Post by tbolt64 on Mar 19, 2014 7:58:45 GMT
You might think it's not much of a problem getting replacement parts, but '64 Fairlane 500's were, unusually for Ford, a one year model and apart from engines, gearbox, back axle and a few other parts, didn't have a lot in common with other models, so some parts can be hard to find in the US, never mind here. New hubs were a must, as were top and bottom ball joints, so off on to the interweb we went. To cut a very long story short, it's easier to find a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 than a pair of front hubs and bottom ball joints are nearly as bad and VERY expensive when they do come up.
Much discussion with wise men (?) in the design office (pub) and various options were bounced around
1. Spend a lottery win on NOS parts, and a lot of time finding them - if at all
2. Have the hubs machined for new bearings etc, adapt ball joints from another model
3. Throw the front suspension in the bin and fit all new independent, disc brakes, rack and pinion steering etc.
4. Make it into a gasser - I love the look, but it's not a race car, and I want an easier drive, not harder!
5. Lock garage door and take up knitting
It was generally agreed that of the above, option 3 was the way to go. The car isn't rare enough or good enough to worry about originality. It should improve just about everything, get rid of steering box, drum brakes and make the car nicer to drive. The only drawbacks were cost and availability of an independent suspension kit.
More detective work followed. A full kit is available in the US, based on Mustang 2. This was a bit of a non starter because, with import duty and vat robbery, its very, very expensive.
A quick search of various US based forums revealed that people had tried various donor cars, from Crown Victoria right through to Fox Mustang. None of these were particularly straight forward or available, same problem, import costs for big heavy items that would also probably need a shed load of new service parts anyway.
More research. We've seen a couple of pick up trucks recently fitted with Ford Mk2 Granada front suspension etc. The complete unit is independent, has big(ish) disc brakes, rack and pinion steering (also available LHD) and unbolts from a donor car - piece of cake, sorted! Another plus is that most of the service parts are still NOS from Ford, and after market parts like bigger brakes, poly bushes, uprated adjustable shocks etc are readily available from various places. After comparing specs between the Fairlane and a Mk2 2.8 V6 Granada, they were remarkably similar in size, weight, wheelbase and track. The Fairlane has a heavier engine, but that could be compensated for.
So, decision made, off we went to find a Mk2 Granada front clip and a Haynes manual. Couldn't be that difficult could it?
Much discussion with wise men (?) in the design office (pub) and various options were bounced around
1. Spend a lottery win on NOS parts, and a lot of time finding them - if at all
2. Have the hubs machined for new bearings etc, adapt ball joints from another model
3. Throw the front suspension in the bin and fit all new independent, disc brakes, rack and pinion steering etc.
4. Make it into a gasser - I love the look, but it's not a race car, and I want an easier drive, not harder!
5. Lock garage door and take up knitting
It was generally agreed that of the above, option 3 was the way to go. The car isn't rare enough or good enough to worry about originality. It should improve just about everything, get rid of steering box, drum brakes and make the car nicer to drive. The only drawbacks were cost and availability of an independent suspension kit.
More detective work followed. A full kit is available in the US, based on Mustang 2. This was a bit of a non starter because, with import duty and vat robbery, its very, very expensive.
A quick search of various US based forums revealed that people had tried various donor cars, from Crown Victoria right through to Fox Mustang. None of these were particularly straight forward or available, same problem, import costs for big heavy items that would also probably need a shed load of new service parts anyway.
More research. We've seen a couple of pick up trucks recently fitted with Ford Mk2 Granada front suspension etc. The complete unit is independent, has big(ish) disc brakes, rack and pinion steering (also available LHD) and unbolts from a donor car - piece of cake, sorted! Another plus is that most of the service parts are still NOS from Ford, and after market parts like bigger brakes, poly bushes, uprated adjustable shocks etc are readily available from various places. After comparing specs between the Fairlane and a Mk2 2.8 V6 Granada, they were remarkably similar in size, weight, wheelbase and track. The Fairlane has a heavier engine, but that could be compensated for.
So, decision made, off we went to find a Mk2 Granada front clip and a Haynes manual. Couldn't be that difficult could it?
, im sure it will ride spot on when its finished. If you need a local enginering firm at work we've been useing jaybees at unit3 clifton mills baliff bridge brighouse hd64jj,they do the bike bits cant see why they shouldnt do cars. anyway its all lies clearly you can see it was started in may 2006 