modifying my 64 f250
#1
modifying my 64 f250
I am a new member fixing an f250 my uncle gave me I am in north Dakota. I have been reading for about a week now on here and have found out quite a lot about my truck but what I would like to do is change it to a half ton for the five lug wheels instead of the eight lugs. also it is going to be a dailey driver for my wife so would like to convert to better brake system and power steering. is there a particular year I could just swap front axle with disk power brakes and use the same truck for power steering and the rear differential.
#2
Welcome to FTE.
JMO, but you would be time and money and safety ahead to buy a newer vehicle as a daily driver.
To convert your F250 as you describe, you are looking at a donor truck (or trucks) for axles, brakes and steering, and a minor re-engineering job to adapt the power steering system to your truck.
Finding usable 1960s parts would be a real mission, if in fact you could find a PS set up for your year. Is your front end TIB or straight axle?
There are other ways to do upgrades, and you may get some other ideas, so stay tuned.
JMO, but you would be time and money and safety ahead to buy a newer vehicle as a daily driver.
To convert your F250 as you describe, you are looking at a donor truck (or trucks) for axles, brakes and steering, and a minor re-engineering job to adapt the power steering system to your truck.
Finding usable 1960s parts would be a real mission, if in fact you could find a PS set up for your year. Is your front end TIB or straight axle?
There are other ways to do upgrades, and you may get some other ideas, so stay tuned.
#3
Welcome to FTE! There is a great deal of helpful information here, and we all like to help.
Unfortunately for your '64, I concur with the previous poster. Sell your truck and buy a '65 or a '66.
I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but even though '65 and '66 look on the outside like the '61 - '64 trucks, under the skin things are very different.
Ford made major changes for 1965 and later, switching from a single axle in the front to Twin I-beams. They also changed the frame, cab, the steering, the drivetrain and engines and more.
Not much interchanges after '64, especially under the hood.
Now with a '65 or '66, you can harvest many bolt-on parts from trucks in the years '65-'79. Rear axles up to '72, power steering from '69, disc brakes starting in '73, and any of the engine/transmission combinations after '64.
This is what you can read about here on FTE, and there is a lot of it - but the transplant possibilities do not apply to the '64 and earlier trucks.
It is possible to put power steering and power disc brakes on your '64, but not by transplanting parts from later Ford trucks.
To answer your question directly, you can put a '61 - '72 F-100 rear axle under your truck, and it will bolt right on.
For the front, to give you 5 lug wheels, as well as power steering and disc brakes, research the Crown Vic upgrade. In this case a Crown Vic front end is transplanted into the front end of a '64 (or earlier) truck.
This level of work is well beyond me because it involves cutting, welding and permanent changes to the frame of the truck, but a lot of folks here at FTE have done it and like the results.
There is one more possibility, that you may actually have a 1965 truck titled as a '64. Rare, but it happens.
Look under the front. Is it a single axle, or is it Twin I-beams? If a single axle, then you do not have a '65.
Post the VIN here, and that will tell us for sure.
Again, Welcome to FTE, and also I wish I could have better news for you.
John - Banjo -
Unfortunately for your '64, I concur with the previous poster. Sell your truck and buy a '65 or a '66.
I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but even though '65 and '66 look on the outside like the '61 - '64 trucks, under the skin things are very different.
Ford made major changes for 1965 and later, switching from a single axle in the front to Twin I-beams. They also changed the frame, cab, the steering, the drivetrain and engines and more.
Not much interchanges after '64, especially under the hood.
Now with a '65 or '66, you can harvest many bolt-on parts from trucks in the years '65-'79. Rear axles up to '72, power steering from '69, disc brakes starting in '73, and any of the engine/transmission combinations after '64.
This is what you can read about here on FTE, and there is a lot of it - but the transplant possibilities do not apply to the '64 and earlier trucks.
It is possible to put power steering and power disc brakes on your '64, but not by transplanting parts from later Ford trucks.
To answer your question directly, you can put a '61 - '72 F-100 rear axle under your truck, and it will bolt right on.
For the front, to give you 5 lug wheels, as well as power steering and disc brakes, research the Crown Vic upgrade. In this case a Crown Vic front end is transplanted into the front end of a '64 (or earlier) truck.
This level of work is well beyond me because it involves cutting, welding and permanent changes to the frame of the truck, but a lot of folks here at FTE have done it and like the results.
There is one more possibility, that you may actually have a 1965 truck titled as a '64. Rare, but it happens.
Look under the front. Is it a single axle, or is it Twin I-beams? If a single axle, then you do not have a '65.
Post the VIN here, and that will tell us for sure.
Again, Welcome to FTE, and also I wish I could have better news for you.
John - Banjo -
#4
#6
#7
thanks
thanks for the help all of you I was afraid this was the case, as I wasn't finding anything on here. I will probably keep it the way it is. and just fix it up the best I can. I actually have a 65 f100 that I am going to use the box from because the 64 has a box from a 70 f150 and as you all probably know the body lines are not even close. but again thanks for the help i'm glad I found out before I bought a donor that wouldn't work for me.
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#8
It sounds like you have a '63 F 250 with the period correct separate styleside bed (57-60 styling). I think you came to the right conclusion, trying to make a F 250 handle like a Mustang is not economically feasible. The '63 campaign slogan was " built like the big ones" not the later "works like a truck, rides like a car". However minor improvements like higher gear set (3.54- 3.73 ) instead of (4.56-4.88) or a aftermarket dual master cylinder with booster will be a big improvement. Power steering is not always necessary if you have a freshly rebuilt front end (new king pins-tie rods etc).
#10
thanks again
I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP. THE TRUCK DOES HAVE A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL VALUE, OTHERWISE I GUESS I WOULD MOVE ON TO SOMETHING A LITTLE BETTER TO WORK WITH BUT I'M INTO IT NOW SO WILL FINISH IT. I HAVE LOOKED AT SOME DISK BRAKE CONVERSIONS AND THINKING THEY WOULD PROBABLY BE FINE AND ALSO CONVERT TO BRAKE BOOSTER KIT. AS THE BRAKES ARE MY BIGGEST CONCERN. THANKS AGAIN
#11
I think you should leave the truck alone. Maybe add a brake booster to give it a little easier pedal effort (safer).
Personally, I like old trucks because of their charm as an old truck. So many people get them and then want to turn them into not a truck. I am not against stuff like power steering and power disc brakes. I've never done this but I think it would be worth some research/measuring to see what it would take to put some disc brake spindles on the old solid axle. A little research shows the lighter duty F250s from the early 70s (I used 73 to pull up the sizes) show an almost exact same king pin size so it might be fairly easy. .8590 versus .8592
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