‘64 Falcon Track Project

All the Ford Sisters...Falcon, Mustang, Maverick & Fairlane, etc. Try and keep your post relevant for Comet users
comethead
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Joe Travers wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 11:25 am
Thanks for the vids, Joe!
You're hoofing it now. Go Air Force 👍
You running the Comp 270S in your engine? Sounds mean.

Joe II
Hey Joe thanks! That’s a negative on the Comp cam. Im running an Isky 505T solid cam https://iskycams.com/shop/index.php?mai ... cts_id=548

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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comethead
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 1:32 pm
sounds bad ass Joe! Thanks for the vids & pics!!!

Joe T not air force ! He's Army! so I had to get him a US Army Air Corps roundel stickers for ole Skydog. thought the crackled look would fit in. yea I know he aint that old but that old car reminded me of an old warbird from WWII the way he had the 289 ci stenciled on the scoop. He being an army man I didnt think he would want air force badges. Air Corps would later branch off from the army to become US Air Force.
Johnnie you’re breaking my heart. I ain’t no Army guy!!!!!!! I served 22 years in the USAF! Cmon man! :lol:
I got a few comments on the Air Corp stickers. A few guys got a kick out of it! And I think it made the car faster!! :wink:

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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comethead
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Jims65cyclone wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 10:50 pm
Good stuff, Joe! 8) Man, you could see the air in that one tire! :shock: One more lap with that one and you'd have been baling hay! :lol: Did you forget your gopro again? I was hopin' to ride a couple of laps with you. :(

Jim
Hey Jim yeah the front tires were feeling pretty sketchy on that last lap. But I was giving her hell :lol: I have to figure out the tire rotation thing, this is the second time the front tires have roasted on me.
Now the GoPro….I took it with me. With spare batteries. I had planned to install it and start recording on Sunday when I feel like I’m driving the fastest. The bad tires ended that and I didn’t want to record another slow lap with the street tires. :roll:
Im getting a new set of tires and next track day I’ll have that GoPro ready to go :wink:

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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SASSY
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by SASSY »

Appears ya had a great time! Regardless of the problems. Always enjoy reading what your up to.
I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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poboyjo65
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by poboyjo65 »

comethead wrote:
Tue May 30, 2023 1:25 am
poboyjo65 wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 1:32 pm
sounds bad ass Joe! Thanks for the vids & pics!!!

Joe T not air force ! He's Army! so I had to get him a US Army Air Corps roundel stickers for ole Skydog. thought the crackled look would fit in. yea I know he aint that old but that old car reminded me of an old warbird from WWII the way he had the 289 ci stenciled on the scoop. He being an army man I didnt think he would want air force badges. Air Corps would later branch off from the army to become US Air Force.
Johnnie you’re breaking my heart. I ain’t no Army guy!!!!!!! I served 22 years in the USAF! Cmon man! :lol:
I got a few comments on the Air Corp stickers. A few guys got a kick out of it! And I think it made the car faster!! :wink:

Joe
aWE HECH! sorry chief! dont know where I got that. :? guess it was that old warbird lookin car of yours making stories up in my head . Getting old Joe. I knew that it was AF,at one time. I think. well like I said USAF was born out of the army. :lol:
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Johno

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Joe Travers
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by Joe Travers »

comethead wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 8:23 am
The car ran great and the new gearing changed its track behavior drastically. Had to relearn every corner to keep the engine in its ideal rev zone of 5500-6500 RPM. Top end felt faster and I was keeping up with the fast cars without hitting the 6700 RPM rev limit as much. I forgot to change the speedo driven gear with the new rear gears so I wasn’t sure how fast I was going but my buddy with the yellow Falcon usually hits 135MPH on the front straight and I was pulling on him :twisted:
By Sunday I had roasted my front race Hoosiers again and the fun ended a little early. I threw on the street tires and did some practice laps focusing on the turns and braking.
Here's calculator I use to calibrate speedo- https://www.tremec.com/calculadora.php
Close-ratio Toploader is in the dropdown list. Report back on top end speed when you get a chance.
Yeah, hitting the turns faster. Need a sponsor to help pay for tires and brake rotors :D

Joe II
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

comethead
Posts: 5692
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

SASSY wrote:
Tue May 30, 2023 1:49 am
Appears ya had a great time! Regardless of the problems. Always enjoy reading what your up to.
Thanks Fred! It’s a blast every time. And there’s always something to learn out there. Can’t wait for the next one in October…maybe I’ll get one in before that.
:wink:
Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

comethead
Posts: 5692
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Tue May 30, 2023 2:04 am
comethead wrote:
Tue May 30, 2023 1:25 am
poboyjo65 wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 1:32 pm
sounds bad ass Joe! Thanks for the vids & pics!!!

Joe T not air force ! He's Army! so I had to get him a US Army Air Corps roundel stickers for ole Skydog. thought the crackled look would fit in. yea I know he aint that old but that old car reminded me of an old warbird from WWII the way he had the 289 ci stenciled on the scoop. He being an army man I didnt think he would want air force badges. Air Corps would later branch off from the army to become US Air Force.
Johnnie you’re breaking my heart. I ain’t no Army guy!!!!!!! I served 22 years in the USAF! Cmon man! :lol:
I got a few comments on the Air Corp stickers. A few guys got a kick out of it! And I think it made the car faster!! :wink:

Joe
aWE HECH! sorry chief! dont know where I got that. :? guess it was that old warbird lookin car of yours making stories up in my head . Getting old Joe. I knew that it was AF,at one time. I think. well like I said USAF was born out of the army. :lol:
It’s all good Johnnie. I knew you knew just forgot :lol:
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

comethead
Posts: 5692
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Joe Travers wrote:
Tue May 30, 2023 9:33 am
comethead wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 8:23 am
The car ran great and the new gearing changed its track behavior drastically. Had to relearn every corner to keep the engine in its ideal rev zone of 5500-6500 RPM. Top end felt faster and I was keeping up with the fast cars without hitting the 6700 RPM rev limit as much. I forgot to change the speedo driven gear with the new rear gears so I wasn’t sure how fast I was going but my buddy with the yellow Falcon usually hits 135MPH on the front straight and I was pulling on him :twisted:
By Sunday I had roasted my front race Hoosiers again and the fun ended a little early. I threw on the street tires and did some practice laps focusing on the turns and braking.
Here's calculator I use to calibrate speedo- https://www.tremec.com/calculadora.php
Close-ratio Toploader is in the dropdown list. Report back on top end speed when you get a chance.
Yeah, hitting the turns faster. Need a sponsor to help pay for tires and brake rotors :D

Joe II
According to the calculator top speed is 143.8 MPH@6700rpm. And with 3.80s its 134.4. According to the speedo I was going around 125 with the 3.80s. So I’m thinking the speedo should read around 135 with the new gears. I wont know til next track day :x

Thanks for the link!

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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loman
Posts: 1301
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:03 am
Location: Missouri

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by loman »

You are definately better than me. Taking the Comet around the curves is way more than my short straight 1/4 mile passes. Love reading what you are doing on the track. Have you ever thought about taking it to the Silver State Classic open road challenge in Nevada? That would be cool to see a video of that.
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comethead
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

loman wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 11:21 pm
You are definately better than me. Taking the Comet around the curves is way more than my short straight 1/4 mile passes. Love reading what you are doing on the track. Have you ever thought about taking it to the Silver State Classic open road challenge in Nevada? That would be cool to see a video of that.
Thank you!!! I haven’t looked into that one but I will. Thanks for the heads up!

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

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loman
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by loman »

The Silver State Classic is on my Bucket List to do. Id do it any car to check it off the list. But if i was able to do it in a Comet that would be even better.
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comethead
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
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Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

A friend of mine did that race in a supercharged Fox Mustang. Almost got that dang thing up to 180mph I believe !!
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

comethead
Posts: 5692
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

Update on the Falcon-
With a track weekend coming at the end of October I’ve been attempting to address some issues that I had with the car last outing.
Biggest was the brakes. Although they stop pretty good, after lapping all day they start to act strange. Taking a couple pumps to seat and needing a little more foot pressure to grab hard.
So I’m assuming they’re getting hot, or the fluid is old, or I’m experiencing “pad knock back”. A friend of mine with a 64 post car has been experiencing the same thing. We’re both running the CSRP big bearing spindles. Talking to others running the same spindles he believes the pin on those flexes more than it should when hard in a turn. Moving the rotor side-to-side and pushing the pads outward slightly. Next brake application requires the pads to be “reset” with the pedal.
Anyhow I’m addressing all three theoreticals- bleeding the brakes with fresh hi temp brake fluid, installing brake cooling ducts front and rear and installing spindle “hub spacers”.
The hub spacers supposedly strengthen the spindle pin and prevent knock back. I’ll get back and report on this after the next track day.
Heres some pics:

Hub spacer installed with bearings showing their relationship
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DRP adjustable hub spacer bought from Street or Track
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Short video of the spacer installed and nut torqued. Once its adjusted just right there’s little to no end play, the bearings aren’t preloaded and spin freely. With it installed and torqued it creates a solid “sleeve” through the pin, reinforcing it and preventing it from flexing as much
https://youtube.com/shorts/9ywwQ5n0Oug? ... CYKqe7bddM

Driver side cooling duct
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There’s a plate sandwiched between the spindle and caliper bracket that has a metal duct where the flexible cooling tube is attached, blowing cool 125mph air on the rotor 8)
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There’s a rear drum cooling setup I installed as well… I thought I took pics…I guess not. Couldn’t find ‘em.
It involves drilling holes into the backing plate and bolting on a metal duct attachment. Then running the intakes and flex tubes. I’ll take some pics.

Im hoping to see a difference this next event. I got a set of new Hoosiers and I’m ready to go toe to toe with all the GT350s and Cobras!
:twisted:

I have a new track app called “Track Addict’ for timing and telemetry, and I’m gonna get the GoPro thing sorted out for ya’ll :D

Joe
Last edited by comethead on Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

comethead
Posts: 5692
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 64 Falcon Track Car

Post by comethead »

All installed and ready to rock!
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With spare parts I have sitting around I setup a spare hub for the track. Installed bearing races and long ARP studs
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I visited Home Depot and made up this tool to hammer on the spindle dust cap without denting it. Not as exciting as brake cooling ducts but it worked great and made it a 12 second job! :D
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Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

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