First off would just like to say this forum has been a big help before asking any questions about my newly acquired 1960 F100 4x4 with the 223 straight six and three on the tree. But I have come to the point where some help is need.

First question is what is the purpose of the little metal rings that go between the intake manifold and the head? I see them referred to as sleeves on ebay but cant find any info on them. I am putting a new exhaust header on and wasn't sure if I had to reuse them with the new gasket.

Second one, I have no rear tail lights or brake lights, all other lights work but the headlights are dim. I tested the harness in the engine bay and it has no power for the rear lights, is this a bad headlight switch or something worse? Turn signals work so I know the lights are functioning just no power.

Thanks for taking a look, as I am not really familiar with older cars as this is my first classic.

 

There are fuses for the rear lights on the headlight switch. First place to check.

There are also many places online to find a wiring harness for this truck, but I would recommend a full repair manual, also easy to find

 

Glad you got a fun truck to work on.

The "rings", you refer to are called sleeves as you saw them listed. They help seal up the mating surfaces along with the gasket. They can be reused if still in good condition.

There is a 15 amp fuse located on your headlamp switch, it controls the rear, park and dome lights. There is a seperate one for the turning signals. The fuse rest in a small fuse block that rides on top of the headlamp switch. Actually, the switch plugs into the fuse block, kind of looks like all one piece when you first get your noggin' under the dash.

Do you have a shop manual?, best investment you can make and if really serious, a parts master catalog is invaluable as well.

 

I Have a 59 f100 223 3 on the tree, remove instrument panel, be careful the glass will come out in your hand, sometimes they were taped on.remove inner panel, look to the left where your headlight switch is these fuses are attached to the switch. Use your test light,even if you have power, check the entire wire, it could be corroded at any point or even burned you may not be able to tell.

Remove the tail light cover that pin should make contact with the bulb, make sure you have two contact points on the bulb, look at the wire in the bulb, it may be broken.

 

Seems no one addressed the "dim headlight" question in this post.
Most likely caused by bad grounds. Follow the ground wires back to the eyes where they screw onto the body and make sure this is clean.
It's also possible that the plugs on the back of the sealed beams themselves could use a good cleaning up. Also check the eyes on the circuit breaker (little square box about 1 & 1/2 x 3/4 with two bolts & red wires on the firewall by the master cylinders, and it wouldn't hurt to check the spade connectors on the dimmer switch too Don't forget to put a dob of dielectric grease on after these areas are cleaned up to ensure long term reliability.

Mikie
near Ottawa Canada
58 m-100 panel & 64 econoline p/u