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I don't recall how long Rip Van Winkle slept, in the child's story, but last week, for the first time since 1990 ,my 1965 Camper Special drove down a highway under its own power. This is my first attempt to post pictures..
First things first. I want to thank all those who contribute to this site. I have referenced it often. Also, to those about to embark upon a resto or just to tinker with one of these things I recommend the single best piece of advice I've gotten here. Namely, buy the Ford parts disc from hipoparts. Best 20 bucks you'll spend on the whole project.
I'll tell you what I know about the truck, tell what Ive done so far and then list the work remaining. The third part will probably be an ongoing thread. I'm no mechanic and my comprehension skills are often questioned.. Ha.
The truck in question is a 1965 F250 Camper Special Deluxe/
I got it three or four years ago and Bill (ND) was kind enough to decode the warranty plate for me at that time.. The truck is what the plate claims it to be.
65 CS Deluxe
F250
352 with NP 435 tranny.
Medium Blue /Wimbledon White
Sold out of the Seattle District office by Bill Marshall Ford in Vancouver(Wa.) Ford on July 8,, 1965 /
After market items included dual saddle tanks with driver side switch valve. Western Jr. three- arm rear view mirrors, heavy duty rear bumper. At some point a cheap cassette player replaced the original AM radio and the speakers were mounted in the rear piece of the roof liner. Needless to say , the cardboard failed and the speaker fell out.
Another modification, which was new to me, was an added junction to the brake line which tied to a rubberized line which is coiled on the rear bumper.Evidently one could hook this brake line to a trailer and tie truck's brake system to that of the trailer (?!) The thought of that big truck carrying a full camper, while pulling a trailer, relying on a single pot master cylinder to stop the whole shebang, spooks me. The song "Flirting With Disaster" comes to mind. It will go bye-bye.
The last modification occurred on 1/12/78. The original owner spent a whopping $99.60 to have dual exhaust pipes replace the single line. Mileage at that time was 72217.
At some time in the 80's this truck made it to Alaska under new ownership. The odometer read 92000 in 1988. In 1990 it was parked.
The guy I got it from purchased it from the second owners and had little info to share with me. He wanted to restore it,. but it just sat in his yard for several years The snow was way too deep for me to get a good look underneath but several months later I returned and knew instantly that this one was a keeper. The original owner had the underside coated. I pulled a few flakes off the rocker panels and the paint looked like it did in 1965. Pristine. A little surface rust in spots but the only real rust I found was in an odd place. The air scoop ahead of the windshield feeds down to the vents on either side of the cab. Over the years the trough above and the vent pockets below. filled with debris from the birches and the cottonwoods. The driver's side was able to drain but the -pass. side plugged up and the detritus stayed wet. Perfect recipe for rust. Cleaned out now but a little remediation is in my future. Evidently the upper tray is well designed to shed moisture. The metal there is sound. The overall condition leads me to believe that it spent most of its hibernation under some type of overhead cover.
The plastics of the interior are pretty well shot. Interior Alaska can be brutal to stuff like that. I really like the padded dash but it is beyond repair. Ive seen dashes with the pad removed and I can live with the look. Keeping the chrome pieces helps define that area. The door panels are history as is the nylon part of the seat. The vinyl header and seat bottom are still in excellent shape. I think it can be saved.
I had no real desire for a F250. I wanted an F100 but this thing was so complete and in such good shape that I couldn't say no. Regardless of overall condition I was aware that a vehicle which has been sitting for 28 years was going to cost a little bit of time and money to be safe to drive. The engine has always run but it has zilch for brakes. Ill get into further detail tomorrow on that end of things,
Any tips on reducing pic size would be appreciated as would info on how to change my user name. Thanks for reading.
Nice solid truck there, the pics are fine. It looks cold there though. Re: debris in cowl, one thing to keep in mind in a "new" truck is to clean out that heater box. That too, will tend to collect pine needles and leaves and such over the years. The heater fan blower resistor gets red hot when set to LO etc and can ignite anything in there. This has proven over time to be a dependable truck fire starter and quite a few have been totally lost by fire this way.
One other bugaboo in those years worth mentioning is the hood latch/safety catch mechanism. Make sure everything is straight, clean and lubricated moving freely etc., that the hook pops into the retaining pocket smartly when hood latch is released. The hood has a tendency to pop open on the highway at speed otherwise. This is a great way to ruin a hood, springs, bust windshield, and generally ruin a feller's day.
Also, to those about to embark upon a resto or just to tinker with one of these things I recommend the single best piece of advice I've gotten here. Namely, buy the Ford parts disc from hipoparts. Best 20 bucks you'll spend on the whole project.
I agree that the PDF files are invaluable. I've done about 99% of my own research and have purchased about 80% of the total number of parts for my one truck NOS and still going. It's amazing what can still be found when you know the part numbers.
I took the PDF files and cracked the secured password on them and now I have modified copies that only show the parts for the F100-F350 trucks for the most part. Any pages that had no information about these Series went bye-bye in a copy and then I ran OCR on it to make it searchable. So, now I can search on part numbers, including hardware numbers like 371454-S and it jumps me to the one page where this part number appears. Really takes it to the next level.
Hmmm, as to the blower resistor - I do not believe lower priced Fords HAD a blower resistor. All that I know used a blower motor with two power leads; high speed and low speed. No resistor.
Hmmm, as to the blower resistor - I do not believe lower priced Fords HAD a blower resistor. All that I know used a blower motor with two power leads; high speed and low speed. No resistor.
Cosmo
For the 1965/66 heater C5TZ-18591-A - Heater Switch To Blower Motor Resistor Assembly (1.2 ohms) - 1 each
Hmmm, as to the blower resistor - I do not believe lower priced Fords HAD a blower resistor. All that I know used a blower motor with two power leads; high speed and low speed. No resistor.
Well that's how they get 2 speeds out of it, by dropping the voltage on the LO switch position, through a big wirewound dropping resistor. The problem is they placed that in a really bad spot, right where leaves and pine needles & crap accumulates over the years. It's only energized on the slower switch positions.
Ya, and at only 1.2 ohms that sucker must glow red at times. I'll hook one up on the bench and see if I can make it run and check amperage through that circuit. More than 10 Amps will blow my meter fuse.
Tedster, thanks for the tip. Duly noted. That heater is on full time these days. Will clean it out today. Need to flush the heater core and replace all hoses as well, but that may keep till spring. Will be putting her up for the year soon. Per the hood --there was an all too familiar crease across the hood when I first saw this thing and have no doubt that someone had a real diaper changer moment in the past. Have owned a 64 and a 66 in the past. and I am familiar with this possibility. Have another hood on hand.
TA-- wish I had your skills with that catalogue. It can be like wrestling a hippo at times. .I've actually saved threads which posted diagrams pertinent to what I'm interested in. Quicker for me to access. For me, the greatest value is the exploded diagrams. Helps me understand how it all works. As stated, I'm no gearhead.
Note oxidized paint Brakes done! Note location of license plate. Believe there was once a bracket which bolted to the factory holes in the center which held the spare.
Work done to date:
Pull, clean and re-install gas tank. Replace rubber lines, fuel pump and filter. . Soak grimy air filter in removed gas and fully clean'
Rebuild the two barrel carb. Used a very nice youtube video as my guide. A helpful tool at times.
Rebuild the brakes. I have a parts truck, a 66, which reads Camper Special on one fender and F250 on the other. I was hoping it was a CS as the drums and shoes are noticeably larger than the 65. Alas it was a regular 66.
Turned the front drums and replaced the metal and the rubber lines. Full spring set as well. The rears were in great shape and only replaced the cylinders. Still need to replace the rear hose and steel lines, but it is all functional.
Replaced the master cylinder but regret not going with a dual pot. May do so next summer. Still need to remove the parasite trailer line.
Took the truck to a recommended muffler shop and had everything replaced from the manifolds back. What cost $99 in 1978 was almost ten times that much today. That kind of thing is out of my comfort zone and I had planned to go this route from the get-go. Just wince once , I guess. It all sounds good.
Removed exhaust manifolds and had them machined flat. The pass. side was slightly warped and took off as much as we could. A good bedding of red goop and the gasket seemed to have done the job. Used new bolts when replacing the manifolds.
The rebuilt carb has issues. Even with the adjustment screws cranked full closed, the truck still runs. Mechanic told me that its just worn out and another friend whose opinion I trust said the same. Both recommended a new carb and Ive ordered one through the mechanic's account. Got a nice discount. . Wanted to preserve as much original as possible but having a reliable carb is worth the added expense. Outside of the interior plastics this should be among the last of the large-ish expenses.
Will write a separate post concerning my choice on wheels and tires as that is a subject which gets addressed frequently..
Well that's how they get 2 speeds out of it, by dropping the voltage on the LO switch position, through a big wirewound dropping resistor. The problem is they placed that in a really bad spot, right where leaves and pine needles & crap accumulates over the years. It's only energized on the slower switch positions.
Hmmm. Wish I had EVER seen that resistor on ANY of the Fords I've had with two speed blowers. ALL of mine have had a motor with two leads, which lead to two different brushes, in different positions to give the different speeds. Nothing electrical on the plenum at all. On my truck, and all the other Fords, the leads go from the switch to the motor, no where else.
On THREE speed blowers (such as '65 Mustang/Falcon et al), there is a resistor assembly positioned in the airflow to cool it.
Actually, on many of the car/trucks I've worked on, the resistor is in the airflow for cooling. Only exception I recall right now is W123 Mercs, which had the resistor in a cage near the right headlight, and early Econoline which had the resistor in the switch itself.
Please send picture of resistor installed so I might find it on my truck (1966 F-100, deluxe heater). I will be replacing the heater core sometime in the next week, so I can easily photograph the components.
I didn't quite follow that either. Went out today and removed the intake plenum(?) to check for debris and couldn't quite see what you were saying. Kind of chilly outside but will give it a better look when I get it in the shop next week.
12-05-2018, 12:37 AM
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