my granpa is giving me his 64 it has an inline six with a 4 speed manual can anyone help me out with some mods i want to do to it. 1st i wanna put atleast a 351 or bigger in it but i also want to keep it a manual transmission. 2nd i would like to drop it and also run an all disk brake setup. any help you can give me is deeply appreciated. secondly if you could help me find or give me pointers on where to look. i am currently in the us army and deployed for my third time so thank you for your time and answers.
First, a big Hoooorah on your '64. I've had mine since '80, and they'll have to pry the keys out of my cold, dead hand. The bad news is you have the 'love child' of the Slicks. Being the last of the straight front I-beam axle years among other things, I've frequently found it to be ignored by the makers of repro parts. From the list of mods you want to make, you don't want to restore it as a homage to Grandad, so I suggest you sell it and put the money towards a '65 or '66. Discs, engine swaps, every "upgrade" you mentioned will be cheaper and easier. Just my 2 cents worth.
Welcome! Congrats on your "new" truck. It IS considered the "red headed stepchild" of the 60's Trucks. Good news is that more and more upgrades and accessories are becoming available all the time. It largely depends on what you want to do with it and if you enjoy a challenge or want to do it "easier". Disc brake conversions are readily available, power steering is still a challenge, but dropping in a 302 or 351 is fairly straight forward and there are several different ways to drop it, including installing an independent front suspension. Suggest you do a search of the site for some of the info you're seeking. Lots of great information on here and good people to help you out. Good Luck.
I too would like to see you restore it to its original state. You can always find a beater 65-66 and modify the heck out of it. You will appreciate your granddads truck alot more one of these days if you leave it original.
Mine has no personal history, other than the fact that it was sold new here in Monroe, but it is very original and looks good if I do say so myself. I'm sort of stalling around on my upgrades and now thinking about getting another one to modify that's not as complete as this one is. I do want PS and AC to make driving more pleasurable through. If yours is complete and restorable you may want to reconsider making mods. Although I don't think they will ever be considered "collectibles" future generations may thank you for saving it.
I have to agree with keeping it original; I plan on keeping my '64 original. I think these trucks are rare enough and cool enough without any mods. If you want a hot rod, take a late '60s chevy and drop a Ford motor in it!
That's my 2 cents
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Balz
1964 F-100 V8 4spd
1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe
2003 Thunderbird Roadster
1974 Ford LGT 145 Garden Tractor
1987 Ford LGT 18H Garden Tractor
64_fordguy; as others mention Welcome; I'm with the others on keeping it oem, but its yours and yours to do with; check the article/ specs at the top of the page here and theres some excellent info on suspension upgrades; it state's 48-60; but alot of that info will adapt to your 64 as well.
Remenber engine and trans are the easist upgrades and as mention steering and brakes are the tougher two.
Keep us posted on your progress and have fun with it.
im receiving a 64 f100 from my granpa
