That is exactly how I feel about my truck project. I wish you luck with yours for keeping it in the family.

 

Crap! Foiled again. I went over to my buddies house today to bring the truck home so I could get the rear brakes and wheel bearings/seals done. Dropped a fresh battery in it, fired it up, but it just wouldn't quit flooding. Power valve in the stock carb is blown. Intake and valve cover gaskets are about the same cost as a carb kit for the factory 2 bbl, so I guess it's gonna get the carb/intake upgrade before the brakes and rear axle repairs.
Oh well, at least he has a cherry picker and a dirt driveway (reason for bringing it to my house for the rear axle stuff) so minor spills won't be as much of a cleanup issue. Then I should be able to get it over here for the rest, since I have a concrete driveway that will support jack stands better.

As the saying goes, the best laid plans can still go astray.......

 

great story and awesome truck! "I'm hoping to get this truck back into a roadworthy condition, so he can at least get to ride in it again." I truly hope you get it up and running good and take your father for that ride. Keep us posted.

 

I truly enjoy finding one of these things and bringing it back to life. With the history of that truck within your family you can't afford not to make it functional again. Just keep plugging away at that old ford.

 

Keep forgetting to update this thread. Just before thanksgiving, I went ahead and bought a carb kit for the factory 2bbl carb. Got the carb off, and went straight after the power valve. Turns out it wasn't blown, just had managed to loosen itself up enough for fuel to leak between the PV body and gasket, even though the gasket had a nice imprint of the PV body proving it *had* been properly tightened.
Replaced it anyways, along with the accel pump and carb base gasket. I figure the 2 bbl carb will be plenty to see it thru the cold weather, and come spring I'll tackle the intake/carb swap after gathering up all the little things that I want to complete the conversion. (kickdown kit, electric choke conversion ECT.)
The weather has turned off a bit cooler than normal for this time of year, but they're calling for warmer temps next week. I will try to address the rear axle seal and rear brakes if it does.

 

Made a little progress on this today. Tinkered with the choke a bit. It seems the choke pull-off works too good. Even dialing the choke cap to 3 or 4 rich is not enough to keep the pull-off from opening the choke too far, causing the engine die out. Left it set at 3 rich, and called it good for now. It's not going to be driven much until the weather warms back up. Once that happens, the stock carb and intake are coming off in favor of the performer intake and 1405 carb. Carb will be converted to electric choke though.
Heater control valve didn't want to open, but I forced it open manually. Heat now works, but the hoses could use replacement. On the list for spring, when the cooling system will be drained anyways...
Still quite cold natured, but it can be started/moved if need be.

Pulled off the left rear tire (flat) and took it to air up. Had a screw in it that seemed to be the only leak. Stuck a plug in it. Not something I would normally do, but the rear tires are rather old. According to the reciept in the cab, dad bought those 2 in 2001. Kinda adds up, as they have a 3 digit date code (pre 2000). Like I said, don't plan to drive it until spring, so just holding air is fine for now. fronts are much newer, replaced just before it was parked in 07. Might have 1000 miles on them. New rears will come along in early spring, when it's more road worthy.

Added 5 gallons of gas to the tank, just for the heck of it.

Purchased most of the parts to tackle the rear brakes (shoes, wheel cyls, axle seals and self adjuster cables) yesterday. Will get to the task of replacing when a bit warmer temps arrive.
Once this is done, a new master cyl and fully flushed brake fluid should have the brakes back into top-notch condition.
Only real issue with the brakes right now, is a leaking axle seal soaked the shoes on one side, and the self adjuster cable came unhooked on the same side. new shoes and wheel cyls are just for peace of mind.
Brakes will be done before any further engine work. No point making it run better, until it can stop like it is supposed to.

Not really sure which was harder on the old truck, 30+ years of hard service, or 3.5-4 years sitting untouched at my sister's. The last few years it was driven, it didn't see a lot miles, but also didn't get maintained as well as before.

Cool temps and short days will limit my time working on it, but parts will be purchased as the budget allows, so I can make a lot more headway when spring gets here, which won't be soon enough.

 

Pulled off the wheel and drum, to access the leaking wheel seal. Popped the axle out, and cussed. It's got the tapered bearings, even though the parts books claim the 3300 LB axle uses the sealed ball bearing units. Bearing is fine, but the outer metal casing on the seal is rusted thru, right at the bottom. Guess that would explain the leak......
I breifly thought about cleaning it up and giving it good coat of silicone sealer. Be my luck the rubber would not like having been disturbed. Thought went away.
I just hate the thought of replacing the entire bearing, just for the seal. The old bearing is a made in USA unit. Kinda hard to find that kind of quality these days.....

 

Dad bought a 75 f100 new in 75 and it had the 300 and 3 on the tree. Learned to drive it and then at age 13 i was given (by a little old lady) a 58 F100 and me and Dad fixed it and drove it for 11 years until i joined the Marines. Now i have been in the Marines 15 years and just moved back to North Carolina from California. I needed a truck and i found one for sale near his home in Tennessee. 1500 bucks later I had an F150 4x4 with 48,000 original miles on it. My dad didnt want to admit it but he was excited to mess around with an old truck again.
great Story.

 

Today, I took the axle to my buddies shop. He told me he has never been able to get a bearing off without damaging it, so I replied with "Challenge accepted".
Used a 4" grinder to start cutting into the lock ring, and after a few seconds there was a loud "POP!" when the lock broke thru the cut location.
Using the press and bearing clamp, I got the old bearing off. Looked and felt great, so I robbed the lock ring from a cheap chineese bearing kit, and a new seal, pressed it back together.

 

Thats an awesome story! My truck has been in my family since 76

 

Thanks!
I failed to mention that I did lube the seal lip and mating surface of the axle before reassembling. Also poured some gear oil into the rollers of the bearing and spun the race few times prior to reinstalling the axle.

Haven't got to the brakes themselves, but the parts are already here. If this decent spell of weather holds a few more days, I should have everything buttoned up and working great back there.

The axleshaft and retainer plate went into his hot parts washer, while the bearing took a soak in the sonic cleaning tank, as I went after a replacement seal. Other than a little surface rust, they were all clean as a whistle when I started going back together with it.
I did get the axle reinstalled before darkness set in. Haven't yet refilled the housing with oil, but since it's on jackstands, it's not going anywhere yet.....

 

Well, it turned off a bit cool the last couple days. But, this weekend is supposed to be much improved, so I should get the rear brakes finished easily.

I did spend a few minutes on the truck today. When it was parked at my sister's house, one of her less desireable nieghbors decided to "tag" it with a gang-related symbol. No clue what it was supposed to be, nor which gang it belonged to. A little window cleaner and Meguire's fine cut polish, and it went away. If the gang idiots have a problem with me removing it, they can talk to my buddies, Mr Smith and Mr Wesson.......

 

.................

 

Great story. Makes me wish my dad would have kept many of the vehicles that he had through the years. He had a real nice 66 F-250 that one of my older siblings dumped on its roof. After that he never bought a truck worth a darn. My grandpa on the other hand had a 74 dent and I believe his son, my uncle, who I'm not really close to picked it up from him. I'm sure he isn't taking care of it either. I'll have to enquire to see if he still has it. I just love the idea of keeping something like that in the family.

 

I take it you approve of my attitude......

Thanks. I've loved this truck since the day dad brought it home. Almost got it when I turned 16, but the original sales reciept fell out of the glovebox when dad went to get the checkbook for the new truck he had picked out. Took another 30 years, but I finally got it.