A Falcon In Trans-Am?: One Hot Racing Machine - Suspension, Brakes, Body, and Interior

Suspension: Unlike today's tube-chassied Trans-Am racers, these early cars were required to retain the stock front and rear suspension and chassis. As a subframe car, this required some serious attention. The front suspension uses Vogtland 620 lb/in front springs and Koni double-adjustable shocks along with a Maeco Motorsport 15/16-inch front sway bar and stock Ford spindles. Back in the '60s, nobody had rack-and-pinion steering, so a blueprinted Lee Manufacturing stock steering box is what is allowed. The rear leaf springs are custom-designed for Maeco by Aldan Springs at a 160 lb/in rate and are designed to minimize spring wrapup with the Falcon's excellent power-to-weight ratio. Roller bearings replace the original rubber spring bushings.

Brakes: State-of-the-art Ford brakes in 1966 called for Kelsey Hayes 11.5-inch-diameter rotors with four-piston calipers, and on the back, massive 11x21/4-inch drums make plenty of friction.]Wheels/Tires: Vintage racing means old-school wheels and rubber, so a set of PSE 15x8-inch Trans-Am aluminum wheels set the footprint mounted with an equally retro set of catalog-fresh Goodyear Sports Car Specials measuring what sounds like a spindly 6.00x15-inch size. Don't let the spec fool you; these tires measure 8.4 inches of tread width with a section width of more than 10 inches.

Body: Maeco performed all the restoration on the Falcon, including the bodywork. The aforementioned tires are the reason for the minor fender flaring; the work is tasteful and even adds to the Falcon's visual impact. The graphics are also a reproduction of how the car appeared in its limited Trans-Am exploits, right down to the original rally headlights.

Interior: The interior is Michael's testament to the Falcon's street/race heritage, and it appears the only thing missing is the carpet. He retained and restored the full rear seat along with the stock passenger-side bucket, using only the Shelby race bucket for the driver. The stock instruments have been replaced with vintage Stewart-Warner gauges and that very cool Rotunda tach on the dash. Even the stock headliner made the trip.