eight years later....

 Since my last update a few updates and events have occurred.  Here is a link to recent pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/h1kmFkC5hZZySMyx5  or use QR below

Meanwhile this is what comes to mind as far as what has happened in the last eight years...

Modified the trailer hitch to not hang as low below rear bumper

Added a windshield wiper delay control

Added electric rear window control to keyless entry allowing opening and closing via key fob

Replace mechanical radiator fan with electric

Replace original cargo anchors behind rear seat with anchors for kid's car seats,

Car was damaged in late June 2022 by a garage fire. this resulted needing some minor body repairs and a complete repainting of the exterior which was completed in early 2023.

As part of the the post fire repairs the hood ornament and the exterior rear window switch were removed  and the body infilled in those locations. Also the left rear quarter panel trim "spear" was replaced with a solid piece. It had been previously pieced together in order to bridge over the original gas cap location. 

Short video of garage fire damage.  Paint and body were damaged from falling glass when garage door was opened and the door knob of a side door that was forced open by the Fire Department.  Trim and exterior chrome was strangely "tarnished"  which all had to be hand polished with fairly decent success. 
 

Falconstein gets an attachment

The best place to stop for soft serve that I know of.  We were half way home with the new attachment. It was all the Isuzu drive-train could do to get it up the hill from Fort Mohave/Bullhead.  It was also a good test of recent adjustments to the wiper linkage.  The wipers finally  cover more of the windshield and don't slap the trim!.  Look closely and you will see Gail and Maddie on a bench seen between the car and boat.

Falconstein gets to work

A stop on a trip to/from California bringing back the first phase of the Barker's (our daughter and son-in-law) stuff for their move to Arizona

Goodbye to PCC parking sticker

Wow... I am getting farther and farther apart on posting....

This week Falconstein will get a badly needed new windshield.  That means saying goodbye to my  Summer '76 Pasadena City College parking sticker.  I think that was when I took a welding class.

Windshield wiper modifications

So....  turns out that out on the road in real rain the wipers were overshooting and slapping the windshield frame.  The not so easy easiest fix seemed to be shortening the crank arm that sits on the wiper motor.  All of the rest of the mechanism is essentially inaccessible within the dash assembly.  I picked up a crank arm from a Trooper in a junk yard. The original Falconstein crank arm is the top one in the first photo. The Trooper one is the lower one.  Thie picturse shows it with the swivel ball removed and a new hole drilled where I relocated it to creat a shorter crankarm. the second picture shows both again with the "new one" with the swivel ball in place and the excess arm length cur off.  The swivel was "off center" on the arm to compensate for a slight difference in the slotted mounting hole angle.   Replaceing the new arm back into the socket the swivel ball fits into proved very difficult.  After several hours of trying to improvise something to press it in place I ended up fabricating a special clamp shown in the third picture. The fourth picture shows the clamp in place.  The resulting reduced arc of the wipers seems to be a little less than desired but better functioning that they were.  The real test will be on the road again in real rain.   _I do not understand how blogger formats pictures and text so if this looks weird it's not me!!!????

Color Shots

Second time on dirt roads and first time for Maddie. By the way take a look at the Trees!

weddings, parades and cars shows

Well.... Since the last post Falconstein has been the wedding get away car for the second wedding this year!  That occurred on May 19th.  Then it was the tow vehicle for our Church's  float in the Flagstaff 4th of July Parade (sorry no pics. if anybody reading this has some to send me it would be appreciated).  After that it sat for a day at the Route 66 days car show on September 8th.   On the technical side a few issues came up and are believed to be solved. Those are: wipers seem to overun their travel limits when really wet,  Rear emergency flashers were not functioning, big rain leak around the rear window frame (somone didn't use enough sealer) and a clunk at the front passenger's feet that turned out to be a misplaced washer on a body to frame mounting bolt. 

If anyone needing Falcon parts reads this please contact me with your needs.  I am trying to find homes for odds and ends left over from the project. http://flagstaff.craigslist.org/pts/3200369204.html

Pictures

Headliner, shackles, dashcover, back well covers, black-out on wipers (really bad glare), front mud flaps, spare tire cover, dome light short fix.....

maybe it could be called "done"

Since January a few things to make the project more final have happened. Finished the dash cover, made a spare tire cover,  installed the headliner,  new shocks, adjusted the front end torsion bars back to where they probably should be.  Added 2" lift shackles to the rear(just this morning).  I don't have any good pictures of all this to post yet but plan to take some soon.

On the January trip to California we had too much fun with electrical problems which have all been resolved.  There was feedback getting through a "trailer" adapter I permanently wired into the tail lights to adapt the older two circuit style to the newer three circuit style wiring. The feedback caused the cruise and power train brains to think the brakes were being applied when the turn signals were flashing. That drove me nuts but it is fixed.  And then ,one of the dome lights shorted and burned up some of the door logic diodes !!!!

CA or bust

Loaded and ready to go to California for Allison's wedding!

more fresh paint

Fresh Paint

Master painter Mark Arthur and I

Ready to Paint

Falconstein went to the paint shop at McCoy Motors yesterday and should have the exterior paint completed later today - WoooHooo!!!!!!!.

Here are some pictures from before it left home with the interior done and the exterior primed and ready.

Garage paint shop in action - Thanks to Mark the painter

almost annual update

I knew it had been a while but didn't think it had been over ten months since an update....getting along on final body work... ugh another learning curve Let's get 'er done.

Thanks to Mike Page for posting the old pics from 1975 on Facebook. I copied them here. This was a camping trip with six of us and gear piled in the car. No wonder it was hugging the ground. I remember the u-joints going bad a few months after the "watch this" moment in the creek. Who is that 20 year old idiot sitting on my car? Oh it's me.

Some pics of rear bumper brackets being fabricated and in place, plastic pipe mock-up of front auxilliary bumber and start of metal aux. bumper fabrication. Also recently installed side marker lights but guess I didn't take in pictures. I'll get some on here next time.