I am the proud new owner of a 1966 F100 stepside. It was in overall excellent condition when I bought it- a few dings; some surface rust, but no cancer; newly remanufactured 300 ci; new brakes; newly reupholstered seat; a small box of spare parts.

I plan to keep it fairly stock, with only a few minor mods. The major change is switching from a three on the tree to a four in the flour. Right after I found the truck, I located a NP 435- complete with shift lever, ****, and shift boot- all in excellent condition!

Right now I'm looking at the following:
1. Install a back-up light switch (4 speed was manufactured in May 1965, so no switch- bummer!).
2. Variable speed wipers. I've read on the forum that you can install a later model system which still uses the OEM switch/****, so it still looks original.
3. Install A/C (one of the wife's few requests...).
4. Install extra dash cluster. The spare I received has the actual Oil Pressure and Generator gauges instead of the idiot lights. Of course this means I will need to install the proper sending units. The spare instruments also came in a spare dash- which has the hazard lights switch. Bonus! So I'll have to wire that in.
5. Send OEM AM radio out for switch to AM/FM while maintaining stock look.
6. I may switch front brakes from drum to disc- still haven't decided on that one.

 

We did complete the transmission swap this week.
- removed the drive shaft
- removed the cross member
- dropped the old 3 speed
- removed the shift linkages (the bushings were worn and they were binding, so it was another excuse to change it out!)
- inspected and adjusted the clutch- discovered P.O. had also installed new clutch with the remanufactured engine
- installed 4 speed, which included making a good sized hole in the tranmission tunnel
- measured for new drive shaft

Once the new drive shaft was ready, did a final fluid/lube check and top off, then went for a test drive.

It ran great! I had forgotten how much power the granny low has. I may have to install some synchronizers in the future, because I'm having to double clutch. Will also make it easier for my wife- she is bugging me to teach her how to drive it. She has to wait at least until the transmission access panel arrives next week, because it sure is noisy for the moment, with the cab open to the engine and transmission.

 

Also finally got the column shifter out. Some previous owner had put some sort of cement gloop in where the retention pins sit- evidently to take some of the play out which had occured due to wear. What a pain! Was able to locate a blank shift collar, which I installed today.

 

Attempted to make some progress today. My goal was to address the lighting issues (left front parking/turn light inop, rear turn signal inop), swap out the shift collars, as well as install the improved instrument cluster.

I started with the left front light- the existing bucket was corroded, so I attempted to install a new one- but it doesn't fit. Just to see if putting in a new one will solve my problem, I connected the pig tail and inserted a bulb, but still no light show. I'll have to do additional tracing to track down the source of the problem.

Next I moved on to the rear lights. The right rear light was banged up, so I thought that might be the issue with the turn signal. I replaced both lights, and the left worked perfectly. The right, however, now had the turn signal working, but the running lights didn't work. I thought maybe I miswired it, but checked, and it was correct.

I then decided to change the shift collar. After removing the steering wheel, I noticed that there were no wiring connectors, so removing the collar would not be as simple as I'd hoped. I was about to put everything back together and just leave the old shift collar on, when I noticed some of the wires from the turn signal stalk had been pinched. Thinking this may be the issue with my turn signals, I figured I might as well address the problem. I disconnected the battery, labeled all seven wires, cut them, then removed the old shift collar and replaced with the new blank collar. I then carefully matched up the wires, spliced and taped them.

Next I removed the instrument cluster panel, carefully marked all of the wires and connectors, and disconnected the old cluster. After installing the new cluster and reattaching the battery, I was happy to see that I now had a functioning fuel gauge (the gauge in the old cluster was inop). I still have to de-install the aftermarket temp gauge and convert the idiot light system for the Generator and Oil Pressure so the gauges in the new cluster will work, but I ran out of day for today.

Once I tried everything out, I was disappointed to see that now none of my lights work except for the headlights and the cab courtesy light. I checked the fuses, but none were blown. Tomorrow (hopefully) I'll check the fuse box with a tester to ensure everything checks out. I still need to figure out why the horn doesn't work.

So, most of my challenges at this point appear to be electrical- which is not my strong suit. Fortunately this old truck has fairly simple electrical, so I will work on figuring it out.

 

PICTURES PLEASE!!! sounds like a good project though!

 

I have some pics in my garage right now. Will add more as I make progress...