OK guys. This is my first post, (a virgin??).

Anyway, I've recently bought a 65, 2wd, F350, tray back truck.
I live in Australia, and as you can appreciate, info on these old girls is rather hard to find over here, so I'm hoping you guys can help.
Firstly, Ford Australia's info on Australian delivered, (right hand drive), vehicles, only goes back to 1969. (Fat lot of good that is).

Near as I can tell, this truck was built in Jan. 65.
It came with a 240 6cyl., 4 spd. man., 6 stud, (sorry, Lug to you fellas), dually Dana 70 (with 5.13?) **** end. Does anyone know how many of these F350s were shipped to Australia?

The 351 and C6 are yet to be fitted.

It has 108,000 original miles with great paint etc. etc., but the thing drives like a tank. Not to mention, those scary 6 lug dually wheels.

I'm looking for model info, on a bolt in, 8 lug, dana diff ,with around 3.7 ratio, rear handbrake set up, (instead of the g/box mounted stuff.)

Power steering is also on the list. HELP

As the front power boosted, (drum) brakes are great, I'm looking for a way to upgrade to the same 8 lug setup as the rear. At least if I go this way and fit the power steer, the truck will be finished fairly quickly, (and save some money, time and work). Any suggestions?

I've thought about a hub swap on the single I beam front axle, but I'm not sure which ones would be best.

Even thought about swapping in the complete "twin I beam", x member, (with engine mounts for the clevo), hubs, twin I beam and disc brake setup from a later model F350 as well. Remember, the F350 has bigger chassis beams than the F100, but they are the same distance apart on the outside.

I plan on running a set of 16 x 6, Moto Metal alloy dually rims.

Before anyone says, "swap the body onto a later chassis", forget it. Over here, in Oz, we have to comply with what's called ADRs, or Australian Design Rules, which takes into consideration, emission control gear, etc etc. Some of the rules are easy enough, and indeed some are desired, but if I stay with the original chassis, it's a whole lot less hassle. (Keeps the original numbers too.)

I've seen some of the post others have up on here, but most seem to relate to the early F100s, not the F350s, 65 model in particular.

I'm sure some of you fellas have done it all before, so I figure I might as well "pick you brains". I mean, it's not fair that you guys are the only ones, with the cool, old school, custom trucks. Come on, share and share alike!
Cheer from downunder, Ron.

PS, I'll post some pics soon.

 

1953/85 F350's came with Dana 70 rear axles (except 1979/85 4WD's).

After 1966, the wheels are 8 lug, on a 6.50" bolt circle. The parking brake is on the rear wheels.

However, the rear frame rails are wider on most 1973 and later F350's (37 1/2" vs 33 1/2"), so you'll need to find a Dana 70 from a 1967/72 F350.

The 1961/66 F350 front axle and related parts, and the brakes are specific to F350's only (6 lug wheels on a 7.25" bolt circle).

I suppose if you could find a 1961/64 F250 front axle and related parts (8 lug wheels on a 6.50" bolt circle), it could be used instead.

This will allow you to use the same 8 lug wheels as the rear.

Suggest you contact FTE members garbz2 or banjopicker for what...if any disc brakes could be used with the solid front axle.

 

Thanks for taking the time to comment. As I said, it would be stupid for me to go it alone and no doubt, make plenty of mistakes along the way. After all, isn't the exchange of knowledge etc. one of the reasons we join these forums. I've been snooping around on FTE for a while now and congratulate you on your contributions. It's people like yourself that help to make these sort of forums a success.
Anyway, I'll keep you all posted on Efy's progress. Cheers, Ron.

 

Ron, Welcome to FTE, even if it is a bit belated!
I see two challenges to providing assistance to you.
1. F-350 information for swaps and all is hard to come by. Few folks here have anything above an F-250, so the experience level is not very high.
2. Right hand drive. We are lefties here! Although I did get my wife to drive a righty-steer Jeep on the left side of the road when we visited the US (formerly British) Virgin Islands!

Ford's philosophy for the F-100 - F-250 trucks was to keep many things under the skin similar. From '65 to '79 the front end of these trucks had the same dimensions. This allows bolt-up solutions with very minimal alterations using later (up to 1979) power steering and power brakes setups on the '65 and '66 trucks before reliable power steering and power brakes were even available.
Unfortunately, I can only confirm this for left-hand steer trucks.
Here is what I suggest:
I would be willing to bet that the power steering and power brake setups on later right-hand F-350s might fit your truck. You will have to find a later model though, and take some careful measurements.
See if 8-lug hubs will fit the current spindles - if so you're good to go.
If not, see if you can upgrade to 8 lug spindles, possibly with front disc brakes. Check if the 8-lug brake spindle uses the same king pin as the drum one, or possibly slightly shorter but still functional (as in the F-100 swaps).
Perhaps a complete front axle swap might be easier to get power brakes and power steering.

I wish I could provide more info, but we wish you the very best in your project. Keep us informed!

 

Ron, I checked parts interchange using online sources from Autozone and Advance Autoparts, two popular do-it-yourself parts supply stores here in the States.
They list the same power steering gearbox for 1974 and 1976, for all F-100, F-250 and F-350 2WD trucks.

Hope this helps!

 

It's the same Ford P/S gearbox for 1969 F100/350's from serial number D96,001. ALL 1970/79 F100/350 2WD's.

1969's prior to serial number D96.001 = Bendix P/S.

F350's were not available with P/S prior to 1969.

The Ford P/S gearbox uses two seal kits, one for the input shaft, t'other for the output shaft.

These two seals kits fit 1969's after that serial number, ALL 1970/96 F100/350's.

And...1965/2002 Passenger Cars like LTD's, Crown Vics, Mercury Marquis & Grand Marquis, Lincoln Town Cars, T-Bird's and a whole lotta other stuff.

 

Ron, Swap a later model rear end in there.(See my siggy) That's what I did and it was much easier to do than you might think.

 

Ron, I have two 64 F350s and have been gathering parts and ideas for some time. One will be a 4x4 conversion using mid 70s F250 axles with divorced transfer case. The other one is what you want to pull off. A frame swap to a later twin i-beam F350 is not what I would like. The frame is way too under the cab to suit me.

I am now looking at bearing rotor combinations to see if there is anything that will fit the 64 spindles.

Another thing to consider, is another solid front axle. Don't freak out, but the Isuzu 3500 has a tire center to center distance of 65.6 inches. That is close to what a 61-66 F350 measures. Early modes had drums, later ones have disc. Something to consider. I priced a hub to hub axle @ $650.00 That is not too bad because if a conversion kit existed, it would be more than that.

When I get more info on the 64 spindles, I will post. ChazC