[47Austin]

Oh well, take two and make yourself one real nice rust free one. I hate rust, so i think you got a good deal. Now you too can have a 2.3 parts stash.lol Sure hope you have a nice warm shop.

[John W.]

She's home! Sorta . . .

The tires are too bald and the alley too icy to get it in the garage, but it runs like a champ!



Overall, it's in SCARY-GOOD shape. Most of the interior is gone, the "patina" is a bit much, and the accessory wiring has some "issues" from the mice, but it's REALLY solid. I'm absolutely stunned.

[John W.]

A few weeks later, not much has changed. I bought a new set of tires for F2 (Falcon #2) and I have current license plates for it. I rebuilt the carb tonight, and it runs fantastic! In fact, once I get the choke set, I think it might run better than my 2000 Ranger!

Almost all of the brake parts are in, but haven't started replacing everything. This one isn't getting an LSD, but it will get cleaned up, and the brake lines refreshed.

The weather is starting to turn around up here, so maybe I can get some real work done in the next few weeks. Maybe. I'm also looking at re-covering the seats and tossing some carpet & headliner in this car, so that should be cheap - not really!

[John W.]

Another week, and another update. F2 is in the garage, where it belongs. Noone hears it sing its song . . . (Weezer reference)

I have new disc brakes for the front, an 8" for the rear, and I'm going to Por-15 over the non-rusted-out floorboards before laying down some sound insulation and moving the bench seat from the black car to the blue one.

The black car is getting a set of 1968 Cougar XR7 leather buckets for the front. The floor might get some floor treatment, but just patches rather than full replacement like I originally planned.

I've also received the flex plate, step dowels, and the intercooler for the 2.3T. I'm dead-set, this engine is going into the black '68, and the blue '68 is staying with the scary-good 200 I6. In fact, this *might* get a legitimate restoration. I'm currently looking at lebarron-bonney for seat covers for a super-base-model '68 Falcon.

I'm SERIOUSLY looking at REPLACEMENT SEAT COVERS that cost more than this car cost new. Let that sink in for a moment, because I can't. It hurts my heart. And my wallet. But honestly, that's just how original F2 really is. I really don't want to hack it up too much.

I'm willing to put in disc brakes and an 8" rear just to make it safe, though. So, no matter what, it's not going to be a perfect factory restore.

[47Austin]

That por 15 is some good stuff, it won't wear off you for somewhere around a month.lol I keep mine in the fridge, with a piece of thin plastic between the lid and the can , after i've used it. Works best for reuse, if you ever want to get the lid back off again. WARNING, it will make all your wife's pies taste like por 15, and you will have to go buy your own fridge.Also after at least 17 years, the kids still remember, their personal experience. Pm me when you decide what to do about a converter.

[John W.]

Yeah, I still have to decide what to do with the converter. I'm hesitant at the moment because I'm not sure what the I6 C4 even has inside of it. And, now, I'm hearing I need a new oil pan for the Fox 2.3 to fit in the early I6 engine bay. All of which I haven't measured yet because I'm too busy shoveling snow.

Supposedly, in the next 30 days, I might get to drive ONE of these cars. Maybe. Right now, I'm honestly wondering when I'll be able to drive my Fiat 500 - my "GOOD" car - again.

[John W.]

Well, March is over and it's still snowing here. This winter just will not give up! Falcon 2 has disc brakes on the front (AND WORKING!!!!), the rear axle is ready to swap EXCEPT for the brake line T - the correct one is already on order. I found the radio delete plate in the glove box, so now it's getting an under-dash antenna and the new stereo will be inside the glove box.

Mechanically, it's coming along, but I have wiring gremlins that are going to cause some problems. The other day, the 12v wire to the coil burned for no apparent reason. While - WHILE - investigating THAT, the left half of the dash lights and the fuel gauge stopped working. I thought that was the CVR behind the dash, but now it's working again. Then, while doing the brakes, both wires going to the brake warning switch under the hood are burned away. This isn't a complicated car, so I'm currently considering throwing in a JEGS replacement harness and ripping out whatever is going on now.

[TurboRay]

Sounds like a barrel-o-laughs, John!! :dunno: <font color=navy>

[John W.]

Yeah, still trying to trace it down. The burns are in strange places. I think this is mouse-related, but I'm about to tear into it as the weather warms up. I fixed the dash lights with some scotch-brite to the multi-pin contact on the back of the instrument cluster. Still no gas gauge (or it's actually empty? haven't tried hard yet.) and obviously no brake warning light without patching the under-hood wires that melted away.

The rear brake T hose arrived tonight, and the rear axle is entirely plumbed. I'm going to drain the gear oil out of it and put new in. Unlike the first car, this one isn't getting an LSD or a complete rebuild, but this rear axle also came out of a recently running/driving accident car, not an unknown junkyard donor.

[John W.]

It's been a while since I have posted an update, but it's about time to get back to the black car again. Falcon 2 is on the road, and doing really well. I still need to replace the headliner, and the paint is still terrible, but it drives like a feather. I even found the original build sheet behind the driver's door panel.