[Dangledown]

Hi all. Newbie to owning a Fairlane. I bought a 63 that is straight as an arrow from the firewall back. Has a 302 and a c4. Ran good before the previous owner got in an accident. Driver front was crushed along with radiator, grill, bumper, etc. Essentially the front end was shoved into the motor. I have torn down the front so far and it looks as if most, if not all the damage stayed in front of the shock towers. I have access to a parts car , so should I cut the donor from the towers forward, or should I go from the firewall? Working on a tight budget, like most..... Also if this parts car falls through, what else besides a Meteor can I use? Any help or suggestions would be great, as I am trying to come up with the best plan of attack.

 

[FEandGoingBroke]

That'll buff right out.

 

[Jetfixr320]

I bought a 65 Falcon that had been wrecked and repaired at some point in it's life late 60s or early 70's? And left to sit in a barn. I found out later when I got it running and back on the road. That it had more issues then I thought.

The drivers side shock tower and lower control arm mount was shoved back 3/4".

So, the first thing I would do, would be take it to a body shop willing to throw it on a frame rack and take some measurements and even make some pulls if need be.

I would do that before cutting and replacing any steel.

And if you don't want to go that route, at least you hang some plumb bobs and take measurements from your suspension attach points. front to rear and and at angles. LR to RF then RR to LF. See if you have any other damage.

And then take it to FE's so he can start buffing. LOL

Jet

 

[Dangledown]

Just a follow up. The further I get into the blue car pictured, the more I realize it is essentially nothing more than a good parts car.Sucks to take it off the road, but I'm not made of money to fix it. I picked up another 63 (sport coupe) that was going to be a parts car for the post, put I have flip flopped and will now be building that one. Between the 2 I can build one sweet car, and maybe have enough left of the blue one to do a bare bones gasser for the strip. This is going to get interesting......

 

[6T4 Bolt]

That'll buff right out.

Shoot ... get me a clay stick & that'll be back to "like new" condition!

6T4 Bolt

 

[FEandGoingBroke]

Oh heck yeah!

 

[13InchTires]

Take the parts off the front. Fenders, grill, front wall. Go to Harbor Freight and buy the body and fender set for 29.99, a heavy mallet, sledge hammer and start banging it back. The bumper, use a come along OR you can rent a port o power hydrological piston.

If you don't have a very sturdy bench to use it, find a good solid THICK tree. best trees for this, is where there are two trees growing together about a foot apart. Ideal is several trees where you can use the trees as a backing, and for several different pushing positions to bent it back. The trees bark will grow back after a while.

I'm not kidding. I would even go to the woods to locate the perfect trees and work on it there if I had to. Although, be a good idea to get permission first from the property owner.

Bend the metal back anyway you can. After bent back, get a body file, and shape the rough edges. If your handy with soder, use 50/50 (if you can find some) a torch, and fill in the rough spots.

Take your time and after your done it'll look good as new. yea, time, it will take time but it'll be worth it. remove the motor and the trans first if you can. You'll have a better look at the suspension, and everything else that may be bent.

Fenders are still available from Nor Am, or other places, but, I would try to bang em back into shape. hell, the only thing you may loose is time... You'll be surprised how far you can get in a hour banging, bending, metal back, no matter how thick.

 

[Dangledown]

Here is a picture of my red one. I think I like the style of this one better also. The post will make a good gasser while the red one will be for my oldest daughter.

 

[Dangledown]

I'm way beyond what shows in the picture for the blue one, and the damage is significantly worse than what it looks like in the above picture. Driver frame rail is toast, core support wrecked, motor and tranny shoved back, drivers shock tower and fender support needs a full cut and weld. So i did some browsing and came across a smoking deal on the red coupe. Much easier, and cheaper to build that one. Also I live in AZ, trees are hard to come by, and saguaros bend easy.

 

[13InchTires]

I'm way beyond what shows in the picture for the blue one, and the damage is significantly worse than what it looks like in the above picture. Driver frame rail is toast, core support wrecked, motor and tranny shoved back, drivers shock tower and fender support needs a full cut and weld. So i did some browsing and came across a smoking deal on the red coupe. Much easier, and cheaper to build that one. Also I live in AZ, trees are hard to come by, and saguaros bend easy.

LOL... Trees here are pleanty, so are "woods". Looks like it'll be a nice gasser. Keep us posted, and post progressive pictures.

 

[joe-t]

just grab a sawzall and go for it