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Fellas, this is a follow up to my first thread, entitled “Introduction and question: HAVE I MADE A BIG MISTAKE?”
I have recapped and condensed your comments from that thread below. If any of you see that I have misunderstood your comments or drawn the wrong conclusion from them, please let me know. And thanks for your input, it has already been invaluable.
The frame, engine, and drivetrain are from a 1961 F250 4x4. I was pretty confident in this statement until I measured the wheelbase. Please see my question regarding the wheelbase below. However, the VIN is stamped on the frame so at least I can be sure about that. Also, you have identified the engine as a 292, and the the VIN indicates that is correct.
Wheelbase is 129 inches (based upon using a tape measure from hub center to center). Here is where things get murky for me. One commentor said that on a 64-66 with that style of box, the wheelbase went to 128.8 in Canada and in the states it was 129 inches. Another post stated that I can check my ID plate on the door and that it should say 120 if it’s a correct 4x4.
Can anyone give any further details about what it means if i don't have a "correct" 4X4? Should the fact that it’s 129 inches indicate anything to me? BTW, I can't check the ID plate as you will see below.
The cab is a 1964. The cab has a higher roofline than a ’61 along with the battery’s location in the engine compartment rather than being under the passenger floor. Other features of the cab that indicate it is a ’64 include the instep into the cab, the heater style, the placement of the air vent *****, and the Custom Cab badging on the exterior doors. Remnants of the body side molding indicate it as a 63-64. The lightning bolt hood emblem also indicates the cab is a pre-65 model. The grille and top valance are from a ’65. Some of you have suggested that the cab may be from a 2WD truck. Unfortunately I’m not able to confirm this to you by the warranty plate on the driver’s door, because as you can see in the photo below, it is conveniently missing. The other photo is of a label from the glove box, but the label is in terrible shape and I don’t see anything on there that carries a VIN or SN.
In case any of you are wondering, most of these photos come from the seller and some of them were taken before he installed the new bench seat. Sure dresses the thing up, doesn't it?
The box is of an indeterminate origin and is wrong for the truck. There seems to be some disagreement on the year model of the box, but you all seem to agree that it is not correct for this truck. RangerMercMan says identifies it as being from 64 to 66 2 Wheel Dr. style side truck and also 66 F100 4 x 4 truck.
I have to admit that when I got your comments from my initial thread, I was disappointed. Mostly in myself, for having bought something that “isn’t right”. In the past few days, I have dreamed up a hundred scenarios where I am going to pay the price for my ignorance. As I repair and ultimately restore this truck, I am going to have to try to figure out, part-by-part, is this for a ’61, a ’64, or maybe some other year? It has increased the level of difficulty by about a thousand percent, at least for a novice like me.
But there is a bright side. My reason for buying this truck is to enjoy it. I want to learn how to do my own wrenching, and this truck is going to give me ample opportunity for that. It will help me to get better at welding, and to learn how to do paint and bodywork. I look at the photos of some of your trucks and I can imagine the pride and sense of accomplishment you must feel. I’m afraid that you will be hearing a lot from me over the next few years. I’m going to need a lot of handholding!
I would like to pass on a quotation from a book that I like, Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil. The quote is from a fellow named Jim Williams, who restored old houses in Savannah, Georgia back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. I hadn’t thought of his words in a long time, but last night I looked them up in the book and now I have them printed out and taped up in my shop. His quote refers to restoring houses, but it is certainly applicable to what we are doing:
“You must restore a house step-by-step, inch-by-inch. A house will defeat you if you try to restore it all at once—from roof to windows, weatherboarding, jacking it up, central heating, wiring. You must think of doing one thing at a time. First you say to yourself: Today I am going to think about leveling off the sills. And you get all the sills leveled. Then you consider the windows. Just one window at a time. That window right there. You ask yourself, ‘What’s wrong with that part of the window?’ You must do it in sections, because that’s the way it was built. And then suddenly you find the whole thing completed. Otherwise, it will defeat you.”
You have a nice truck there so there is nothing to worry about. Your V.I.N. indicates a proper 4whl dr so that is a good score. You have the nice custom cab trim on the inside. In regards to the wheelbase it should be 120" so either you are measuring wrong or the previous builder moved the axles to line things up to the new wheel wells better. Restore the body you have and don't worry about getting the 57-60 box. You have already stated that you want to have fun tinkering and that you were not looking for concours 100 💯 correct.
You have a nice truck there so there is nothing to worry about. Your V.I.N. indicates a proper 4whl dr so that is a good score. You have the nice custom cab trim on the inside. In regards to the wheelbase it should be 120" so either you are measuring wrong or the previous builder moved the axles to line things up to the new wheel wells better. Restore the body you have and don't worry about getting the 57-60 box. You have already stated that you want to have fun tinkering and that you were not looking for concours 100 💯 correct.
^^^^ agree completely with what RMM said. So your truck might be a hodge podge of a few different years. It honestly looks like whoever pieced it together was combining the best of the pre-65 items (other than grille/upper valance being 65 of course). Most people prefer the bed you have which actually has the correct styling for the cab forward. The 57-60 box, even if technically correct, looks out of place in my view, although the high rear fender openings look cool on a 4x4. I suspect if ford would have had the correctly styled box ready to offer sooner, they would have preferred to use it rather than the wrong-bed 57-60 style. It would be interesting to hear what type of comments/questions the salesmen got about the mismatched beds back then!! May have lost a few sales? Anyhow, unless you were going to do a concours restoration (which is throwing away $ on these trucks) then enjoy it and make it what you want it to be. Just my 2 cents.
Another thought for you 61 Barber Pole, is to contact the seller and see if he knows more about the build or where either of the warranty door tags are.
Here is what I have found. There is a lot of stuff around for F100s of that year in terms of aftermarkets (specifically suspension and brake conversions). Not as much, in some cases no options, for certain parts. You will find yourself doing a fair amount of crafty conversions from other years. Check out my build and I can help you with some things in terms of good model year parts to look for for upgrades. Bench looks great tho, wish i had that seat!
This is all really good information, fellas, and is reassuring that I can make something good come out of this thing. I think I have traced the ownership back to the guy who did most of the work and I'm going to call him. Thanks, 61FordF-250, for the link to your project and the encouragement! This is a great forum!
04-23-2017, 06:43 AM
