The Albatross - memory lane
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2023 11:34 am
In the mid to late 60s I wanted a Cobra but I'd have had to have another mortgage; a new Cobra cost about as much as my house back then.
So I decided to build something that would approximate the performance without being prohibitive. As an aside, all this was done in Spartanburg, SC.
The result was a completely home-built chassis with a 1969 Lincoln 460, a C6 automatic and a 9" posi rear. The front suspension was a Ford F150 Twin I-beam. Drum brakes all around because disk brakes weren't readily available at the time.
I bought some (approximately - don't recall) 3"x4" steel tubing, literally hacksawed it to size and acetylene welded the frame and all its various tabs and mounts for the driveline and suspension. Here are some pictures of the assembled chassis with driveline:
From the rear showing the 9" axle and swaybar. My 1970 Falcon wagon is on the left:
From above showing the three link rear suspension with coil springs and shocks not yet installed, short driveshaft fabricated by a local NASCAR racer, emergency brake cables:
From above the front showing the 460. The steering box is atop the frame rail and the radius arms for the front suspension below:
Passenger side:
From the front showing the Twin I-beam suspension, 1930 Model AA 1-ton in the background. All the fabrication was done in the garage shown behind the chassis. Coil springs for the front had not yet been installed:
Drivers side:
Three quarter view. Radius arms for the front suspension are also shown:
The chassis was finished not too much later and an Austin Healey Sprite (or MG Midget, same thing, can't recall!) body installed on top of the chassis with the intention of making it look like a kind of modern Deuce highboy. More photos later...
So I decided to build something that would approximate the performance without being prohibitive. As an aside, all this was done in Spartanburg, SC.
The result was a completely home-built chassis with a 1969 Lincoln 460, a C6 automatic and a 9" posi rear. The front suspension was a Ford F150 Twin I-beam. Drum brakes all around because disk brakes weren't readily available at the time.
I bought some (approximately - don't recall) 3"x4" steel tubing, literally hacksawed it to size and acetylene welded the frame and all its various tabs and mounts for the driveline and suspension. Here are some pictures of the assembled chassis with driveline:
From the rear showing the 9" axle and swaybar. My 1970 Falcon wagon is on the left:
- 1972_June_Cars_0002_a.jpg (203.07 KiB) Viewed 17450 times
From above showing the three link rear suspension with coil springs and shocks not yet installed, short driveshaft fabricated by a local NASCAR racer, emergency brake cables:
- 1972_June_Cars_0003_a.jpg (201.81 KiB) Viewed 17450 times
From above the front showing the 460. The steering box is atop the frame rail and the radius arms for the front suspension below:
- 1972_June_Cars_0004_a.jpg (208.74 KiB) Viewed 17450 times
Passenger side:
- 1972_June_Cars_0006_a.jpg (228.68 KiB) Viewed 17450 times
From the front showing the Twin I-beam suspension, 1930 Model AA 1-ton in the background. All the fabrication was done in the garage shown behind the chassis. Coil springs for the front had not yet been installed:
- 1972_June_Cars_0007_a.jpg (194.78 KiB) Viewed 17450 times
Drivers side:
- 1972_June_Cars_0008_a.jpg (191.38 KiB) Viewed 17450 times
Three quarter view. Radius arms for the front suspension are also shown:
- 1972_June_Cars_0010_a.jpg (203.28 KiB) Viewed 17450 times
The chassis was finished not too much later and an Austin Healey Sprite (or MG Midget, same thing, can't recall!) body installed on top of the chassis with the intention of making it look like a kind of modern Deuce highboy. More photos later...