty easily.

From what I've read, using the torch then pushing it against the ground flattens the end of the coil so that it isn't being worked which can lead to breaking. I think I read it in a Herb Adams book years ago... couldn't tell you if it's good info or not but I haven't had any issues with it.

The end of the bottom round of the coil is straight to sit in the perch. I don't know that it'll fit in the perch without being straight, so I might have to heat it to duplicate this regardless of how I cut it. Maybe I'll cut with a saw then heat to form?

It leveled it with the sagged-out rear leaf springs.

That's the goal for now.

Try checking the ride height with the stock springs with the arm in the new pivot points. I found on my Mustang that it was right about where I wanted it without cutting the spring. Probably about 2+ inches lower.

I read a lot of conflicting info on this. I finished the right side last night, put it on the ground and rolled it back and forth a few times. I didn't see a significant change in ride height. Maybe it needed to settle.

I just finished talking to my front end specialist at work and he recommended leaving the control arms in the stock location. He says to do it correctly you also need to modify the steering. Now I'm up in the air with this. I think I'll drill the holes but leave the arms in the stock location for now and just lower it. I've got a 10 hours worth of driving ahead of me in this thing and I'd rather regret the mod on a short trip.

I still need top build some shocks for the front end, so I'll play with the control arm mount then.