hello all.

I just purchased a '63 2 wheel drive Custom Cab short box wrong bed F100 a few weeks ago.
Brought it up from my home state to where I am stationed now so I can work on it.

Bed is rusted! Will be replacing that. Considering putting a 64 bed on it if I can find one.
The rear wheel seal passenger side leaks gear oil. Probably contaminated the breaks, but I haven't had the opportunity to check yet. When I drive it, you have to mash the peddle to the deck to get it to stop.
Interior is red/white with a black vinyl seat. Original gas tank behind the bench seat. No seat belts, and radio either. Never had one installed.
Body is pretty straight, very little rust that I can find so far.
Intentions for 2013 are to put in power steering, fix the rust/replace the bed, replace suspension and work on the cab.

In my day job I am a machinery technician in the Coast Guard. I have deployed to the sand box, but now I just blow chunks on the smallest Cutter I have served on. Been doing this for 14 years, now that I don't stand watch- or Officer of the Deck duty as you do as a junior Coastie, I have a little bit more free time and wanted to work on a project. This pickup is just what I need.

I used to own 3 other Fords prior to my current soccer mom CR-V.... Don't judge. I owned a 99 Ranger xlt, 2wd manual stepside. A 01 xlt long bed, 07 exploder sport trac (best vehicle I ever had, I miss it every day)

 

Welcome to the FTE shipwrecked, sorry to hear about you loosing your lunch underway. Was a MK in another life myself, those ships can be murder in rough weather. Spent some time out on the Washington coastline at small boat stations. What ship are you on?

Not a bad looking truck you have there, I have two 62's one I drive around the other is waiting for some new tires this summer. What engine does it have and transmission?

 

Don't forget to join the Washington Chapter of the FTE. They may be able to steer you in the right direction for a used bed.

Washington Chapter Ford Truck Enthusiasts

 

It has the 223 ci, three on the tree. Nice smooth starting. The ride is a bit rough, since the suspension is pretty shot. 14441 miles on the odometer, but the numbers are wrong as the speedo gear is busted. I need a green 17spline, add it to the list...
Overall the truck was probably a farm truck from my home area in Oregon. I grew up near Hillsboro, so I am sure this truck was used out in one of the many farms out that way.

There is a hole drilled in the hood by the emblem from back in the 90's when people were stealing batteries out of vehicles. I of course will have that fixed. First thing first, the rear seals. Then breaks, then suspension.


I am an EPO on an 87 foot patrol boat now. I am on the Sea Devil currently. It is my 4th Cutter, and every day I sail on it, I just hope to keep my cookies down. It's a rough ride for people like me. I never had a sea sick problem on the MELLON, but dang it if I volunteered for this duty. I came back from the middle east in February and have been turning two ever since on my cutter. It had a lot of mechanical failures within weeks of taking it, but we are all set now. What do you expect with a name like that; or the fact it is named after a sunken submarine.

 

Sweet my folks live in Forest Grove. Drop by the Oregon Chapter some time, good majority of us are Vets. I retired in 2007, last duty station was Sector New York. Before that I was up at Navsta Everett, working with Afloat Training Group Pacific Northwest. Mostly training Alaska cutters above 180 FT, Ice breakers when they were all running. Took the Midgett up to Alaska once, loved that job. My first duty station was a 95FT patrol boat, I feel your pain.

 

I got a chance to go out and take a few more pictures of the truck today. I've been underway a lot and haven't been able to do any work on the truck. I am also moving to a different house with a garage in a few weeks. My current house is a death trap with dozens of weak pine trees overhead. During a recent snow/rain storm we had two weeks ago, I thought I was going to have one come crashing down on the house. I was at work and by the time I got home several days later, a bunch of branches came down crashing the roof of the house.

Anyway, as soon as I get to the new house, I am going to start by fixing the rear axle oil leak. Then on to removing the bed. Started right up the first try too! Its been sitting for about three weeks.




Here is a link to the pics. I can't overload the thread with all the pics.63 F100 shortbox Photos by cuttercoasty | Photobucket

 

Looks like the paint code might have been JM. Rangoon red with Corinthian white.

 

Warranty plate says K... So isn't that Driftwood Grey?

I was wondering why the interior of the truck was Red/White. Was that the option for the Custom Cab?

 

Back then, radio, heater, outside mirrors and seat belts were extra cost options as was darn near everything else. Basic truck was a 'stripper' Standard Cab cab & chassis with a 223 I-6 & 3 on the tree.

Thank you for your service, I'm an ex swabbie myself and now a volunteer on the battleship USS IOWA (BB61) that's now a museum ship in Los Angeles Harbor (San Pedro).

1963: K = Driftwood, not listed as a shade of gray.

Upholstery color choices very limited in 1963. The BODY code stamped on the Warranty Plate only defines the body style: 66A (Uni) & 81A = Standard Cab / 66B (Uni) & 81B = Custom Cab.

1964: FoMoCo went hog wild, offered black, beige, blue, green, red seats. BODY code defines color/type of seat upholstery.

FTE member TripleFrame has the fleet salesman's data books, can show you what was available.

btw: My SIL is a master sargeant in the USA(R), is presently serving in Afghanistan, her 3rd tour of duty there. Sent us a pic of their xmas tree. A bleak landscape, not another tree or shrub growing in the background.

 

Here is the warranty plate up close.

 

F10 = F100 2WD

J = 223 1V I-6.

R = San Jose CA Assembly Plant.

372126 = 1963, assembled January 1963.

114" Wheelbase.

K = Driftwood.

F100 2WD, 5,000 lbs. GVWR

81B = Custom Cab.

A = Ford type 3.03 3 Speed Manual all Syncromesh Transmission.

12 = Ford 9" Rear Axle / 3.89-1 / No Limited Slip / 3,000 lbs. Rear Axle Capacity.

5,000 lbs. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.

114 net HP @ 3,600 RPM

71 = Los Angeles (SoCal) Ford District Sales Office, where the original selling dealer ordered the truck from.

If it was ordered from the PNW, the DSO code would be 74 (Seattle).

Do not believe the miles shown of the odometer, as it reads to 99,999.9 .. then returns to ZERO!

 

Yeah, I have no idea where it originally was purchased from. I picked it up in the Portland area (15 miles west). I went to high school with the previous owner. He had it for only a year before he sold it to me. He might have picked it up locally, but the truck probably came from southern oregon/northern california originally.

No way of knowing. Other than the current Oregon license plate was issued in the mid 1960's.

The odometer is definitely broken. It had the original engine in it when the PO put in this current engine so he could rebuild the other one. This engine I believe came out of a 57. I wont know until I look at the block number.

 

It didn't come from OR originally, not from NorCal either.

If ordered in NorCal, the DSO would be 72 (San Jose CA District Sales Office) / If ordered in OR/WA: DSO code 74 (Seattle WA District Sales Office).

It was ordered from Los Angeles, so it was either sold new here or in Alaska/Hawaii/Guam/American Samoa.

 

You guys been making patrols off of Cape Flattery?

 

Hard to explain.. My Cutter doesn't leave the Puget Sound. My Cutter works for the Navy-even though we are Coast Guard.
When going out around Admiralty Inlet, we get kicked. It's a washing machine out there.
So I thought it was going to be cool- you know, getting sea time without having to go back out to sea. I've spent over 8 years already doing that... Figured another few years on a boat wouldn't be so bad. Man was I in for a ride. I get older, the boats get smaller, and I get more sea sick.