Originally Posted by
seattle smitty
New here; howdy, howdy. I'm looking at an old Oroweat bread truck that's for sale. Grumman-Olson Kurb Van aluminum body on a Ford one-ton chassis. Single rear tires, not dually. Inline 300-six, 4-speed with granny low. I-beam front axle, not the twin I-beams. Brake master cylinder looks to be the old single reservoir style, not the split (safety) system. Roughly 12' from behind the driver to the rear doors. Very flat nose, hardly anything you could call a hood, although there is a small hinged access panel that you could call a "hood" if you were cracking wise. Vehicle runs and drives, everything works but the brake lights, and the engine is noisy due to a cracked exhaust manifold.
That's about all I know so far, and I don't think the owner knows much more, but I'm wondering if any of you can tell me a few things.
What chassis would this have been? Was there one called a P-350? I don't know if the Econolines of that era ever had one-ton, E-350 chassis.
Any guess as to what that tranny was called? I'd think about replacing it, if possible, with a wide-ratio truck 4-speed that does NOT have a granny low gear, which I don't think I'd use (although I'll try it when I get the vehicle all equipped and loaded).
I'm assuming the brake switch is bad (didn't have a way to jump it when I looked at the vehicle the frist time, tho' I did pull some connectors apart and put them together a few times to clean any corrosion). It's a wierd looking switch on the back end of the brake push-rod, with a little spring. Did all the E/F/P(?)-350s have this switch?
Did the rest of the -350 chassis stay about the same when Ford went to the Twin I-beam front end? I'm assuming that if it is practical to convert to the Twin I-beam configuration, that would be a way to get a little better ride and big disc brakes. True? Anybody done it? I'm a welder, and can add tabs, brackets, swaybar mounts, etc..
P Series Parcel Delivery made 1953/77. It could be a P350, P400 or P500.
The VIN number you posted is not Ford related, it's body maker related. Look on the registration, see if it has an 11 digit Ford VIN that begins with a P.
The P Series shares very few parts with any other Ford trucks, many were only supplied by the
body maker.
It's not related to an Econoline, or an F Series, because...it's a P Series. The engine/trans/rear axle are the same, after that...very few parts are the same.
Ford sold the rolling stripped chassis, then purchasers had an outside body maker of their choice install the body and etc. This same chassis was once used by UPS and for Class A Motorhomes.
So many were used by bakery's, the P Series has been known as a 'bread truck' since day one.
1964/72 Manual Transmissions (gas engines): Column shift Borg Warner T-89 3 speed Medium Duty / New Process 435 4 speed manual (shift lever is on the floor).
1964/72 Rear Axles: P350 only = Dana 60 with or without Limited Slip / Optional in the P350, standard equipment in the P400/500 = Dana 70 with or without Limited Slip.
1967 and later came w/a dual master cylinder, so it's not a 1968 unless someone did some parts swapping.
The original stop light switch (Ford: C1AZ13480A / Motorcraft: SW24) is pressure activated, has a 2 pin wire connector, threads into a brass block at the front of the master cylinder.
This same switch was used on myriad 1942/66 FoMoCo Passenger Cars, Trucks, Bronco's and Econolines.
I have no idea what switch you're describing, I searched thru the '64/72 truck parts catalog for 1/2 hour, could not find anything that matched.
1967 and later Ford
F Series trucks have the stop light switch mounted to the brake pedal. It's activated by the push rod from the master (or booster if P/B).
Edit: You found the switch, I'll have to ask the fellow at Early Ford what switch you bought.
Early Ford Store (earlyfordstore.com) is located in San Dimas, about 20 minutes away (depending on LA traffic) from me, and is one a my regular hang outs.
Not only do they have tons of used, and some NOS obsolete parts, it's a museum of all things Ford, and is located in the original 1916 building that once housed the Ford Dealer.