We're dealing with a very solid 65 F250, with most all the creature feature upgrades.

Background, skip to the issues further below if not interested:

My 15 y/o daughter is a sophomore in HS and taking auto shop class. She's also playing varsity tennis and top 10 in her class....very competitive. Anyway, her older sister is going off to college about the same time she gets her DL. That means she needs something to drive. Ultimately she wants my Excursion but that's not happening. We've gone round and round shopping, wearing us both out. So she said, "Dad how about Big Red?" Now daily driving my 65 has been done, but it needs TLC. Spoke with the shop teacher, he's super cool and it is now their official project vehicle. Everyone wins(although I'm just kicking the can down the road 2 years, she's not taking this to college).

Issue:

1) We're going to put headers on it and was wondering if I should bother with header wrap, starter wrap, or both? Probably going with the Flowtech headers.

2) I need the correct proportioning valve. I have a 76 dual piston front end and a 12 x 3" drum brake rear end out of an 81. I was just going to use a '76 prop valve, but can't find one.

3) Playing with the idea of going the "bolt on" fuel injection route. That's about a $2000 hit from the shopping I've done. I have no experience / background here, not intimidated, just ignorant on the subject. Any suggestions?

4) Mechanically we will be good to go, electrically we're still using 52 y/o wiring. Looked at Painless Wiring but they don't have a F series truck specific kit. They have universal kits, thoughts?

Thanks

She doesn't know this, but I am thinking Power Tour 2018....

 

1. I can't help you much with. Never messed with header wrap.

2. I found a pretty cheap aftermarket one on eBay. I haven't installed it yet, but it looks to be pretty good quality. GM DISC DRUM BRAKES BRASS PROPORTIONING VALVE STREET RO CLASSIC CAR & TRUCK | eBay (yes it says GM, but says in the description that it fits Ford too. It should as it is a universal style.)

3. Once again, no firsthand info, but a lot of guys on the dentside forum swear by the FiTech setup. There was on older port injection system from Elelbrock that fit the FE engines, but I am pretty sure they don't make it anymore. I still see them around for sale, but they are NOT cheap.

4. I'd be curious on this one as well. Probably something I am going to do for the wife's 65, but haven't done much research yet.

 

check out Centech Wire Custom Wiring Harnesses a guy used them on his dentside & said they were great

 

1- Starter wrap yes, did not use header wrap. 2- can't help. 3- Stay away. 4- Fix what's broke.


John

 

1. The problem with header wrap is it tends to retain moisture. Plain steel headers won't last long. If you want to use header wrap, use stainless headers and have them ceramic coated. Then spray the wrap with high temp paint and wrap while wet. That will minimize the ability to hold moisture in.

2. You can use the '70 Mustang prop valve that is readily available from numerous distributors, or any of a number of aftermarket adjustable valves. I like the Wilwood valve that has a built in adjuster.

3. I have no personal experience, but the easiest cheapest way would be to get a bolt on 4 BBL style injector like Holley and MSD make. There are probably others, but those are 2 name brand manufacturers that have a decent reputation.

4. The easiest, although maybe not the cheapest way to replace the wiring is with reproduction harnesses. Virtually every harness is available by more than one manufacturer. Narrangansset Reproductions has every single harness except the front to rear harness with the extra wires for the Camper Special, and they could probably make one of those if they had an original to use as a guide. You can get a universal harness for much less than replacing every single OEM harness, but you have to consider what your time and is worth and your level of frustration.

 

1. I would use ceramic coated hedders or get them ceramic coated.

2. I like the wilwood adjustable one and it's priced fair.

3. I have the Holley Terminator setup on my 64 with my 466 and am very pleased with it and it's easy to install.

4. I used the ez wire harness which is economical and labelled very well, it may be GM colored but truly who cares it's just wires. It works well, was easy to install and labelled well.

Power tour would be a great time.

D

 

Holley's new TBI system looks nice and works better than FI Tech according to reviews...

 

D4TZ-2B257-A .. Brake Pressure Differential Valve / Marked: D4TA-2B328-A1A or A2A or D5TA-2B328-C1A or C2A / Obsolete

1974/79 F250 2WD with 6,900/7,500/8,100 GVWR & dual piston caliper disc brakes. 1974/79 F350 2WD (all came with dual piston caliper disc brakes).

NOS PARTS SOURCE in Olathe KS has 1 = 913-220-5746.

Outside of the glass, these trucks came with no safety features of any kind. Lap seat belts were optional, shoulder harness seat belts were not available until 1976.

These trucks do not have a collapsible steering column, no crumple zones, no air bags. Would I let teenagers drive one daily? Absolutely not!

 

I started driving my 64 daily when I was 17. It's been over two years and I've never had a wreck. Is it wise to allow a teenager to daily drive one of these trucks? Probably not. I think it depends on the teenager though.

I just recommend doing a few safety things first. Personally, I added lap belts (to make my mom happy) and I also added power disk brakes because I don't trust all these soccer moms driving with their cell phones.

A vehicle is only as safe as the driver.

 

OP lives in central TX, you live in TN, I've lived in Los Angeles County most of my 72 years.

Here the traffic is horrible, what it's like in central TX or in TN could be mild or it could be almost as bad as LA LA Land.

The steering wheel on these trucks is very close to the driver...even when the seat is all the way back. I'm 6-5, owned a '65 F100 for 44 years.

How tall is the OP's teenage daughter? If she's short, may have to move the seat forward, making the truck even more unsafe.

So far, 6 of the chimer-inners in this thread haven't mentioned a single word about safety.

 

How true!
Driving an older car or truck I think only makes for a better driver down the road as "they need to drive" as the car/truck will "not drive for them!"

When my son got his DL at 18 because of money he drove my 75 AMC factory v8 Gremlin with a lock right locker out back and 4 wheel non-power brakes.
Short wheel base and locker made it "fun" to drive in the rain but I trusted him and he never had any issues...that I know of.

The OP knows his daughter if she can handle it or not and is up to him & mom if she gets to drive it everyday. Might be good to add a lap belt or 2 but I cant see much more for safety.

1: Don't wrap headers as it keeps the heat in and the tubes cant handle it and will fail sooner. I would gat them coated and use heat shields as needed.
2: Sometimes you don't need one but with testing you find you do go for the adjustable one. Cheap, easy to install and can dial it in for the truck as you are using mix n match brake system in an older truck so the 76 valve may not work as should.
3: I have not looked into this for a few years now and a whole lot has changed so cant help.
4: Again I have not done this but I would up date the wiring before doing the EFI but would keep in mind that I was going with EFI to get a kit that works best.


My .02
Dave ----

 

What about everybody else sharing the roads. Do they factor at all into this nugget of wisdom?

 

I'll go out on a limb and predict desire to drive the '65 F250 as a DD will be self limiting. Gosh knows I like cruising in mine...about 5000 miles each summer...mostly interstate but also some work commuting. The stiffness of a work truck, wide turn radius, and the waiting a few minutes for the engine to warm up to run right can get tiring. Interstates around me are fairly smooth and a few minute warm up followed by a long cruise is no problem but short hops to school and back might have your daughter wishing for something a little newer. I could be wrong...and often am.

 

Believe it or not , in 1965 that was a daily driver. worked then and will work now, all stock.

 

Thats true but, if you intend to keep a car long...its wise to go a bit slower than everyone else when people start congregating...this more applies to the interstate but some times people find away to do anything..maybe 5mph slower or more depending on how stupid people are driving..heck peopl dont even think about people driving standards anymore...thats really hard on people trying to take off if they have a little 4 cylinder...but this is a slick were talking about anyway...just depends on how responsable the teen is...basically what everyone else has said though...just my 2 cents...niw would i drive my slick in st louis during rush hour...heck no but in smaller cities i dont see too much of a problem as long as she can handle it...