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Hello All,
Been a long time since I have posted here (7yrs?!). I sold my 1985 F150 about 7 years ago as I had to start driving 60+ miles each way to work so I needed to make a change for a commuter.
So on to the new (old) truck. I was at a farm sale last Saturday and bought a 1963 F250. Back story from the fellow across the lane is that the farmer I bought it from got it in ~1966 from a neighbor about 3 miles down the road from him who bought it new in 1963. It was parked in the machine shed in `1976 and last run in ~1980. So it has sat for 39yrs. First the good: Truck is very original (aside from the hood that looks to be from a later model as the trim does not match), the body is very good for Iowa with just a few areas that will need work, the floors, bed, and cab mounts are solid with no rot. Truck is a base model F250 with a 223-6 and a four speed with heavy springs and overloads. Does have the radio and speaker still in it and has not been cut for any aftermarket speakers or such. Now the not so good: for the past 39yrs and coons, mice, and rats have had free reign. There is coon excrement everywhere; under the hood, in the cab, on the cab, in the bed. It needs a good power washing. The wheels are free but the master cylinder is frozen, the clutch is stuck to the flywheel. Not sure about the motor yet as I have not done much aside from drag it home.
The truck was about 24 miles from my house and has essentially spent it's entire life within 20-30 miles of the farm it lived on. Still has old bias plies on split rims and came with a stock rack (I have not found the mfgr of the rack yet). Plans are to try and get it started and then shed it for a bit while I finish off my current project. I will tinker on it here and there and post here as I get more pics. I am sure I will have several questions as I am much more familiar with Chevy/GMC trucks than I am Fords. However, I have always liked certain years and always wanted a '61-'66 F250 and happened upon this one.
Below are a couple of pics from Sunday when my son and I brought to it's new home.
Last edited by ebodell; 09-16-2019 at 12:38 PM.
Reason: grammar and sentence structure
No rot is the way to buy them. It puts you way ahead of the game, mechanical and electrical usually need to be done anyway or why would they park it. Nice truck, I'm sure you will get up to speed on Ford's soon enough.
Pull the seat and dash cluster and pressure wash it.
Probably the only way to really get it taken care of. After work I put on some rubber gloves and got most of the coon excrement out and off of it. I also got a lot of the debris off the cab floor. The floor mat came out in pieces.. I did not realize it had a head liner until this evening. I assume that there is a lot of mice nests up there as well.
I did get a shot of the ID tag (posted below) here is the data from it:
Serial number: F25JP430391 W.B.: 122 Color: M Model: F250 Body: 81A G.V.W.: 7400 Cert Net H.P.: 114 @ 3600RPM D.S.O.: 520623
I will have to do some searching on the site here to find the way to decode it. Model, W.B., G.V.W., and H.P. are self explanatory but I am curious as to the axle ratio and color (I assume it was white, it is 56 years old....
Probably the only way to really get it taken care of. After work I put on some rubber gloves and got most of the coon excrement out and off of it. I also got a lot of the debris off the cab floor. The floor mat came out in pieces.. I did not realize it had a head liner until this evening. I assume that there is a lot of mice nests up there as well.
Thank you Bill!
Interesting that it was a special order, unfortunately the original owner passed away many years ago. I do need to meet with the gentleman I bought the truck from to get some history on it while I still can.
What years did Ford use the '57-'60 bed on the 2WD F250?
Thank you Bill!
Interesting that it was a special order, unfortunately the original owner passed away many years ago. I do need to meet with the gentleman I bought the truck from to get some history on it while I still can.
What years did Ford use the '57-'60 bed on the 2WD F250?
Have not had much more time to do anything with the truck as work is really getting in the way of life right now and will be a bit crazy for the next 2 weeks or so. I did try and turn the engine via the crank pulley and the motor seems to be stuck right now. I hope to be able to pull the plugs this weekend and pour some kerosene/penetrating oil mix in the cylinders and let it sit for a couple weeks. Truck has been shedded since it was parked but 39 years is a long time. Looking back at the sale bill there was also a '76 Dodge pickup on the list so I am guessing that truck replaced this one and the neighbor did mention it was parked in '76 so that lines up. I saw the Dodge at the sale and it was pretty sad with a lot of rust. It had been sitting outside for many years and was sunk in the ground. Not sure what it brought but I cannot image much over $100.
Below are some a couple more pictures from the auction site of the F250.
What is that strange maroon thing attached to the front if the trailer?
Sorry, couldn't resist. Have fun with your project.
I was kinda waiting to catch some flak for my tow vehicle . I mostly own GM but have owned most other domestic brands before (aside from IHC). The "maroon thing" was bought new by my Dad in Moscow, ID in 1993. I got it from him in ~'06. Actually only has 110K miles on it now and is pretty much original, only really gets used when I need to tow or haul something heavy.
Did a little bit on the truck in between the rain on Sunday. scrubbed the door sills out to get the dirt and rodent debris out and off of them.
Just surface rust and pitting on the sills, all the metal is still solid. I will get them treated prior to winter to prevent any future issues. Other side looks the same. I need to get the mouse nests out of the hinge area though.
Plenty of room under the hood to get to things and the motor seems pretty complete. Carb linkage is free. Probably full of varnish. The tank has about 1" of "fuel" in the bottom so that will have to come out and get cleaned out. There was a plug in in the front that goes to a coolant heater. Looks like a canister on the drivers side fender (you can see part of it in the above picture). I doubt it still works though. Not sure if it was an add on or factory piece. Found out the truck was a special order but not sure if Ford offered an engine heater in 1963. It has been on the truck a long time and looks to be well installed (not the usual Southern Iowa engineering).
Still some debris under the battery tray but the fenders are solid with no rust in the upper supports. Hopefully next weekend I can pull the plugs and get some kerosene/penetrating oil mix down the cylinders.
Also need to get it power washed prior to the cold so I can get the remaining dirt and such off of it.
I took pics of the stock rack as well. I plan on pulling that off and trying sell it on craigslist or the local swap pages. I don't really have a use for it.
Last edited by ebodell; 09-23-2019 at 10:24 PM.
Reason: grammar
Ok I have a couple of questions for the more experienced people on here. Here goes:
The mirrors have Ford logos on them so I assume they are correct for the truck but the mounting is rather odd to me. There is a hole in the door that the mirror post goes into. The one on the passenger side is a bit larger and looks to have been "enlarged" by the previous owner. Are these the correct type of mirror and is the mounting correct? I only took shots of the drivers side but the passenger side has the same mirror (aside from it is broken). Perhaps the passenger door never had a mirror and the farmer added it when he put the stock rack on the truck, hence the "rougher" appearance of the mounting hole.
Second question: Is this a factory heater? I am inclined to think so but the heat and temp controls are mounted below the dashboard and I do not have a **** for the cowl vent on the passenger side (the driver's side has one). There is a block off plate for where the **** would be though. Were heaters an option in 1963?
09-16-2019, 12:30 PM
. I mostly own GM but have owned most other domestic brands before (aside from IHC). The "maroon thing" was bought new by my Dad in Moscow, ID in 1993. I got it from him in ~'06. Actually only has 110K miles on it now and is pretty much original, only really gets used when I need to tow or haul something heavy.
