CHASSIS SWAP

[RAT-T]

HI EVERYONE,

I WOULD LIKE TO SWAP OUT THE SCREW BOTTOM CHASSIS PLATE ON A AMT '64 COMET, WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST ONE? I WAS THINKING OF THE '64 FAIRLANE

 

THANKS,  TOM

[oldcarfan]

That should work. I wonder if the 67 Fairlane chassis would work as well?  I can't remember for sure, but I think that the 64 Fairlane may have slightly tubbed rear wheel wells. Probably not  tubbed enough to worry about though. But something to check out.

[Kris Morgan]

I would think about waiting for the Moebius 65 Comet to come out.

[gtx6970]

I've seen a few of them built with the Revell Thuinderbolt chassis and they look good

[RAT-T]

THANKS GUYS,

I THINK I HAVE THE '64 FAIRLANE/THUNDERBOLT KIT, I'LL HAVE TO DIG IT OUT & CHECK

KRIS, I AM WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE '65 COMET, HOPE THEY INCLUDE SOME DRAG OPTIONS IN THE KIT

[om617]

This is great info if you are certain it will fit the wheelbase. After going thru a Mustang and Falcon chassis i put mine back 

in the box lol. My biggest problem will be to find a stock hood,these where all curbside. Maby there is a vendor out there 

who hopefully could cast a stock hood. 

[Force]

I have a real 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe and the '64 Comet has a different chassis than the '64 Fairlane, the Mercury Comet is based on the Falcon platform (wich also goes for the Mustang), and the 1962-65 Fairlane shares it's chassis with only the 1962-63 Mercury Meteor and it looks different than the Falcon/Mustang/Comet chassis, specially the front suspension setup and the spring towers under the hood.
So a Falcon or Mustang chassis is a better choice than the Thunderbolt chassis if you want to be correct...or as Kris said, wait for the '65 Comet and you will get the correct wheelbase.
The 1966 and forward Fairlane and Torino was based on the Falcon/Mustang platform tho'.
Another thing, the Thunderbolt chassis and front suspension isn't right for a regular Fairlane either as that was modified to fit the big FE 427, anything larger than a 289-302 and maybe a 351W engine needs severe modifiactions to make room for it to fit in a real car.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Force

[om617]

The Coment has longer wheelbase then the Falcon and Mustang,both kit and the real deal as i could find online. 

[Force]

Yes, the wheelbase differs and even the Mustang has different wheelbase than the Falcon, but as mostly everyone know the Mustang is still based on the Falcon platform.
The 62-65 Fairlane and 62-63 Meteor chassis are quite different from the Falcon based cars and even tho' the whole front suspension are similar in design as the Falcon based cars close to nothing of the hardware are interchangeable...as I own a real 64 Fairlane I know that's the fact, I have learned it the hard way. 

Here are wheelbases for 60's Ford's and Mercury's

Ford

60-65  Falcon              109.5"
66-70  Falcon              110.9"
59     Fairlane/Galaxie 118"  Frame
62-64  Fairlane            115.5"  Fairlane/Meteor, 65 Fairlane are 116" but still has the same chassis as the 62-64, the rear axle is ½ " further back.
66-67  Fairlane            116"  Falcon based
60-68  Galaxie             119"  Frame
64½-70 Mustang         108"  Falcon based
71-73  Mustang           109"  Falcon based
58-66  Thunderbird     113"
67-71  Thunderbird     115" 

Mercury

60-65  Comet              114"  Falcon based
66-69  Comet              116"  Falcon based
70-72  Comet              117"  Comet/Maverick
67-70  Cougar             111"  Falcon based
62-63  Meteor             115.5" Fairlane/Meteor

As you see the Fairlane has 1.5 inch longer wheelbase than the Comet and if you want to build a correct replica you can't go by the wheelbase alone when to decide what chassis to use, the basic design of the chassis also has to be right.
So if one wants to change chassis under a 1964 Mercury Comet and want to be correct a Falcon based chassis changed to the right wheelbase is a better choice than the Thunderbolt chassis as that is what the real car has.
I don't exactly know where the length in wheelbase differs on the cars based on the Falcon platform, if it's the floorboards or if it's the front subframe that are of different lengths.

 

Edited January 24, 2016 by Force

[RAT-T]

THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT GUYS

HAKAN, I WAS PLANNING TO BUILD EITHER A GASSER OR AFX CAR WITH A STRAIGHT AXLE, I DON'T REALLY NEED AN EXACTLY CORRECT CHASSIS, BUT WOULD LIKE TO FIND A GOOD EMPTY FRAME & FLOORBOARDS FROM THE FIREWALL BACK. I DO HAVE A '67 MUSTANG & 67 COMET SOMEWHERE, I'LL DIG THOSE OUT AS WELL & CHECK THEM OUT.

THANKS AGAIN,  TOM