FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => FE Technical Forum => Topic started by: gregaba on February 04, 2019, 06:55:09 PM
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Hi
I am putting together a mild street 428 for my 63 Galaxie.
It is stock bore and stroke, aluminum heads with 2.09 1.65 valves and jayb's adapter. I am planning to run either an air gap or the trick flow intake. It has a Comp cams 280H can and assembly.
I built a C-6 with the TCI master kit and am running a TCI sizzler torque converter.
Looking at everything I think I will need a lower rear ratio then what is in the car now [3.25].
I am getting ready to order another Roush-Yates rear and need some advice.
I was thinking anything from a 3.50 to a 3.75 ratio would give me the performance on the street I want but with my combo I am not sure.
Would like to get at least 10 MPG but can sacrifice if need be.
Greg
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What size tires are you planning on running, and will it be mainly highway driving, in town, or both? Nobody ever mentions it, but tire size really affects how the rear ratio 'works' on highways and in town driving.
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That is still up in the air.
The car I bought was a former drag car from new. It has a narrowed 9 inch in it and I can run a tire up to 13 inch's wide.
As to the height I just havn't thought about it yet.
I know when I go to the strip I will run a M&H 10.0/26.0-15 which is 26.3 inch's OD.
For the street I will probable run as big a street tire as I can fit in the wheel well.
Probably about 29 inch's tall.
I don't know how tall the tire will be as I don't have one yet.
The car will mainly be used as a daily driver in town and highway with about ten or twelve trips to the strip a year for some fun.
Greg
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Tire size makes a difference, 26 to 29 is about the same difference between a 3.50 and 3.70 or more
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Yes you are right.
I thought the 29 inch street tire would give me a little more gas mileage on the street where the 26 inch slick would put me in the ball part for a better strip time.
I would lose a little performance on the street but I still want a good response when I hit the gas.
Greg
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I know it’s some cash.....
But if you even consider it, I run a Gear vendors OD and 4.30 gears.
It really makes the car. I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
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I would love to have a gear venders overdrive but the only I could afford one is to buy a used one.
I have looked on the internet several times and haven't found a used one yet.
Want to sell yours[LOL]
Greg
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I’d sell it, but then my driveshaft wouldn’t fit so good
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LOL
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A 26-inch tire in a Galaxie wheel well is gonna look a tad small. Just sayin'. I also say put the 28x12.5 on this page https://www.mickeythompsontires.com/drag-tires/et-street-r-bias out back with a 4.11/4.30 gear for both street and strip. Need mileage? Drive another car. ;D
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26's do look goofy.
Pictures of my car with 26's and the second photo with 28's
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4886/46989627571_fe53bbee00_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2eAj8bB)IMG_0958 (https://flic.kr/p/2eAj8bB) by Drew Pojedinec (https://www.flickr.com/photos/154777202@N07/), on Flickr
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7892/46075680705_652b4f0ce5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dcxUC2)IMG_0611 (https://flic.kr/p/2dcxUC2) by Drew Pojedinec (https://www.flickr.com/photos/154777202@N07/), on Flickr
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And NOW I say that gregaba owes me a cheezbrgr for keeping him from looking goofy. Sadly, though, we now get an outside glimpse of Drew's workshop in the second pic. Black wheels look good.
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Heh, not my shop.... but it would make an awesome carb lab to take to the track.
I’d intended to restore that Shasta and tow it with my car.... call it the trailer queen.
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Heh, not my shop....
No kidding...really?
but it would make an awesome carb lab to take to the track.
I’d intended to restore that Shasta and tow it with my car.... call it the trailer queen.
AHA! A car show dude! I knew it! I'm dialing CNN right now.
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im running a 4.11 on the street in my 66 comet,428 with 27 inch tires,c6. i stay away from the main highways because i have to turn 4000 just to do the speed limit.i had a 3.70 and sold it.i believe it would have been a good compromise.plenty of take off,but more tolerable on the highway.my vote goes for a 3.70 with 28-29 inch tires or a 3.89 with 28-29 inch tires if you want a little more take off and less highway driving.
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Car looks tough in that second pick Drew. Love the stock wheel look. Maybe some poverty caps.
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Drew, just wondering if you have any problems getting that rear tire/wheel combo installed on the car? Sometimes rears don't drop enough, and trying to stuff big tires into the wheelwells is quite the challenge, if not impossible. '63s are spring cars though, so maybe not an issue?
BTW, nice car, nice stance, nice wheel combo. I don't recall seeing a picture of it before.
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Doug the procedure is to just jack the car up on the frame by the forward spring eye. The rear drops a LOT.
The Moser axles with long studs are more an issue than tire size. Juuuust squeaks out.
275/60/15 rear
215/70/15 front
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Interesting, I run a 275/60/15 on my Merc and can't get the wheels off without dropping the shocks to let the spring droop. I haven't measured the shocks but they're Monroe's I picked up from one of the parts houses for a Galaxie. Even with the shock dropped, it's a bit of a squeeze to get the tire past the wheelhouse. Guess the Merc could be different although it looks like roughly the same wheel opening.
With the combo outlined, I'd run a 3.73 with 28-29" tire for all around use
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>I run a 275/60/15
That's a 28" tire. If you decide to go in that size, a 3.70 is a decent choice. A 26" slick for the track is an interesting idea, even if it does look a little small on the car. If you plan to do any good amount of highway driving, then maybe a 3.50 but even with a 26" tire you'll take a hit. SO another vote for 3.70s. I personally run 4.56s with a 28" but I can stick to the side roads all the way to the track. If I was to drive and not tow.
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Couldn’t say chilly.
I did install new Eaton springs when I did the rear end. Maybe they are a little different.
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Good pictures [nice car]. The small tires are out.
My problem is I live in a very small town without a stoplight. We have a stop sign suspended over the main street with cables.
It is a 10 mile round trip to the closest grocery store.
The closest big? town is a 70 mile round trip and a trip to the racetrack is a 180 mile round trip.
We have the turnpike 5 miles away so I can get on it to travel. The 2 lane roads are a little dangerous if you have trouble driving 65 mph.
With the distance I have to drive you can see why I am having problems deciding what rear to pick.
Cheeseburger's are Free for anyone who shows up.
I appreciate all the advice but 4000 RPM going down the road is out for me.
I guess another plan would be to go to a automatic OD but then I would have to buy a $750.00 adapter and build another auto to hold up to what I will be doing to it.
That will set back my build another year.
Greg
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Had 28's on my '63 Gal notchback with wide, black steelies as well and it looked great.
26's do look goofy.
Pictures of my car with 26's and the second photo with 28's
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4886/46989627571_fe53bbee00_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2eAj8bB)IMG_0958 (https://flic.kr/p/2eAj8bB) by Drew Pojedinec (https://www.flickr.com/photos/154777202@N07/), on Flickr
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7892/46075680705_652b4f0ce5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dcxUC2)IMG_0611 (https://flic.kr/p/2dcxUC2) by Drew Pojedinec (https://www.flickr.com/photos/154777202@N07/), on Flickr
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I run 275/60/15 BFG's on the black car. I started with 8" steels and poverty caps...but found the one rear rim to be bent pretty bad so I swapped to Rodlites. I do like the poverty cap look though. If I ever get around to putting a new center on that rim, I could reuse them.
(https://i.postimg.cc/Y0RnD1DC/64gal1.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Pr6VmQ86/blkblwr1.jpg)
I have Moser axles and long studs, so I do have to drop the axle pretty far to get them out. The shocks are plenty long enough so I don't have to disconnect them. The Rodlites are 10" rims. I have customized my rearend a few years back by taking a bit off each side to give it more clearance on the fender lip. The body does not sit perfectly square on the frame and the passenger side rubbed a bit with the 10" rim. The 8" steel rims were fine. I snipped about 1/2" off that side when I put the brace on the housing.
I run 3.89 gears. It's not bad on the highway, like 3500 or so at 65 mph. Mileage? Well, never really considered or checked.
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After looking at the good looking Fords and Merc's everybody is posting I think Jay needs to have a thread where people can post pictures.
If I had a 6-71 sticking out of my hood I wouldn't worry about MPG either.
Greg
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I think 3.70s and 28" tall tires are the right choice. Here's a formula: MPH = (RPM X Tire Diameter)/(336 X Gear Ratio). So with that combination you would be at 67 MPH at 3000 RPM, less whatever the converter slippage might be; figure 200 +/- RPM for that. 3200 RPM going down the road isn't too bad...
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I can live with that. I called SRI which has the NASCAR rear ends now and at the moment they have a 3.63 rear. I think I will wait and see if they can come up with a 3.70 in the future.
Thanks everyone for the advice.
Greg
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The difference between 3.63 and 3.70 I would not sweat(2% change is not much and you won't see/feel the 50 rpm difference). I guess it depends on your timeline of needing it.
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You are right. I think I will call them and order today.
Greg
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I have come to the same conclusion as most of you guys. My plan for my next build is to use 3.64 gears and 26" tires for the street and strip. That'd be 275/50R15 drag radials for street. 26x10" slicks for strip. For highway driving I will mount some 28.3" (225/75R15's) on another set of wheels. This will be with a C6 and no overdrive. 10 minutes to swap the wheels and the highway revs will drop 300 rpm. That is significant to me.
paulie
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I had 275 60 15 on 8 inch AR torquethrust rims. No problem to remove them
but they where hitting somewhere on one side, when i had two persons
in the backseat. I suspect it was a blob of undercoating that the tire hit.
Now i have 255 70 or is it 75? 15 29 inch O.D anyway. i have to jack between frame and axle
to remove the wheel.
(https://i.postimg.cc/3ww2s12P/50589130-2318798218152729-2271912346668498944-n.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Here it is loaded down with camping gear and stuff for two weeks vacation, A.K.A one small trunk half full with my
clothes and three big trunks with the wife's shoes and clothes ;D Tools, water, oil and gas can. Unloaded the rear wheel opening is even
with O.D of rim
And with my 2.70-2.80 something in the rear its no rocket of the line. But cruises on a nice rpm on long trips, and here thats almost
every trip l
I should build a second pumpkin with 3.70 something, swaping it on a Ford axle is such a quick job
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I think I will still use a separate of wheels with the 26 inch tall Drag slicks when I go to the strip to race even if they look dorkey.
It will only take 10 minutes to swap them out and when I finish racing I can just swap on the 29 inch street tire's for the trip home.
Greg
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i have 2 sets of wheels for mine.i put 275 75s on about october, all the way around,and from april till oct i put my other set on with drag radials on the back on 8 inch rims and 6s on the front.works for me because i drive it year round except on extreme weather days
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I plan on useing this car year round like you do.
It was a Drag car from new and only has 22,000 miles on it.I removed the roll bar and I will have to add a vintage air unit because it has nothing now.
At least I can get a 13 inch wide tire in the wheelwells so I can run some rubber.
When I registered it the lady told me it hadn't been registered since 1969.
Well it will be fun bringing it back to life.
Greg
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I always like it when Heo posts pictures of his....um, "car". ;) ;D
I ran 275s with 3.89 gears for years, and found it very acceptable on the street. 3.70s would be a nice compromise if you wanted to keep the 'long distance' driving option. Not the greatest for performance though, so for a heavy car, dropping to a 26" slick for track use would really help. Who cares if it looks a bit odd.
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Man, the good ol street car days. I ran the old Mickey Thompson I (eye) tread tires on my 72 fastback mustang with a 428 station wagon engine that never had a piston or rod outa it. I had the ol 390 heads off a few times for back yard porting and valve job, seals and shim head gaskets, shaved um down till there was no thumb print, several different cam swaps but the ol PAW .554 lift, 292 duration cam and a set of Rhodes lifters got the job done with a port-0-sonic and 700dp . A Mallory duel point YL and Accel big yellow coil got the job done through a hays 3 leaver clutch and a big in big out top loader. 3.73's was the gear of choice and a Detroit locker after I blew apart a few limited slip units. Home made sub frame connectors, bolt on ladder bar kit with housing floaters, man I dogged that car so hard that both rear frame rails split right over the accle by the time I was done. For a while I would keep a box full of adjustable rockers in the boot cause the oldfactory ones would give up the ghost after a few 6600 rpm runs. Finally I got a set of the good ductile iron ones. Blew the doors off a 66 tri power GTO and embarrassed the hell outa the hot shot in high school with the big block 70 chevelle.
Sorry, reminiscing.....
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I agree, nice cars everyone ! And a fun thread to follow :)
My '64's rear wheels & tires (275/60/15s) do take a bit to remove, even with the extra leaves I have going. Added to 3.50 gears....well, I'm sorta 'there' ::), ...at least cruise-speed wise. I did have 255s on it at one time, and before then, even smaller diameter 14s. The difference in comfortable cruising speeds was VEry noticeable going to the 275s. But alas, I then 'gained' that just as noticeable 'dog'....as in pulling away from a stop. That's another story though, one I know the answer to, just not the wallet for --yet, lol. For the most part, lowering the interior noise and droning makes the car more enjoyable for both myself, and my wife. And you know that ole saying "Happy wife....." :p
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/26792799480_4bf19ca769_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/GPA6QC)morts051416e (https://flic.kr/p/GPA6QC) by 1964 Galaxie 500 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/norms64gal/), on Flickr
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/579/22972094700_7dfb680439_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/AZXZqh)morts111515a (https://flic.kr/p/AZXZqh) by 1964 Galaxie 500 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/norms64gal/), on Flickr
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Hi ever one
I really like seeing pictures of your cars. We don't have that many old Galaxie's on the street here.
That is the reason I bought mine. I sold my 2013 Boss 302 to finance this build.
Even though it was a blast to drive it looked like every other Mustang on the road.
I had a 55 Ford 2 Dr. Custom when I went to Vietnam. When I came back I was just starting building hot rods. It had a 292 in it.
I bought a wrecked 64 T-Bird and pulled the 390 4 speed out of it and installed it in the 55.
Before I installed the engine I took it to the Ft. Sill auto shop and had a friend of mine master sargent port the heads added a Schnider racing cam and lifters 2 4 bbl intake and a set of used headers.
I ran 15 inch drag slicks on the street and this car would haul for the time.
I beat everything around south Okla. street racing and even beat a hemi cuda a guy towed up from 90 miles away.
You won't believe how I abused that car.
The funny thing I remember was the most improvement that I made to that car was I took the dist. to the Ford garage and had it curved.
That made an instant improvement and I all ways remember how much difference that made.
Greg
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Norm, I see you have that same extra crome side moulding that
i have . Suposed to be rare they say
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Thanks Heo ! Yes, I noticed, and admired, yours as well --sure does help to make the car 'pop' doesn't it ? ;)
I try to look for those moldings if/when I see many '64s in one place, and you're right, they are far and few between. The one on the driver's side quarter is a bit banged up, but I can live with it (who knows if I'd EVer find one --affordable that is), lol.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7287/26889070050_330918a718_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/GY6vJ3)elks052116a (https://flic.kr/p/GY6vJ3) by 1964 Galaxie 500 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/norms64gal/), on Flickr
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Norm, Do you know where your car was sold new?
I have seen a few 64s with that moulding on pictures
from Moonshine festivals in Virginia. Mine was sold
in Roanoke Virginia
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Heo,
These molding kits were actually a FoMoCo parts accessory item sold over the counter at dealerships back in the day. I was a Ford dealer parts and service employee from 1975 til 2000, and I can tell ya Ford offered kits for many models throughout the years. Some were kind of goofy looking, to be honest. Sadly, these came before my time ---wouldn't it have been nice to see into the past and pick a bunch up --for all the more they probably were back then. ? lol :P
If I remember right, part number on the 2dr kit would have been: C4AZ-6221048-A
Attached is a pic I found on eBay of a 4dr kit, including original shipping tube, instructions, etc....
Ford also made nice molded door edge guard kits for our cars !
Oh, and my '64 was built right here in the Twin Cities plant (St Paul to be exact), but it spent most of it's life safely away from the rust belt down in Missouri. It's an oddly equipped car to boot, lol ---- bumper guards, white vinyl top, am/fm radio, lower b/side moldings plus rocker mldg, but yet it is just a 500, with a bench seat, a 4-spd, and manual EVERything, lol.
Sorry Greg for hijacking your thread --thanks ! :) Norm
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Norm, my 2 Dr is an oddball also. Split bench, clock, and swing away wheel? The only '64 I've ever seen with swing away.
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Boy that sure is quite a combo, you're right ! I truly cannot remember seeing one in person, come to think of it ....just pics. I tend to like my car even more so, because of it's oddball status, lol.
Norm, my 2 Dr is an oddball also. Split bench, clock, and swing away wheel? The only '64 I've ever seen with swing away.
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I didn't know it had swing away til after I got it home and tried to put a clutch pedal in it. The Z bar and linkage from the pedal was getting caught in this support apparatus on the steering box for the column that I couldn't figure out what it was for. My wagon didn't have it. Then I crawled under the dash and realized what was under there. The brake pedal arm had the zig zag in it to clear the swing of the column. I had to do some customizing to get a clutch linkage to work, but works fine.
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I have a complete kit to convert to swing away
that came with the Galaxie when i bought it
And a guy i did some bodywork on a Jaguar for
Test drove my Galaxie and liked it so much
that he bought a 64 XL with swing away
Tested drove that car but i dont know,,,
I'm not that fat YET ;D that i will
convert
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I don't use it typically, though have swung it over at a cruise just to have people go WTF?
It doesn't go full swing because of the stock brake pedal is now in the way. The original pedal had a big jog to the left to allow swing room. With a clutch pedal installed, that pedal had to be removed. I could cut the stock pedal and jog it to the right some? Just never reached high enough on the "to do" list.
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while everyones talking about early galaxies,my rearend in my comet came out of a 63 galaxie that had 3 duecse 4 speed soild lift iron headers.what i want to know is the yolk has a balancer or something on it.it looks heavy duty.anyone know anything about this.my other rearends dont have it.
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my stock 3.50 four pinion pumpkin have that
"Damper" to. I think i read somwhere why but
in forgotten where and why
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I believe that damper was part of Ford's attempts back then at reducing NVH (noise, vibration & harshness). They were getting ready for the "Quiet Ford" era ..... those years filled with LTD's, Gran Marquis's and Lincolns, lol My '64 not only has that damper, but also had a 2-piece driveshaft (which I have eliminated).
Remember that old Ford & LM commercial with the foreign diamond cutter big-wig riding in the back seat , then cutting a stone and spouting "pairrr-fect !" ...or something like that, lol. Yes, I'm dating myself here, lol. :p
While employed at a Ford store back then, we all had to go to a training course specifically to understand, and repair NVH ....that was circa '77-ish ? It was a big ta-doo to Ford.
while everyones talking about early galaxies,my rearend in my comet came out of a 63 galaxie that had 3 duecse 4 speed soild lift iron headers.what i want to know is the yolk has a balancer or something on it.it looks heavy duty.anyone know anything about this.my other rearends dont have it.
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Galaxie was the worlds most quiet car inside in -64
I picked up some French Hippie hitchhiker somewhere
down in southern Sweden. He was studying to become a
mechanical engineer.
He was amazed how quiet the Galaxie was inside even
though we was doing 80-90 mph. And that he, his girlfriend
and their backpacks fitted in the backseat with room to spare
I Guess by his look he was more used to ride Citroen CV2s,,,,stoned ;D
When i dropped him of he wanted to take pics of the car
and my wife to show his fellow enginering classmates and
teachers so they believed him
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I'll second that that is probably a real 'wtf' getter, lol ! Even us frequent car show attendees might be used to seeing a T-bird with swing-away ---but to see an actual Galaxie with it...... :o
I don't use it typically, though have swung it over at a cruise just to have people go WTF?
It doesn't go full swing because of the stock brake pedal is now in the way. The original pedal had a big jog to the left to allow swing room. With a clutch pedal installed, that pedal had to be removed. I could cut the stock pedal and jog it to the right some? Just never reached high enough on the "to do" list.