BUILD THREAD For 1964 Falcon Sprint to Monte Carlo Rallye FIA spec'

[Steve Holmes]

I finally got to meet Paul last week and take a look at his Falcon Sprint build. As well as being a bloody nice guy, Paul is doing an incredible job with this car. This is going to set new standards for period correct historic tin top race cars in New Zealand. The attention to detail is just amazing, and everything is very well researched and thought out. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Paul B]

I finally got to meet Paul last week and take a look at his Falcon Sprint build. As well as being a bloody nice guy, Paul is doing an incredible job with this car. This is going to set new standards for period correct historic tin top race cars in New Zealand. The attention to detail is just amazing, and everything is very well researched and thought out. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Thanks for your kind words Steve. It was great to meet up and "chew the auto grease". I really enjoyed having you visit.
I am still enjoying the build very much. I am chomping at the bit to get this finished, just the fibreglass and roll cage slowing me down, then its off to paint.
Hopefully will get up to HMC HSC next meet, I think in October.
Cheers

[Paul B]

Reproduction parts>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Well, where would we be without these parts. We are so very fortunate to have many aftermarket companies manufacturing and suppling these parts to keep these old gems functioning and looking schmecco.
BUT, caution, with some aftermarket reproduction parts, while doing my steering I found the cheaper reproduction inner & outer tie rods are not the same specification as the more heavy duty OEM Inner tie rods
The left is a cheaper repro' sold with the V8 part number but 9/16 nut and look at the lower ball joint shaft taper
The right is the V8 OEM product 11/16 nut. They both fit... but.


There are other companies making high spec' repro' steering parts, the same as OEM, but they are 3 times the price of the cheaper parts, but well worth it
Watch & caution for cheaper steering parts that are around US$30

Also the toe adjuster sleeves:
The top one is the OEM with 9/16 UNF nut & bolt
The lower one is the cheaper Repro part with 10mm Metric nut & bolt the steel clamp shell is 1mm lighter than OEM and the sleeve is near 1mm thinner than OEM. These sell around US$10

The issue here is some of these repro' parts are not as the original manufacturer has designed and I will not be using these parts on my build.

Also watch for rear spring hangers, there are some light weight examples out there too. In most cases it is best to restore the OEM part if possible.

Of the hundreds of part I have purchased, only a very small percentage I have found to be like this.
So I still rate these companies, on the whole, really helpful.