62 Falcon - $5k challenge, how will it rise from the ranger's ashes?

[milner351]

Thanks 82z, I think given the time crunch - I may just get a regular plate for it now and mess with the 62 plate later, here's a quote from the michigan secretary of state page:

A special provision in law allows a historical vehicle owner to use an authentic Michigan license plate from the same year the historical vehicle was manufactured. The plate can be obtained through a private sale or any other means available.

Reproduction and remanufactured plates as well as authentic dealer and manufacturer plates are not allowed. The plate must display the correct colors for the year of issuance.

Blue plates with white letters were issued from 1984 to through 2006. These may be used as an authentic historic plate if the plate displays an authentic Michigan year tab corresponding to the model year of the historic vehicle. (Because 1984 blue plates were issued without a year tab, applications for 1984 model year historic vehicles do not require a year tab).

To qualify for an authentic license plate, the vehicle must be:

26 or more years old
Owned solely as a collector's item
A vehicle registered with a regular historic plate or authentic historic plate cannot be used for general transportation. The vehicle can only used for participating in historical club activities, exhibitions, tours, parades, car shows, swap meets, and similar uses.
Fee: $35 -- Make checks and money orders payable to State of Michigan. Authentic license plate applications must be submitted by mail. Applications cannot be processed at a Secretary of State office.

Applying for an authentic historic plate

Owners need the following items:

A color photocopy, a color scan, or color photograph of the license plate (passenger, commercial, trailer, or motorcycle). Do not mail the actual plate. Personalized, government, law enforcement, manufacturer, dealer, in-transit repair, disability, and special purpose plates cannot be used as authentic license plates. If in doubt, check with the department before purchasing a license plate.
Proof of ownership, preferably a copy of the vehicle title
Proof of Michigan no-fault insurance (not required for trailers)
$35 -- make checks or money orders payable to State of Michigan
A completed Application for Historical Michigan License Plate

[STINEY]

Hmmm.....very similar to Ohio's historical vehicle plates then.

I didn't want to rain on the YOM plates ( I personally really like them), and Ohio's YOM plates are less restrictive than our Historical plates.

But there are a lot of hungry municipalities out there these days, and around here speciality plates are a sign you can pay a hefty ticket for whatever they can find.

Sounds like the pinion angle came out right where you wanted it! 300# sounds like a lot at first, but with a full tank of fuel, exhaust, cage and interior seats etc, that was probably a good middle ground weight to measure with.

[milner351]

20 gallon tank, 6.6 pounds per gallon - there's 132 pounds plus the weight of the tank.

The battery is going back there, - what's a 24F battery weigh? Atleast 20lb.

Rear bumper and brackets, trailer hitch.... it starts adding up quick - plus the distributed weight of the rest of the stuff that isn't in the car.

I set it to 2* with those 300lb, figuring the pinion climb will probably add 2-3* on launch, with the ideal street car setting being 3* to make a parrallel line with the 3* down angle of the engine/transmission.

It was interesting to see that at full droop - it went to 4* - so just in full suspension travel with a leaf spring car - the angle probably moves at least 3 degrees.


Haggerty quote on insurance with an $8500 value is $231 a year - I think I can live with that.

[Thumpin455]

I considered historical plates, but I want to drive them more than just parades and crap like that. If I want to go get groceries or run for parts in it, I dont want to be hassled over it. It isnt that bad putting regular plates on it, you already own it so it isnt a big deal.

[mrocketscience]

Thanks guys - I agree SBG - I never buy anything that is supposed to be hardened from HF - and no abrasives, or wire wheels.

I have a ryobi grinder I bought at HD a few years back when working on the boat house and docks - I've kept it at home - brought it to the shop last night - we'll see how long it lasts.

I painted the inside of the floors last night with a brush and POR15 - I had an open can from a bit of rust repair I did on my brothers mini van and figured I'd best use it before it turned into a hockey puck. I put it on with HF chip brush and threw the brush away - only used about 1/4 quart. I will probably clean up the remainder of the wheel wells were I did the mini tub work and get those covered with POR as well. The engine compartment I'd like to spray - as well as the underside of the floors - brushing all that over head would be a major PITA.

A little story about POR 15.... Learn from my buddies mistake. He had a gallon can of POR 15 he wanted to use on the floors of his 67 Mustang. However, this can had been opened before and used on another project. So of course when he opened the can , the stuff had hardened on the top. So, thinking he could break through he got out a big hammer and a screwdriver to pound a hole through the top layer. No go. No amount of pounding on it would break it. Ok, thats not gonna work lets try the bottom! A can opener should do the trick. Yup, that worked, and not realizing he had put everything under pressure by pounding on the top what do you think happened when he applied the can opener? Yup, covered from head to toe in POR 15 in the resulting expolosion. A lot of acetone evenually cleaned him up. So, don't do this.

[milner351]

^^^ LORD that would be a horrible mess!

I heard of a trick from a guy I bought a bunch of boat epoxy products from, before hammering the lid back on the can
(with a plastic back folded over a couple times to help it seal)
Open the valve on the propane or mapp gas or welding gas - whatever you have that's heavier than air - put the nozzle inside the can and let the gas flow for several seconds to displace the air with dry gas.... then put the lid on.

Generally it's the humidity in the air (and or the oxygen) that gets the stuff to harden (a galactic waste of $$$ in the case of POR15)
so if you displace the air with something else, the stuff lasts a lot longer.

I also keep POR15 in the garage fridge to keep it cool and keep the temperature swings to a minimum.

[milner351]

OK - new subject - my next move is to get all the fab work done and the engine compartment and undercarraige painted so I can start bolting everything together.

I've gotten a few suggestions to install roll cage like tubing from the firewall down to the frame rails as far forward as practical.

In order to do this I'd have to buy some tubing -
what diameter and wall thickness??

Hopefully the HF bottle jack tubing bender will be up to the task of bending the "proper" tubing.

The tubing would be welded directly to the firewall and the frame rails - no plates - right?

[SuperBuickGuy]

1 5/8 DOM, .120 wall
requirement is .118 for cages, as you're already building a cage for the inside, you might as well use the right stuff on the outside.

[STINEY]

For the front bars no plates "might" pass tech, but I'm fairly certain that since you have a unibody car, you need certain size plates welded to the attachment points for the 4 or 6 points of the actual protective cage.

Only true Frame cars pass with no plates, as long as the bar goes to the frame.

(Of course, I say this knowing 2 or 3 guys with cages welded to the floors of frame cars who have never had tech issues, go figure)


Oh, and on the HF benders, if what you are talking about looks like this, you will want to modify the pivots. Take out the rollers and make these simple sliders that match the OD of the tubing you are bending. The HF pipe benders tend to flatten on the inside of the tubing, but where they really fall short is the "kinks" they put on the outside of the radius where those rollers are.
The sliders help this a LOT, no kinks. Still a touch of flattening on the inside, not bad though.

[milner351]

I don't plan on any cage inside the vehicle, at least not at this point, I'm just talking about something to add strength to the front end to make up for the fact that I've removed the shock towers, and the firewall to shock tower braces.

[STINEY]

Gotcha. For some reason I was picture a cage on your schedule..... guess that advances your agenda substantially!

The kinky-slider thing still applies to those front bars though. Which are a great idea in my mind, stiffer is better.

This is turning into another of those posts that don't read real good...... I'll stop while I'm "ahead".....

[milner351]

OK - I will put it on my list to measure how much 1 5/8" OD .120 wall DOM tubing I will need to complete said bars. I have some 1/8" plate I can use for the connection points.

[Bob Holmes]

You would need to plate it at the firewall, otherwise it will punch through on impact. Please make sure that its trajectory doen't have it hitting you in the chest.

I would not intersect the frame rails much further forward than the old shock towers. You want to maintain a crush zone, in the event of an accident. I try to have those tubes serve as a stiffener for the suspension. So landing it relatively close to the suspension mounting points is a plus.

[milner351]

Roger that Bob - I will take that into consideration - I can't go much further forward of the front upper control arm connection points anyhow. I will try to locate the connection to the firewall as far outboard as practical - have to leave room for the hood hinges, and miss the master cylinder on driver side, HVAC stuff on pass side.

[Scott Liggett]

So far this project has killed two harbor frieght $9 electric grinders..... darn near started one on fire Saturday cleaning the floors with the cupped wire wheel - which came completely apart - and it was a good one - is there a low speed grinder for wire wheels?

I'm considering just brushing on the paint on the interior floors - not going to see it under the carpet anyway.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13676[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]13677[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]13678[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]13679[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]13680[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]13681[/ATTACH]

I use a single speed B&D non reversible drill with a cup wire brush on my floors. It is older than me. Gets hot to hold. Shoots sparks out the sides, but still won't quit. I bought a Ryobi grinder that got some good hours building my headers.

I have to say I've never see a mockup engine that gutted before. Wild.