Hello y'all. I know this has been covered many times but I'm looking for specific info. I'm interested in converting my 1966 Ford F-250 camper special to power disc brakes in the front. I have inquired a 1978 f250 as my donor truck. What all will I need to take from this truck in order to make the conversion successful. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Just as with the F100 swap, take the I beams, spindles, brakes, and radius arms together. You will also need the steering gear box (most likely power) and all the steering linkage, and the steering column assuming it's power steering.

 

F250's had an option for dual piston calipers, which is preferential and what I have. Swap everything from the firewall out. I would suggest that you get a rebuilt power brake booster m/c assy along with new brake hoses (there are two types of these as well).
Get the power steering gear as well. I doubt a '78 is going to have an FE, but if it does, you'll want to grab the p/s pump, drive pulleys, and mounting brackets.

 

Thanks for all the info guys! The donor truck does have power steering.
it has a 460 with a c6 and I also wanted to drop that in there. so I pull everything as a unit? And will the power steering be required for this swap or could I use my old steering gear box? I don't know too much about swapping columns so I wasn't sure if they were interchangeable or not.

 

Now you're talking!

I cannot absolutely say without doubt that column will bolt in, but 95% sure it will. You will want power steering, and to do that you need the shorter power steering column. I have one from a '76 that I plan on installing, just haven't done it yet.

 

You might not have to change the I beams if the king pins are the same size. The column will need a mounting bracket from the 65 welded onto the donor column

 

I was planning on pulling the i beams, tie rods, pitman arm, radius arms, power steering gear box and linkage. I'm going to replace the booster and master cylinder but will pull the porportioning valve. Will I need to use the springs from my donor or will I use the same springs from my 66? I really appreciate all the info. New to the forum here, even if you have any other posts that might point me in the right direction please post them below. Thanks once again

 

From my understanding everything from the years 73-79 are a direct bolt on for the most part? I also noticed that the 78 donor has a sway bar which I'm assuming I'll also need to put on my 66.

 

Yes it will all bolt in. You have to change the gear box because the pitman arms are different, but since you plan to transplant the engine as well, that's even better. You'll just transfer all the power steering brackets hoses and pump with the 460.

The kingpins on the 460 are bigger than the original ones, so there is no point in trying to keep the originals. There's also a good chance they're in better shape because 1) they're newer, and 2) most 460 trucks weren't driven like daily drivers, so they probably have less miles on them. However, they could be rusted, so make sure they're good while you have everything out.

 

I bought a '65 that has already had all of the brake swaps done, the front tires / wheels stick out about 1-2" more than the rear tires / wheels. I am assuming the '73 has a wider stance. anyone have an easy solution for this problem as well?

Thanks, F O T

 

1965 and 1966 2WD twin-I-beam suspension - the front track is wider than the rear. Has nothing to do with the swapped in disk brakes.

In 1973 Ford widened the rear track to match the front.

 

The easiest solution is to use wheel spacers on the rear.

The next easiest solution is to run a wider rear wheel and tire. If you run a 7 or 8" rim and a 260 or wider tire out back, it will fill out the wheel well nicely.

A little more involved solution but still not too hard is to weld new perches on a '73 up axle in the correct location for a '65-72.

 

I won't use wheel spacers, and I just got a set of very nice centerlines that I am using. I'll live with it for now, I am having a hard time believing that 65-66 trucks came from the factory with a 1-2" spacing difference from the front to rear. I had a '65 a few years back also that still had front drums and I think i would have noticed the difference. The difference is quite obvious.

 

it's true, been discussed here many times.

 

I'll have to believe then. Thank you.