Speaking of frying fish, I am doing exactly that tonight, as lucked into a 110 lb wahoo today, and friends are making fish tacos, for dinner, with some of my wahoo...

5'11" 110lb. wahoo in the box..




Who on the fillet table..




He swallowed the lure entirely

 

Very nice fish!

 

Sorry to jump on this thread, but a 100 lb wahoo has been on my bucket list for a long time.... apologies to amigo Ultra....

Baja

 

I don't think Ultra will mind me saying CONGRATS Baja. That fish won't "punk" on smaller fish no more. Man, that fish has eyes almost the same size as a Chihuahua's head!

 

I'm afraid that mean old fish, would make short work of the little chihuahua. They swim up to about 70 mph, and maybe more if they held a fish Olympics... wawho knows... ??

Baja

 

The F350 booster and the '95 Explorer MC arrived, to go on the '72 F100 I'm working on (for another guy).

I was originally going to make a brake valve mounting bracket to put the valve on top of the steering gear box (like I did on my '69 F100) but, the washer reservoir on the '72 is too close to the steering gear box and is in the way.

Here, I'm using a rough cut piece of 1/8" thick aluminum plate (same piece I made the bracket from for my truck).











I'll have to finish cutting the plate to fit the valve and smoothing out the cuts but, it's a start. (the brake valve in the photo is just for mock up purposes).

This is the bracket I made (from the same aluminum plate material) to make the valve mounting bracket for my truck. --it was simply made with a drill, hand file, Greenlee Knockout, a counter-sink bit and a hacksaw --no precision equipment.

 

You need a larger fish box. The largest wahoo I've seen is a 45 lber my buddy caught in Cabo many years ago. All I caught was a sail fish. I did catch a 2 lb spotted bass this morning.

 

Very nice work Ultra... indeed. You chose the F350 booster, and I am wondering if they work better than the stock? I am asking because, my '68 F250 4x4 stops, but not like my '93 F250 4x4.. I have been crediting the disc brakes on the '93, vs the old drum brakes on the '68. Can you recommend anything to improve my brakes on the Highboy? Back in the day, I just assumed that drum brakes were the technology available, and that was that.. To compensate, I just drive a little slower, and brake a little sooner, as most people did back in the Day.. Now, even here in Baja, people seem to drive like an ant mound disturbed... I guess that I am getting old, 'cuz just yesterday, we went to Cabo, and the traffic reminded me of being in India, with a serious attention deficit disorder. I would like better brakes ...... somehow.

And yes Alex, my fish box is only 5'3" long....In the past, I have tied big marlin to the side of the boat to bring them in... Now I just release most of them...

Baja

 

When I finally do this swap on my 68 F250 I was planning on using that low fluid sensor in the M/C reservoir. Piggy backing it to the brake warning lamp on the dash. I have not investigated yet if this is possible or if the grounds wouldn't match. The part number on the pigtail for it is 3U2Z14S411NUB (WPT1001). Which is a 3 wire pigtail. Suggested retail is $44.78 but I would charge less.


EDIT.
For some reason Ford's on line wiring manual wouldn't show me that connector face. Tried 95 Explorer and F150. I can tell you 2 of the wires are bridged internally in that switch. One went to and was the input for a module. The other came from the bulb in the dash. The 3rd goes to ground. The switch turns on and shuts off the ground. So you can use 2 of these leads to allow power to pass through when fluid is low.

 

The factory Bendix dual diaphragm booster will have nearly twice the surface apply area of the stock single diaphragm brake booster. Naturally, more booster surface area equals greater output for the amount of force applied to the brake pedal.

At the time your truck was built, most all other vehicles on the road at that time also had 4-wheel drums. Everyone was pretty much on the same level playing field. Today, most all vehicles come with power 4-wheel disc brakes. Very few modern vehicles come with rear drums and none with font drums. This puts you at a disadvantage in competing with other vehicles that can stop faster and in a shorter distance than you.

A vehicle with front discs tends to track straighter when the brakes are applied (far less prone to darting to one side or the other) and brake modulation (linear brake application) is far better with discs than with drums.

Probably your best approach, if switching to front discs, would be to source the parts from a '73-'79 F250. Depending on the GVW of the Dentside F250 donor truck, the front brakes could have single piston front calipers or, it could have the larger twin piston Dayton front calipers.

Example of a Dentside front discs/suspension I pulled from a '78 F250 with the twin piston Dayton front calipers.

 

Thank you very much amigo, and all you said was informative, helpful, and most assuredly the best approach. Since my '68, has a '72 front differential, with the 12 bolt enclosed knuckles, I am thinking I may be stuck with the drums, until I can find an entire front differential, with both disc brakes, and the same gear ratio, as the closed knuckle front end...

Most of my driving in Baja, is on dirt roads, at less than 30 to 35 mph.. and on occasion, on the pavement to the next town, 20 miles away. I am comfortable with the drums on the dirt, as nobody is driving too crazy. On the trips to the next town, drivers here have a habit of pulling out in front of you, relying on your stopping. I conclude that there is no driver's Ed. in Baja...

Have you seen, or do you know of a disc brake conversion for the closed knuckle front differential?? That seems like it would be way easier than finding the exact front end I need.. It may indeed exist here, but finding it will be a problem..

Meanwhile, I will drive waaaaay ahead of myself... and put the double diaphragm booster on the project list... thanks again

Baja

 

I forget you have a 4WD --I tend to think in terms of a 2WD truck.

In that case, it would be best to locate a '76-'79 4WD F250 to rob the disc brake front axle from.

I know where a 78/'79 F150 4WD disc brake front axle assembly is (locally) but not one for an F250.


Some listings at Car-Part.com.

1976 Ford Truck-F250 not Super Duty (1999 Down)

Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 USED D44 4.09/NL. HOUSING AND GEARS ONLY-85566 85,000 A 1207013 $500 Davis Auto Wrecking & Sales USA-MO(Independence) Request_Quote 816-229-3432 / 816-229-3636 Request_Insurance_Quote
381

1976
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 212,000 C 224776 $Call Payless Auto USA-KS(Soldier) Request_Quote 888-899-0907 / 785-924-3600 Request_Insurance_Quote
436

1976
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck 250 4.09 ASM,DRUM BRAKES,VERIFY NOF $300 Nordstrom's Automotive Inc. USA-SD(Garretson) Request_Quote 877-211-3787 Request_Insurance_Quote
724

1977
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 ON TRUCK MS $300 A to Z Auto Parts USA-MI(Springlake) Request_Quote 1-231-798-2111 Request_Insurance_Quote
739

1977
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 4.10 HOUSING AND GEARS D31029 $375 Windy Hill Used Auto Parts USA-MN(New-London) E-mail 1-320-354-2201 812

1977
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 HOUSING ONLY TORN APART OD0364 $Call Patterson Auto Wrecking USA-PA(Cochranton) Request_Quote 800-822-2028 / 814-425-7415 Request_Insurance_Quote
879

1977
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck 250 5.8,4SP,4X4,HSING AND GEARS 4.09 10748 $200 North Verde Auto Salvage USA-OR(Ontario) Request_Quote 800-772-1648 Request_Insurance_Quote
1481

1976
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 4.09,HOUSING AND GEARS FG2587 $500 D and L Truck Parts USA-OR(Junction-City) Request_Quote 1-800-231-2603 Request_Insurance_Quote
1781

1977
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 4X4,SP44,3.54,HOUSING AND GEARS JF2793 $400 D and L Truck Parts USA-OR(Junction-City) Request_Quote 1-800-231-2603 Request_Insurance_Quote
1781

1976
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 4.10,HOUSING AND GEARS CH2362 $350 D and L Truck Parts USA-OR(Junction-City) Request_Quote 1-800-231-2603 Request_Insurance_Quote
1781

1977
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 HOUSING,GEARS,4.09 HF2711 $300 D and L Truck Parts USA-OR(Junction-City) Request_Quote 1-800-231-2603 Request_Insurance_Quote
1781

1977
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Truck F250 4.09,HOUSING AND GEARS,D44 HN0004 $300 D and L Truck Parts USA-OR(Junction-City) Request_Quote 1-800-231-2603 Request_Insurance_Quote
1781


OR
Request a Quote from hundreds of recyclers

 

Thanks amigo, and I noticed that one of the '77 front ends is listed with drum brakes?? Is that a mistake?? Must be, as I believe that they all had disc brakes by that time...

I will call some of them, and request some photos sent.. We shall see what happens, as it is hard to tell parts condition, from far away.. Thanks again...

Baja

 

Hey Russ, I found that the junk yd axles have been setting for a long time at most may be yrs. As well as the one, I got one from PnP a HD44, I saw for a few months before, I really started looking the axle over after doing a little research. It had the external locking hubs that did not really want but went for it any way. And a axle from the cold country with be sure to need rebuilding from the moisture eat up the bearing & axles inner seal areas.

I got to figuring that once, I pulled it all down the internal parts kept looking bad to the point of the only good parts was the rotors & calipers & their mounting brackets plus the axle housing.

I had to replace the locking hubs, the spindles, axles, the inner axle tube seals, Rebuild the calipers ,turn the rotors, replace all wheel bearings & seals,

The ring & pinon switched with my 4:09, plus the front yoke was in need om my old d44 unit,

So if you have to pay top dollar JY prices then spend another 800-$900 more for you the rebuilding it.

It may be cheaper buying a unit already build.

As I've seen them go for 2000-$3200 which by the time you paying shipping on one you have to rebuild.
Something to thing about plus swapping out your M/C and adding adjustable P-valve.
Orich

 

Thanks Brother, making the decision to switch to disc brakes, especially from 1000 miles South of the Border, is proving a bit more trouble than it may be worth. On one side of the decision tree, is way better stopping power with discs... On the other side, is $$ cost, shipping, repairs, and a trip to the border & back. Now, with more facts, reliable facts, and experienced facts, I am beginning to wonder if it is worth the trouble? On an old F250 4x4, what do you think the percentage of improvement in stopping power, ie shorter distance, will be with discs vs drums? 20%?? 40%?? 60%? If my truck will stop in 50% less distance, with discs vs drums, I will go for it, but for less, I will have to really evaluate the advantage vs the cost in time & $$$$$.
Perhaps, my best course to steer, is to put out feelers, for a donor truck here, with verifiable good running gear. After all, I am not in a big hurry any more... I have the rest of my life, so why hurry to the end of it?

Have a great weekend 'yall

Baja