Somehow I failed to post this one; our 1966 F100 project

So many vehicles have come and gone over the past few years that somehow I missed posting this one.  The good news is that nearly a year after it's purchase some headway is being made.

The truck is a 1966 Ford F100.  It's a 2wd, long bed powered by a supposedly stroked 352 combined with a 4 speed manual transmission.  It has manual 4 wheel drum brakes, no power steering, and no a/C.

I acquired it about 10 months back, the result of my inability to pass "neat things" when they pop up on Facebook Marketplace.

The previous owner had it in MA for about 7 years.  Prior to that it lived in North Carolina.  This is a great thing as New England winters aren't kind to anything made of metal.

I bought it as a "running driver" and it in fact drove onto my trailer.  While it runs, my assessment is that it both needed some ignition love and a new carb or rebuild.

Because of work/kid activities/camping/my 08 Mustang GT etc this truck has tended to be on the back burner.  About 6 weeks back I finally decided we are either going to get it back on the road or cut it loose.  I choose the former.

I ordered a set of plug wires from Ebay from Block Performance down in NJ.  The truck has a Davis Unified Ignition setup essentially adding HEI to the old motor.  The old wires were falling apart.  I installed new Motorcraft plugs plus these new wires (8.5mm) and it has made a marked improvement.  On the subject of the wires, they are some of the best wires I've ever handled and at under $60 I consider them a bargain.

The truck runs better but not well.  It currently had an Edelbrock 1407 carb (750 manual choke) which makes sense for the story that the engine has been bored and stroked and has a hotter cam (it has quite a lope, though it's hard to tell if that's intentional or a running issue).

Anyway, I ordered a new carb from Jegs as I don't know the first thing about rebuilding carbs and by the time I pay somebody to do it I'm the same money as a new one.

The truck has a minor coolant leak from the radiator so I ordered a replacement, also from Ebay, plus new Gates hoses and new clamps.

The rear springs are so shot that they are now "s" shaped, so I waited for a sale and ordered new replacement Dorman springs.  I also ordered Monroe shocks.

The newest picture is with the black hood and the later-model wheels on the front.  The hood swap is because the original hood apparently flew up while the previous owner was driving and folded it pretty significantly.  The win here is that our "yard display" truck is a rotted out 64 F100, that had a perfect hood to donate (and surprisingly not rusty!).

As for the wheels and the stance, two tires had gone flat so I grabbed these 90s Ford wheels to move it around for now.  If I can get it on the road for a reasonable investment I'm interested in dropped beams and a rear flip, but unlike most of my projects I decided to delay ordering "fun" items until its a reliable driver.

I intend to order new upholstery for the seat and to try my hand(s) at installing some new foam and recovering it.  Heaven help me.

More to come for sure.  Hoping to have an update in the next 30 days.

 Following as I love these trucks. Even the color is what I'd want. I think a carb rebuild would be easier than the upholstery project though! 

Great looking truck! The long bed trucks never get the love they deserve. 

Several of the aftermarket companies sell upholstery kits with fitted covers, hogrings and pliers, and instructional videos.  I've never done one but of I really screw it up I'll just buy a better replacement seat.

If getting it roadworthy doesn't bankrupt me, I think the drop will really improve the look of the truck.  I like long and low...but I'm "adulting" and not starting off ordering fun things like wheels and tires or a drop kit until I fully understand what it takes to drive it safely on the street first.

One.  Step.  At.  A.  Time.  <I'm really bad at that and usually order unnecessary items up front due to enthusiasm only to run into catastrophic issues and lose a bunch of money.  Hoping my plan here is a little more mature haha.

This weekend we were away camping, but upon our return home i jumped on swapping the radiator out.  I bought an Ebay aluminum radiator that they swore would fit the truck.  Low and behold;  they were right!  The welds and general quality actually look pretty good!  It's something of a pleasure to work on this old girl because there is a literal mountain of room under the hood.

I bought a new container to catch the old antifreeze but still managed to spill some on my driveway.  

Four bolts and a couple of hoses and the new radiator is in place.  I ram out of time so tomorrow I'll fill it with water, check for leaks and then flush it all out so I know it's cleaned up.

Hopefully this puts an end to the leaking.

Well it's time for some updates.  Once I had done my part I sent the truck to my buddy's home shop for several things.   As of now the trick has new rear springs installed (with overloads removed to lower it a bit), new shocks all around, a new Edelbrock 750 carb, fresh gas, new rear drums and shoes, and new front pads and rotors.

I wanted the truck lower and ultimately plan to install dream (drop) beams up front to bring it a little closer to earth.  However, since the front kingpins are in decent shape and I want to start semi-daily using the truck to be able to trust it first, that project has a pin in it for the future.  Instead, we took one coil off of the front springs.  

I had noticed the truck had positive camber in the front and appeared to have newer replacement springs.  In looking at pictures of other stock trucks it actually sat a little high in the nose.  We reasoned that taking one coil would lower the nose but might not result in crazy negative camber.  We were right.  Overall the nose is down about 2", and yet the tires are only slightly negative.  

The rear spring swap also lowered the rear further, roughly another inch.  I have procured a pair of new whitewalls for the steel front wheels which have been installed since this update pic.  I tried to like the modern alloys on the truck, but I just didn't.

I'm expecting to have the truck registered and street driving in the next two weeks!  

As it stands right now, I'm planning to install power steering,  the aforementioned dream beams and possibly some 17" Torque Thrusts.  My kids and I are going to recover the stock bench seat over the winter, and I need to patch a small hole in the drivers floor (like 1/2").  Once the floor is patched I'm going to install some sound deadening and treat the truck to a new full rubber mat to compliment what will be a freshly covered seat.

I know that you have already bought a new Edelbrock carb, but if that starts giving you fits look into one of the Holley or Aces TBI fuel systems. They bolt on and after a little learning they tend to be great with stock replacement setups. There are some vendors to stay away from but those will pop up if you research them.

This looks great! Following!

Cool truck. Needs moar fan shroud and I'd definitely look into viscous fan clutch or convert to electric.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Yes to fan shroud.  It's on the (seemingly endless lol) list.

I missed how it went from 4 wheel drums on 9/3 to needing front pads and rotors on 10/14.

In reply to Rons :

I didn't post the insanely embarrassing truth...

I quickly swapped the wheels one day because the truck had developed a flat front tire.  In my haste, and probably because every front wheel I ever pull off has these, I totally failed to register the truck had been upgraded to later F100 discs up front!!  Score!

It has non-power front discs, and apparently they are an easy bolt on swap from the 73-early 80s trucks.  I accidentally lucked in to some great parts interchangeability considering that the 1965 basic chassis and suspension was used by Ford under light trucks to 1979 (and much of it carried into the 80s!).

I can offer any of about 50 excuses as to why it didn't register with me, but let's just agree it's a huge positive the old truck has slightly more modern brakes!  An associated positive is that all of the brake parts are so common they are nearly free too!  Winning all around.

In reply to Loweguy5 :

A previous owner did a huge favour for you, as I despise front drum brakes. The family car was a 68 Rambler when I was in high school and there was nothing quite like getting the front brakes wet. 

Nice truck.

Im fairly certain that ibeams from 96 will bolt in. Then you'd get ball joints and spindles. 02ish e150 brakes will give you HUGE stopping power up front....

In reply to Ranger50 :

Ironically we went with 80s era E150 front shocks as they are the same end-styles (threaded rod up top, loop on bottom) but they are approximately 2" shorter compressed and extended.

When I get serious about dream beams and adding power steering I'll reevaluate everything under the front end.

For now the truck is nearly back together and I just want to log some miles on it to sort out what other surprises it may have in store for me before I go further.  My kids keep demanding I have on to a little money to help them go to college (how rude, right?!) Haha.

I am very familiar with these trucks as I owned this '65 for 12 or so years and was deeply into the Slick 60s club. I did the disc brake and dual master cylinder conversion to mine. I don't browse this section often, so if you ever need an answer on something just message me.

I'm a boomer who doesn't like lowered trucks though, so don't ask me questions about that. 

The power steering conversion is not as easy as you'd hope with that column shift. I see you have a floor shift conversion which should help. The Bendix steering box you need is really hard to find. The FoMoCo box conversion is easy to find but requires the column be cut down. I never bothered making mine p/s. The factory wheel provides adequate leverage and it really only sucks when you are trying to park.  The mistakes most guys make are a) changing the steering wheel to some silly little thing or 2) putting too-wide front tires on. With everything greased up it really isn't bad.

1966 did offer a fan shroud IIRC but mine never had one and never had a problem with overheating. Vapor lock, OTOH...

The hood latches are not known for their reliability and it is wise to add a secondary safety item like a cable that hooks it down.

Looks like you need new hood hinges.  Don't bother with trying to find good used ones; they are 90% all worn out.

The Slick 60s group is one of the nicest, most helpful groups I've ever encountered in the car world. Slick 60s forum

I had good reasons for selling mine, but it is the only vehicle I kind of regret not keeping. 

I have a 1966 F-100 too.  It's similarly equipped - 352 V8, four speed, manual steering and brakes.  I had the failing hood latch problem too, the hood flew up on my inaugural drive after restoration.    Fortunately, damage to the hood was minimal and I was able to find an NOS latch that fixed the problem.

I haven't had any issues with overheating with the original non-shrouded radiator either, but of course your mileage may vary.  There are several good companies for reproduction parts, I've had the best luck with Dennis Carpenter.

In reply to stuart in mn :

That is absolutely beautiful!

In reply to ddavidv :

Thank you!  Duly noted on the hood latch.  The hood I swapped on has a safety that very firmly catches so I expect I'll be fine, but I'll look at secondary (or would that be third-ary haha) options for keeping it down in an emergency.

One other issue I had with mine was the clutch linkage. There is a rod that runs from the pedal straight down to the under floor mess. The bends in those can fracture, and then...well, you won't be going anywhere. Something to keep an eye on, and maybe carry a spare if you find one in a junkyard. Not reproduced last I checked.

In reply to ddavidv :

Appreciate the tip.  Interestingly I'm finding that many parts that aren't offered for that era F100 can actually be sourced from similar era Broncos.  I would never have made that connection but a buddy who is a diehard "Ford guy" suggested ordering Bronco parts and so far I haven't had to send anything back.

In reply to ddavidv :

Once the truck is back home I am eager to figure out what 4 speed trans the truck actually has.  I notice that on the factory four speed trucks the shifter comes up through the tunnel nearer to the dash.  My shifter is very close to the seat.  I'm theorizing that mine is likely from a passenger car.  If we really enjoy the truck and find we are driving it longer distances, I wouldn't rule out investigating a t-5 swap for the future.

Loweguy5 said:

In reply to ddavidv :

Thank you!  Duly noted on the hood latch.  The hood I swapped on has a safety that very firmly catches so I expect I'll be fine, but I'll look at secondary (or would that be third-ary haha) options for keeping it down in an emergency.

Primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary... etc.

Good looking Ford!

I just assumed you had a 3 speed from the position of the shifter. The factory 4 speeds were just a 3 speed with a granny low first added, so they aren't great for much more than farm use.

Thunderhead289 on YouTube did a T-5 swap on a dentside which should be the same. 

Well, there's good news and bad news.  My mechanic called me and said he fixed the innumerable exhaust leaks so not only is the truck running smoothly, but quietly.

The new carb is working perfectly and the truck is running well.  Everything is great except the...rod knock...

By virtue of a badly leaking header gasket I had never heard it and neither had my guy as he was moving it around and working on it.  

However, with quiet(er) exhaust, once the engine is warmed there is zero question that a rod is knocking.  The good news is that the engine runs cool and the oil pressure looks to be good.  I therefore think my issue is with rod bearings and doesn't also involve the main bearings.

Even though I know these things happen, I admit to being extremely disappointed.  I've got the truck home for a couple of weeks (still trying to get it registered, and my wife wants to use it for our Christmas card pictures).  Then off it will go for my guy to pull the engine to examine and replace whatever is needed.  Ugh.

I gave it a decent exterior cleaning yesterday and got some fresh pictures.  I have the paint on hand to spray the hood which will be completed before we do the pictures.  Yesterday we did try out some locations around the property with kid #2.  That was fun.

Tomorrow...is another day...