Good score on the whole front clip from the yard. Makes things easy as everything's there no pieces forgotten while at the junk yard pulling the parts off. Hand reaming I do that when I have to realign CNC tool turrets after they crash. Take little passes and keep checking is the key. I just did my 4wd's kingpins something tells me I'll be doing the kingpins on the "Southern Queen" shortly.

 

The photo below is of the old drum brake/I-beam assembly from my truck (1969 F-100, short bed, Style Side Ranger).

1. Take the top of the shocks loose from the upper spring pocket. You'll need a 9/16" end wrench or socket for this.

2. Disconnect the flexible brake hoses from the hard lines. You'll need a 3/8" flare nut line wrench to break the flare nuts loose.

3. Remove the nuts and bushings from the trailing ends of the radius arms. You'll need a 1-1/8" socket.

4. Remove the upper coil spring retaining straps. The straps will be located on the under side of the upper coil spring pockets. There will be (2) 3/8"-16 bolts per strap. The heads of the bolts are on top of the spring pockets. They will require a 9/16" end wrench or socket.

5. Remove the I-beam pivot bolts. On my '69 F-100, the head of the I-beam pivot bolt required a 1-1/8" end wrench and the nut required a 15/16" socket.

On the '77 I-beam bolts/nuts, the bolt head and the nut are the same size and required a 15/16" socket and end wrench.

6. Remove the Cotter pin then take the nut off the drag link stud and separate the drag link stud from the pitman arm on the steering gear box. This will require a 7/8" socket or end wrench.

At this point, everything should drop out as an assembly.





Around '71, Ford changed the hard brake line-to-flexible brake line frame brackets. If your trucks brackets are like the one on the right (in borrowed photo below from Mr. HIO Silver), you're good. If your brackets are like the one he's holding on the left, then you need to get the Denside brake hose brackets, like the one on the right.




A truck with all-wheel drum brakes will have a pressure differential valve like the one in the following photo (this is the one off my '69 f-100). It was located inside the left side frame rail, just rearward of the steering gear box.



Internal diagram of the drum/drum pressure differential valve (this is from my '68 Mustang shop manual but, the drawing is the same in my '69 truck shop manual).




If you're sourcing donor disc brake parts from Dentside trucks, they will have have a different brake valve (commonly called, a 'combination valve' or a 'proportioning valve') designed specifically for discs front/drums rear. --proportioning is only ONE function of the valve assembly, though.

These disc/drum brake valves will have 3 functions; 1. Metering (or, hold-off) for the front disc brake circuit, 2. a pressure differential valve spool (just like the drum/drum pressure differential valve has), and 3. a proportioning valve for the rear drum brake circuit.

This is the disc/drum valve that came off the '77 F-100 donor vehicle I got my parts from.



Cutaway of an actual valve like came from the '77 F-100 pictured directly above. --Metering valve to front disc brake circuit on the left side of cutaway, pressure differential valve spool in the center, proportioning valve for the rear drum brake circuit on the right.



This is another style disc/drum brake valve I pulled from a '75 F-350 (the donor truck I got my 8-3/4" diameter Bendix dual-diaphragm brake booster from).



Currently, I don't know if either one of these OEM valves are operable. They are often gummed up with gunk because people neglect to change their brake fluid regularly or, from having sat in a bone yard for a long period of time and the fluid not moving through them (debris settling out in them).

Locating a new OEM disc/drum brake valve can be difficult and generally expensive if you do find one. There are aftermarket valves available based on the GM brake valves (which incidentally looks VERY similar to the 2nd disc/drum valve from the '75 F-350 pictured above).

Many people install a manually-adjustable proportioning valve and delete the factory OEM valve altogether. I have used the manually-adjustable valves in the past but, I really prefer the OEM valves. They are designed and calibrated to operate correctly with the vehicle they are on --a '67-'72 truck, of a particular size and series, is very similar to a comparable '73-'79 truck of like series and size.

Deleting the OEM brake valve and adding only a manually-adjustable proportioning valve will not have the metering (hold-off) feature of the OEM valve nor will it have the safety feature of the pressure differential valve spool inside the valve body assembly. Without a set of brake pressure gauges, there is no precise way to adjust a manually-adjustable proportioning valve, other than a best guess setting of making a few hard stops, after twisting on the adjustment ****. --however, the worst thing you can do, after installing new brakes, is to run out and start making hard stops. The brake rotors/drums, brake pads/brake shoes need to be bedded in first, before any hard applications are put on the brakes.

Bedding in brakes.

http://www.centricparts.com/files/Ce...n%20Theory.pdf

The brake master cylinder needs to be swapped from one that's designed for all-wheel drums to a MC designed for discs front/drums rear. It's best to buy a new MC and not a rebuilt --and especially not use a MC off a donor vehicle.

This swap WILL require some (rigid) brake line fabrication.

 

I used a 77 or 78 dent for my source vehicle when I did the front disc brake swap on my 71 F100. The difference in braking was very noticeable. My biggest challenge was really installing the proportioning valve. I am not happy with its install, but it works and is not subject to being beat up too bad by road debris.
I will say, that a large proportion of my salvage yard parts ended up being cores for items I purchased at NAPA - brake booster, master cylinder, calipers.
Luckily, in my little town there is still a shop that will ream out kingpins. He has helped me on that and also pressing on new bearings for my rear axles and pressing out/in bushings on my I-beams.

 

Can you post acouple more pics of the old 69 I beams from the top view? like you did in the first pic above. And more showing the passenger side beam the 69 I'm working on seems to have a bad bend in the passenger beam and would like to compare it to a straight unbent one.

 

When I pulled the brakes and power steering off of the 77 donor I removed the brake lines and prop valve and their brackets all as one assembly. I only cut off the one line going from the prop valve to the rear brakes. I was able to install the whole assembly onto my 68 and all that was required was two holes drilled in the crossmember where the prop valve bolted and installing the two 77 brake hose brackets. I saved myself a lot of work not having to bend new lines except for a short line to join into the line running to the back brakes.

 

Clever. Good call. Working smarter, not harder.

 

This is my '77 donor valve. Obviously, the lines are bent up and some are rusty --no way I would put that on my truck.



Some people hate the thought of making brake lines but, I actually enjoy fabricating lines. It has a therapeutical value to me.

These are some examples of lines I've made.

 

HEY HIO. You better call your Mom and ask her if you got a brother she never told ya about!

 

Nice work.

 

All sibs accounted for.

Some have "the eye", hacks don't.

 

There should be a bit of a bend in the beam. This to put the wheel in the center (for and aft) of the wheel well. The axle pivot brackets are offset from each other, so to compensate for that and get the both wheels centered in the wheel wells, the beams are slightly bent.

 

Hey Ultra, where do you get the "spring" shielding for the hard lines?
Thanks.

 

I don't consider myself a Hack. But I sure don't have the talent you two guys have.

 

Per your request, here's a photo from above my old drum/I-beam setup.


...not exactly per your request is a photo of the I-beam pivot mount on the left side of the frame. --I have the shocks installed and the right shock obstructs the view of the right side beam pivot mount.

The mount should be virtually perpendicular to the frame and pointing straight down towards the ground. Your mount is DEFINITELY bent.

 

Like your sig says, "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.".

You can do it bud!!!!