project thread for my truck. probably won't be very exciting, but basically just going to tinker and fix it up as money allows. don't really intend to do any serious mods at this point, i like it the way it is (and i like driving it too much to tear it apart at this point.)
it's a 1964 f100, custom cab short bed. 292 v8/ 3 speed on the floor. dana 44 out back, with 3.92 l/s. picked it up in november of 2013.
done all the basic tune up stuff, new starter/bendix, carb rebuild. this summer i'll be painting the frame and such, fixing rust, i want to do new fluids in the trans and rear-end, drain the fuel tank
a PO did the floor shift conversion with an indy kit, which puts the shifter under your leg in first so i ugraded to a 15" hurst with a 4" offset to get the shifter more centered in the cab. relocated the tach to the column. don't have any before pictures but i cleaned up a lot of the wiring that was hanging below the dash
new '100' inserts from dennis carpenter, previously missing and NOS ford mirrors. need to loose the cal mirror mounting tabs.
would also like to replace that fender with a used original.
the y-block. before i degreased it you couldn't tell the valve covers were red. notice the custom wooden tool box suomebody out on the passenger fender...good place for the factory bottle jack. excuse the gate valve on the intake (who does that?!)...and someone's interseting way of using the stock exhaust manifold on the driver side to run true duals...
bruceandersson wrote:What are you going to do with the old mounting tabs? I need some for my '66 camper special.
i haven't touched them yet so let me see what's under them, if there's ugly rust or no paint i'll keep them until i weld the holes up and paint, if it looks aright i'll send them to you for the cost of shipping. am i missing a top bracket by the drip rail or does the mirror just bolt up?
I've seen many different varieties of west coast mirrors on these trucks. I think the original used the curved brackets you have, a top bracket at the top of the door and a stabilizing bracket to the tab that comes out of the door. The bolts/nuts at the top of your door were for the top bracket.
thanks guys. yup-my dad once tore down a drivable 52 dodge b3b (half ton) to do a drivetrain swap and fix the rust...and it's been in pieces in my mom's garage for about 20 years. we're finally working on it again though. i like driving it enough that i take it out almost daily and it's just been really fun and so far reliable truck. just needs some help in the rust department.
there is something to be said for doing weekend projects. I once swore years ago that if I only had one truck, and was starting over, I would never take it apart more than I could put it back together in a couple days
A lot of things can be accomplished that way without losing your driver.
while i do have a daily ford ranger, my motivation is living in an apartment complex that doesn't allow me to do anything to my trucks in the parking lot. so everything is done in my mom's driveway and it has to be driven home after every little project. next up is wire-wheeling the chassis and getting it all coated in POR 15 or the like. i figure i can do it a day at a time.
a little progress. ripped out the grimey water-logged carpet. this piece was under the seat. you can see the discoloration between where the brackets covered and the exposed area. why was it it water logged you ask? because someone cut a 12"x8" hole in the floor to install the floor shifter, and then just carpeted over it. (shoulda snapped a pic)
my temporary solution: 26 guage aluminum, a little custom bending on the tailgate, and a hammer for a little extra form fitting. made a gasket to go under it and borrowed my dad's spare hurst boot. it looks better than a big hole.
also did a new headlight switch and got my lighter working so i can charge my phone/gps. cleaned up some wiring under the hood and new battery hold-downs.
Keep it up! I drove mine for 80K miles before I parked it in 1990. It sat for 21 years and I was one of those guys that whenever someone stopped by wanting to buy it I said no way, I am going to restore it someday. Then in 2011 I had spring fever and I went out to the garage with the intention of just getting it running after 10 years of not being started and well I guess I just took to many bolts out and now the rest is almost history.
haha it looks rough enough that not to many offer to buy it, but a lot of people say they like it. but today i was talking to a guy about how i just got it and what i've got done since and he referred to it as a " beater" thanks a*****e. some people can only see what it is now, not what it will be i guess.
Mac, have you baby sat your fuel economy with the 292 , 3 speed, and butt gears..? I have 292, and 3 speed in my 64 C.C. it is going to transplant into a 64 Flare side 1/2 ton 4x4 for my Daughter....She will be the Envy of the boys at school...lol.....Just curious, how you like driving this set up..?
Stable of Trucks.....
61 3/4 ton 4x4..312v8,4speed Daily driver.
64 1/2ton C.C. 292v8,3sp,...???? 82k orig.miles
65 1/2ton flareside parts truck
64 1/2ton Flareside currently 4x4.going to be 472 powered Gasser
65 SuperCab/Crewcab Cummins 1 ton Duelly Hi-Boy Project
well 64crew4x4, my speedometer isn't working at the moment so it's a small sample size but i did carefully plan out a 30 mile route, drove it and used 2 gallons of gas. a full tank will last me nearly a week around town. i'll another 30 mile route and see what i use and post back here.
it's a lot of fun to drive though. great torque, y blocks sound awesome with dual cherry bombs. i'd go with taller gears if i had the choice. the 3.92s only allow me about 55 mph at 2500 rpm in third. (then again, that's one way of keeping your daughter under the speed limit) on the other hand it's pretty easy to drive because you can putt up a decent hill in third at 30 mph/1500 rpm. it'll go around most left and right turns in second and pull from almost a dead stop so you don't have to worry about getting into first a whole lot. with first being so low and having L/S taking off from a stop and making a tight turn onto the road or whatever you can feel the L/S throw you around and it gets a little hairy sometimes in the rain.
i think everyone agrees the 292 and 3 speed is very reliable and drivable. since i got it running right it's been daily driver material. good luck!
i've been donig a lot of little stuff. painted the whole chassis in rust encapsualtor, repainted the wheels, working on surface rust in the cab. driving it daily lately because my DD is down right now. so driving to work at 3am yesterday all the lights go out and the truck dies. i coast over to the side of the road...suddenly sparks start flying from under the dash and hood. by the time i get my fire extinguisher it's over. nothing works. had it towed home.
here's a small sample of the damage.
so my dad and i ripped every thing that was burnt up out
and rewired 75% of the engine bay and a bunch under the dash. this is before i taped it all up and made it nice.
long story short, if you have an ammeter remove it NOW. the heavy gauge wires that carry the current of the whole truck for the ammeter to read either shorted to eachother or the gauge itself shorted and cooked a lot of my harness. luckily everything else was okay. replaced it with a voltmeter that doesn't match my other gauges for now.
