shaun071

Nice Mach mate! Good to see another Aussie here

Great write up. The Nurelic kit is on my to do list

Don't get offended, but have you got the shifter and linkage on the box in the right orientation? Ie shifter in park(fully rearward under car) and the gearbox link fully rearward? Reason I ask is I've done the same thing myself- forgot park is forward in the car but rearward under the car.

Thanks guys, now I have 2 little Mustang fans to chase after!! I've taken a month off work for the birth and should be able to spend some quality time with the Coupe in between changing nappies. I hope anyway!

CASH INJECTION!!!!!!!! The Falcon convertible sold yesterday and my wife and I welcomed our son Patrick into the world last week. There's not much happening on the Mustang front at the moment but with the cash injection I'll get the momentum back into the project. The expensive parts I've been saving for (Dakota Digital dash, AAW wiring and air-con kit) can finally be bought!!

They were also fitted to the Australian GTHO Falcon production race cars. Here they were fitted with smaller rear wheel cylinders to prevent rear brake lock up.

Not so much the drilled part but certainly slotted rotors will give an improvement in braking that you can feel. I've had several cars that I've fitted slotted rotors to and it made a big improvement. The slots keep the brake pad surface clean giving the pad more "bite". Personally I think drilled discs are only an advantage in racing and can form stress cracks around the drilled holes.

If you are willing to buy callipers from Australia Girlock make an alloy calliper that was fitted to 82-88 Aussie Falcons. They are a straight bolt on to a 68-73 disc brake spindle and about half the weight. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Falcon-XE-XF-Front-calipers-/141315632115?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20e7116bf3&_uhb=1 These are a bit pricey but are fully rebuilt. Most wrecking yards here in Oz will have them for around $50 a set. Freight to the USA might be a killer though.

Territory and Falcon use the same hubs and calipers, the caliper bracket is different. In fact, the terrtory brakes were the factory big brake option for BF. Maybe give them a call and see if they'll do a territory kit for you.

Check the legality in Australia for any braided lines you buy as some states (QLD in particular) here require ADR approved braided lines. It might be easier to get a set made up here. It should be about around $60 each. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FORD-MUSTANG-BIG-BRAKES-GT-SHELBY-64-TO-69-DRUM-FRONT-TO-DISC-KIT-XM-XP-FALCON-/311006969006?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item486975bcae&_uhb=1 This kit is available here in Oz, basically a BA-BF Falcon set up. I haven't used it myself but have heard good things about the kit from people who have used it. Might be easier to source replacement discs etc. They used to list a similar kit with 322mm discs which are Territory rotors and callipers. Shaun.

Where in Aus are you and how quickly do you need them? I'm doing a Falcon disc conversion on my coupe so I don't need the hubs but it won't be for a month or 2. I'm near Toowoomba in Queensland.

I've had it 10 years and had a lot of fun while it was on the road. Legally engineered and mod plated, I bought it as a convertible. Apart from the missing roof its one of the cleanest coupes I've seen, the only rust is in the tail light panel and boot rubber channel. Some people are put off by the convertible thing but I reckon it'd be easier to fit another roof than fix some of the rust I've seen in these cars. Thanks for the info on comp ratios. I can't get 98 in town here either but its available near where I work at Oakey and in Toowoomba so its not a big issue. I was surprised how cheap the stroker kits were for a cleveland- about $1400 from Summit. I've been told to steer clear of Procomp kits- they're cheap but nasty.

Thanks Ash!! My wife's doing well so far with 4 weeks to go. It's all happened pretty quick for us as our daughter is only 17 months old so the kids will be nice and close together. I've been tossing around the idea of a stroker too. My only real issue I have with it is getting the compression right with the closed chamber heads. What comp can you reliably run on pump fuel these days? I'll have to do the sums and check if it fits the budget. I still have to sell off my XB coupe shell and some other parts and see what that brings into the budget.

Part of the reason I'm doing the cleveland is budget!! Second baby is due at any time now. By the time I bought a 302 roller engine and decent heads etc etc it was a lot cheaper to just freshen up the 351. I was thinking of trying the single plane as its a low rise and small port manifold. Also I'll be running 3.5 gears so the engine will be operating at a slightly higher rpm for a given speed anyway, which might overcome any low speed lack of torque against a dual plane. I've also been looking at running longer 6.020" rods from a 302C with a locally made short piston. It apparently gives a boost in low-mid range torque. It's a common mod here on 351C's.

That made for interesting reading!! The Aussie 351's of the early 80's came factory equipped with a 800cfm carter thermoquad and most guys here fit 750cfm holley type carbs when upgrading. One of the 650 Demon carbs on the list looks like it might be workable. The coupe will mostly be street driven with the occasional run down the 1/4 or street sprint. Most of the towns around here set up a road course in industrial estates and have a weekend of racing. I've been wanting to do that for years but haven't had a car worth running.

I've decided to go with a 351C for the coupe. I thought about all the different options of 5.0 roller, 302 clevor, etc but kept coming back to this 351C I've got in the shed. I built it up about 12 years ago to run on straight LPG (propane) and was in my daily driver Falcon for 6 years without any problems. I'll need to change a few things to run it on gasoline again but it all comes down to budget. It's there, I own it and it's doing nothing sitting in the shed. Specs are XD block (thicker bores and main webs) Stock 351 crank rods and .020" flat top pistons 214/224 @ 050" Crow cam hyd lifters hardened pushrods h/d springs 302C 58cc closed chamber Aussie heads 2V intake 4V exhaust valves hardened seats Redline street torker single plane intake Factory Bosch electronic distributor recurved to suit LPG. Custom 7 litre sump From memory the block was machined to zero deck height and the comp ratio was 11.3:1. I will have to drop compression for pump gas, probably with dished top pistons and freshen up the rest of the engine with new gaskets, bearings etc. I got the single plane intake as it works better with LPG but should I change to a dual plane for gasoline and any suggestions on which one? Also, which carb? I've used 600 vac sec Holley's before but that was 10+ years ago and I think there is better choices out there now. Shaun

I've seen a 70 coupe fitted with these mirrors from a 71 Falcon GT. It's different but I like them. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-FORD-XY-GT-TEAR-DROP-MIRRORS-CAPRI-CORTINA-RX3-GEMINI-DATSUN-R100-RX2 I've also looked at adapting a set of mirrors from a 70's Falcon gt. Closer to the originals but need some work on the bases to fit properly. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ford-Falcon-XA-XB-XC-GT-Coupe-Remote-Mirrors-Matching-Pair-/221489445611?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3391ccbaeb&_uhb=1

My concern with using the cooler in the radiator is if the cooler splits or leaks you then have water in the trans and will most likely fry it. I've seen it happen a few times.

The strut rods are used for castor adjustment and should be adjusted the same amount unless there are frame rail issues.You need more castor for modern radial tires and you may have to adjust the pax side to match the driver side and give the font valance a tweak to clear the tires. Does the steering self centre or do you need to pull it back to centre? Did the alignment shop do a full alignment or just do a toe adjustment?

Very nice!! I was convinced black was the colour for me but the silver with black tail light panel looks great!!

It's a slightly different thing here in Australia. The first gen Camaro seems to pull more dollars than a 69 coupe for example but a 69 fastback is worth more than both. I bought my 69 coupe (running driveable but missing a few minor parts) for $11k, Camaro's in similar condition were in the high teens/low 20's and fastbacks started in the low 20's with high 20's being the norm. This is for running drivable cars, you would see the odd fastback for 15k but it would be a real project- in pieces, major body work missing engine etc.

Any time mate. The Aussie Mustangtech forum has some very switched on people with great info on the Falcon part swaps that work and more importantly what doesn't work.

When I heard we were getting the Mustang I gave my wife my best pleading eyes but was told I already HAVE a Mustang and when does she get her F150!! With one toddler and another due in 6 weeks we need a big wagon. Our Territory was heavily rear ended 2 days ago so we may be in the market for another family truckster soon. It still surprises me that Ford USA didn't pick up the Aussie Falcon and Territory. Big comfy reasonably economical and RWD!!!!

+1 on the F150- my wife would loooove a dual cab F150. The XR6 doesn't look too bad, was it stolen/recovered? We had an 08 BF2 XR6 6 speed auto- was a rocket even with the stock 4.0.

Hi Glenn, I'll be using XC spindles. They bolt straight in but you have to use XY-XC outer tie rod ends which are the same size as 70 Mustang. Any Falcon spindle from XR to XF is a direct bolt in you just have to use the tie rod end that suits the spindle. In fact upper and lower control arms from the same models are also a bolt in. Some guys like to use the XC-XF upper control arm as it has rubber bushes rather than the shaft. The main reason for the Falcon spindle is for an easy and cheap disc brake conversion using XF discs and XF Girlock Alloy callipers. I know there is bigger and better front brakes out there but for price/availability in Aus you can't beat the XF brakes