That looks great Mikey, you are getting things done!!

 

This last weekend, I got the pedal assembly installed, and on the photo, you can see a spherical rod end on the end of the clutch arm, along with a line going down to the floor opening for the stock clutch pull rod.
I'm not gonna reinvent the wheel so to speak here. Merely a refinement of factory. I see most people who convert to hydraulics come up with some elaborate linkage arrangement to put the clutch master on the firewall next to the brake master. WAY too much unnecessary engineering in my opinion, with firewall reinforcement, extra bracketry under the dash...
I've decided to try a simpler approach.
The stock linkage rod pulls up. The factory Z-bar has a nice reinforced bracket on the frame rail. I'm gonna use that bracket and where the stock pull rod attaches to that, the only difference from factory is that the bellcrank will be modified so as not to attach to the engine block, and pull rod will be on bearings rather than bushings, or the bent end of a rod shoved into a hole. The bellcrank will rotate on a ball bearing and it will act on the clutch master mounted on the side of the frame rail under the cab, with a remote reservoir up on the firewall. Easy.
The clutch master will attach to the Tilton hydraulic release bearing in the photo via short -4AN lines. Right through the stock clutch fork window. So all that friction, from the pedal shaft, through the pull rod, the bell crank and the master pushrod will be on bearings, and the stock clutch fork is eliminated. No more clutch adjustments will be necessary, as the hydraulic release bearing is self adjusting.
Hopefully it all works out as I have envisioned.
And, my home built T5 trans adapter worked out perfectly!

 

That is a nice looking hydraulic T/O bearing, Beats the heck out of what Ford uses in their setup, a plastic POS. Plus the unbleedable master cylinder.

 

It wasn't my first choice Dan. I first selected a Howe release bearing. The description said for T5.....the fine print said GM T5 only. The Tilton was more than twice the money. But I know it's a quality piece....and it came with hoses!

Stuck at home today while we get solar panels installed. Nuthun' much to do but knock some clutch stuff out. Dang it!
I had the bellcrank bearing holder already cut a couple weeks or so back. Same stock as the pedal shaft bearing holders. I knocked out the stock Z-bar pivot from the frame bracket, and welded a 5/8" bolt in it's place. Then, a couple pieces of 3/16" plate were cut for the arms and TIG'd to the bearing holder. Let that cool a bit, and then made up a little bearing retainer ring that will keep the bellcrank bearing in place. I didn't wanna put too much heat into it so a little spot weld in three places. Won't be too much trouble to cut the welds if the bearing ever needs to be changed.
90° between the two arms will do nicely to change direction. I just have to figure out the "gearing" so to speak. For that, I'll need to make up the pull-rod from the pedal cluster to the rearward facing arm and then figure out where to drill that hole. After that, I'll need to have the actual master cylinder on hand to figure out how much actual "push" it needs, as well as the best mounting location. That mount location should be just behind the crossmember as seen in the photo of the bellcrank installed. As it turns out, the steering box makes a convenient "stop" for the bellcrank!
Just a little bit of measuring and some basic math. Soon, I can check this one off as "DONE!"
Also got the steering wheel and column painted with urethane single stage. Same Wimbledon white as the upper part of the dash.

 

Great progress and nice work!

 

Update time!
Screwed the pooch so to speak on painting my wheels. Orange peel? Nope. Orange peel on steroids! I used Urethane single stage. Same stuff I used on the dash, the maroon color. Different gun tho. According to the directions on the paint can, once mixed with activator, it says no reducer is needed. So I'm thinkin' it does, because I used reducer on the dash and used my touch up gun. Probably not enough air through the gun either. It came out in bigger droplets than I've ever seen. I though it would lay down. It did not. I shoulda stopped and dealt with it. I did not. Well, I'm not a painter by any stretch, although I do have a few completes under my belt....many many years ago. And all this means is a bit of work to sand flat and re-shoot. I'll paint a test piece first this time.

Clutch linkage is finished minus mounting the master cylinder. I have a spot for the mount and that has the mount holes drilled, but I need the master cylinder in hand before welding it to the frame rail. Once that's in, then the motor can go back in.
It's been all fun and games until this point! The EZWiring fuse box is mounted, along with a ground strip.

This will be a time that will test my patience. Fortunately, my son is going to lend a hand and has provided quite a bit of guidance on things I'd need to make this a clean install.

 

Oh for the curse of single-stage paint, and paint gun grief. LoL

I had "helped" a buddy a few years back paint his '72 early Bronce with single-stage and a new gun.
My buddy had never before shot a vehicle overall with a paint gun. So, I volunteered to be the "cook."
With me being the "cook" I was the paint mixer. Seems the paint was Nason Acrylic and was something like a 5:2:1 mix. I kept adding reducer to get the paint thin enough to lay down, and kept getting scolded for deviating from the specified "ratio's" of mix parts. hahahaha
He asked me if I had brought my DeVilbiss, and I responded with: "No, you will be spraying with your paint gun, and I will be the stupid-visor / quality-inspector. (the victim of sorts, but I volunteered) haha

In the end, my buddy allowed me to reduce as required. I'm wondering if we needed a smaller tip.

Your linkeage piece looks like it was a fun piece to fabricate. Nice work !!

 

Thanks Greaser!
I had a brisket on the traeger yesterday morning, so while I was waiting, I reshot the wheels with the HVLP gun I bought last week. I tried to use my little touch up gun but it wasn't working right. It acted like it had a leak on the suction tube. It would skip. So rather than fight with it, and since the paint was mixed and with the clock tickin' I used the new gun. Thinned the paint with reducer, adjusted the air and it seemed to be working well. They came out pretty good. Nice gloss and a bit of a run in one spot that really won't be visible. I'm satisfied.
This will be a daily driver after all, and I have to continually remind myself that perfection is not the goal.
So, the clutch linkage will be complete with master installed by next weekend I think, and it's on to the next challenge.
Wiring! Yay!

 

Wiring....
It's coming along. Very tedious work. I had removed the stock harness and all wiring completely, since it was 56 years old, brittle and corroded. None of the switches worked either. I bought a 12 circuit universal harness, along with a GM headlight and wiper switch, as well as a new ignition switch with a new lock cylinder. The truck did not have keys.
The harness and switches came from EZ Wire. (Thanks Lizardman1 for the reference to that from your build). Very good quality with fairly clear instructions, but I did have to add in a fuel pump circuit and relay. It also has some circuits, I may or may not use in the future, such as power antenna. For now, I'm gonna cap the wires for those off under the dash.
Hey! maybe I'll use that to power up some brake fluid squirters out the back to squirt on a tailgaters car. (Not really. Fun to think about retribution sometimes, but I ain't "that guy").
To clean things up and simplify final assembly, I'm using a 22 pin weatherpack connector for the firewall plug, 12 pin for the gauge panel and 8 pin for the turn signal switch. Still waiting on the 8 pin connector for the turn signals.

Pre-bled the brakes a few days back. This involved bench bleeding the master, and then letting gravity do the hard work. All that I did was open up the bleeders at the wheels, pushed a small piece of rubber hose onto the bleeder nipple, give the brake pedal a single push, then walk away, but periodically checking the fluid level in the master. After a while, closed the bleeders, gave the pedal a couple pushes, and voilá! I have some pedal! Final bleeding a while later. I have a leaker at one of the front brake caliper. Banjo fitting with copper sealing rings. It is seated correctly, but maybe a piece of flotsam got under the fitting. I'll figure it out....later!

Also, the master cylinder for the hydraulic clutch arrived, so I finalized the bracket for that and welded it to the frame. All that is left for that is to finish the pushrod, connect the lines and mount the reservoir somewheres.

Engine & Trans goes back in this weekend!

 

I like that gravity brake bleed idea. My MC is bled and I might try that method as soon as my push rod arrives

 

It's not the total answer. You still need to bleed by force like always, but it gets the fluid through to make short work of the finish bleeding.

 

What a great project you got going there.
NO fancy V8 with all the chaos they include (SBF vs BBF vs Stroker - yada-yada).
Your ideas seem to flow together nicely thru your execution skills.
Great job and I wish you much success toward completion.
Looking forward to seeing you mate the powertrain to the chassis.
Pete

 

Ask no more Pete! And thank you!
Motor went in yesterday. I used a stock trans mount for the year truck, and it fit perfect on the T5. Thank you Skervey for the advice on that!
The cross-member only needs to have the holes elongated a bit for that to bolt up, and the shifter is right at the back of the trans tunnel opening. I'll use a piece of 1" X 1/2" rectangle steel bar to bend up a custom lever to get around the bench seat.

 

So, it's been a minute since I last put out an update, and a lot has been done.
Once I had all the fittings for the cutch linkage, I had trouble bleeding it. I first bench bled the master, installed it, but could not get it to bleed. I even went to the auto parts store and bought a vacuum bleeder. Couldn't even get fluid to move. Took off the master and bench bled it again. It moved fluid fine. Back on the truck....nuthin'! I started cursing at the truck, raising questions about its parentage, and even comparing it to Oedipus. Still it wouldn't bleed.

So again, I take off the master. This one has a remote reservoir and has a plastic cap with a hose fitting. I figured maybe a manufacturing blemish was blocking fluid, because when I removed the cap, and the reservoir still full of fluid, I expected to drain into the catch basic beneath the truck. Yet nothing came out!

So I removed the rez, and hose. Upon inspecting the master's cap attachment and the rez itself, I found them to be free of defect. Then I picked up the hose. It still had fluid in it! Putting a flashlight at one end, and straightening the hose....no light shined thru. So I took a piece of wire and shoved it through the hose. Much to my surprise, out came a vacuum cap. A vacuum cap I had put into the hose to keep debris out. A nice snug fit into the hose, and I had forgotten I put in there myself.
Doh!

So, end result....put it all back together, and in ten pumps of the pedal it was bled!
It only took me a week to do a 30 minute job!

It was good to FINALLY move on the from the clutch! But before moving on completely, I set the seat frame in and pushed the pedal to get a feel. I am very pleased with the result! Smooth and easy. It’ll make it much easier around town in traffic. The effort is so easy, I could probably teach my 10 year old grand daughter to drive a stick with it.

Having the seat frame in also gave me an idea of how to proceed with the shifter. I have a piece of ½” X 1” rectangle steel bar to make it with. Looks like it’ll need a forward bend, and then a rearward bend to get it around the seat. 18” long seems to be a comfortable height. I may make it longer. Just because.

Over the weekend, I got the radiator installed. It has a couple electric fans, and I will stagger the temp at which they start. It’ll be controlled by the Holley Sniper EFI system I’m using.

I was a bit surprised at how close the fans are to the water pump. There’s about an inch. But like they say, an inch is as good as a mile! Three row aluminum, semi-specific fit. It’s actually for a ’64. Just about all the common suppliers do not list a radiator for a ’65 for some reason. And the ’66 and later was nowhere near the dimensions of my original. So I rolled the dice and bought one for a ’64. If it ends up too close, I can always space it forward some. The core however is exactly the size of the opening in the radiator support.

I went way overkill on radiator size because here in Central California, it gets hot in the summer. Really hot. 60+ days of 100° or hotter. 105 to 110° is common too. Dang near Texas, Las Vegas, Phoenix hot!

And, I went overkill because a couple summers ago, we headed to the coast to escape the heat. And wouldn’t ya know it, traffic comes to a standstill at the junction of Highway 41 (the main corridor from Fresno county going west) and 46 (the main corridor from Kern County going west) due to an accident. Everyone else had the same idea and there was no escape. No other side roads out to make a detour. Nearly an hour sitting there and it’s 109° outside. My ’12 Ram handled it fine, and I wanna make sure the F100 does too!



Fuel system plumbing….

That Holley Sniper 1100 fuel system needs a return line, so I had to order up another length of 3/8” stainless steel fuel line tube. Until that arrives, in the meantime, I used the one I had to get the feed line routed. I have a couple 90° bulkhead fittings near the tank for the in-tank fuel pump, and a couple up on the firewall (red arrow). The flex lines in back will be less than a foot long. PTFE lined hose. I haven’t decided yet if I will run hoses to the throttle body, or another pair of hard lines from the firewall bulkhead across the firewall, behind the motor, so the hose can be short.

I also had a nice fuel filter “in-stock” from the drag racer. I bought this filter years ago as an “After the pump” filter, from Fuel Injection Enterprises. Good quality unit with -6AN fittings….with the exception of the element itself. Even thought the product description said it was compatible with methanol, it was not. It was epoxied together rather than soldered. And the epoxy used to join the screen material to the end pieces degraded and dissolved, loading the fuel system up with nasty debris. Anyone who has ever run mechanical injection, knows what happens when the fuel system becomes contaminated. Making it worse was the drag racer’s fuel system is far more complex that a “normal” MFI system. Along boost valve that raises the pressure when the turbo comes up on boost, it has the added complexity of feeding a rear engine driven pump on a full bodied car with a front mounted main fuel tank….I’ll just say that the filter degradation made a BIG mess of things.

But it is a quality filter, and with an element replacement, it’ll work fine on the ‘ol truck!

The tank mount is nothing new. In fact, the photo of the mount frame isn't even mine. But mine looks just like it. Done countless times this way, so there’s no need to go into great detail. Just a Mustang fuel tank for which I made a perimeter mounting frame, that bolts to the truck’s frame.

For a fill, it’s common for people to just have a hatch in the truck bed as a fill location, but I’m gonna work on something a bit more elegant sometime later. I’ll have to get the bed back on to look at options. Later.

I also started laying out the under-hood wiring. So that will be a work in progress over the short term.

 

Looking great - Congratulations!
Even though you'd like to put it off - I am wondering if you have a great idea for the fill location. I'm heading into an EFI install, and working on the best way to mod the stock tank system with the required items. I have a couple paths I like, however one significant departure would be to go with a tank like yours. One of the hold-ups is what I would do with the filler neck. I tend to use my bed, and don't want to cover the filler hole. Behind the plate seems too low. I really haven't tried much harder, and plan to use the cab tank. But if you have a great solution, I might just make the switch...