I want to remove and replace my front clip assembly (core support, cross braces, grill, inner and outer fenders, etc ) as one assembly. The bumper, radiator, battery and wiring are already removed. Looks like I have to remove the 2 front isolator mounts and several firewall bolts. There are also bolts at the rear of the fenders that I believe to be accessible from the interior.
I plan on using an engine hoist to support the clip assembly.
Are there any tips/tricks on doing this from those of you who have done it?

 

Sounds like you are on the right track to me.



John

 

The front clip assembly is attached to the truck by the 2 insulators at the frame...if you wire brush them and hit with PB Blaster the nuts typically will come off easily...11/16 as I recall...
The rear is attached to the cab by 2 rubber tire carcass antirattler/stabilizers to the cab by 2 bolts each...1/2" bolts as I recall..the fenders each have one upper retaining bolt that is accessed from inside the cab at the large hole above the floor vent. Depending on the version, your truck may have a small plate covering this hole held on with one phillips screw per side. In removing the bolt...go slow as these bolts also use the same lame design clips as the rest of the front clips on 61-65 trucks...66 went to a 1 piece clip...if you go slow the clip hopefully wont break...if it does...angle the extension a bit and try to get the nutplate to jam in ther slotted hole in the cab and remove it...patience is key on these 2.
Theres also 1 lower bolt per fender on the outside accessed from under the cab...same rules apply to this bolt as the uppers as far as the clip and so on...


its a light pup...2 people can easily handle it...its front heavy so I would advise against the cherry picker as it will end up flipping the sucker and mess up the hood which doesnt have to be touched as far as the front clip removal is concerned.


- cs65

 

What the hell??????? How can 150 lbs tops on a cherry picker be flipped and mess up a hood.

You gotta be thinking something else Dude.



John

 

Thanks for the inputs.
My grandson wrecked the front clip on his '66 (didn't know a Honda would smash an F100 quite so badly). I'd been eying a engineless '65 down the road for a few years so we made an offer. We now have a parts truck with a nice front clip to remove.
I'm also using the donor hood so it will not be in the way

 

I think he means that the front clip will flip....not the cherry picker.

 

wieght distribution. take time to figure out where the center of gravity is on the clip when you remove it. and cs65 is right its not to heavy. ive pulled my front clip then separated it for restoration. easy job. also ask dorf hes done it the way you want to. i think he put sand bags on the base of the picker to counter act the wieght distribution issue. thats if your speaking in terms of basic physics, you know one wieght, one fulcrum, one effort. think about it enough and you can pull it how ever you want.

 

Thanks. I've got a commercial (very heavy) engine hoist. Tipping will not be a problem. I just removed the hood using it. Piece of cake!

 

what color is the interior of this 65 parts truck...2WD or ??? Longbed or short??? If you can, post some pics of the parts truck in your gallery as I may be interested in stuff...btw..is the grill on the 66 aluminum or steel ??? Is the grille aluminum or steel ??? I have a 66 grill if interested PM me etc...


- cs65


And yes, I was referring to the clip flipping...sure as heck not the picker...go grab a pepsi John and turn on Discovery...

 

Well if you hook it up at the top of the core support near the hood latch, you can't flip it.

I can go for a Pepsi. Aint much into Discovery.


John

 

I removed the clip on the '66 today. No problem. I'm fabricating a new bumper support to weld onto my frame rail. The RH side orig was trashed. The '65 clip gets removed tomorrow.
The '65 is a long bed 2WD. I'll put the wrecked front clip from the '66 on it and also exchange the beds.
The '66 grille is alum. I'd be interested in a good '66 grille though the '65 grille is useable.
I'll try to post some photos of both trucks when I'm done.

 

are you gonna part the 65 or sell as a whole ???

- cs65

 

I'd like to sell it in one piece.

 

My grandson's '66 now has a '65 front clip, and hood. Everything seems to fit just fine. Doors open, hood closes, everything lines up, etc.
The only problem was the '66 radiator. The radiator mounting flange location on the core support is different on the '65 clip. I had to cut off the '66 radiator's mounting flanges and re-mount them to the smaller flanges at the rear of the radiator. I used steel rivets and it fits just fine. The other option would have been to remove (de-solder) the two flanged mounting straps and reverse them. The rivet method was simple and caused no heat related stresses.
Thanks for all of your inputs.

 

you could have just swapped the entire clip...including the radiator assuming the trucks both had either 6 or 8 cyl. ...forgot to mention that...but its a direct bolt on...


- cs65