1964 F 100, 292 Y Block, 3 speed manual.

I will admit, this is going to be a stupid question, but I really am unsure..

I am doing some preventative maintenance on my truck. I have a new battery, battery cables, new ground straps, and new cable from the solenoid to the starter.
I feel this is also a good time to replace the starter solenoid. I went to Autozone and asked for one, the counter person said, it fits fender mount only.
We all know on a 64 it’s on the firewall next to the battery!
I went to Napa, same comment, fender mount only.
Clueless, here I am! What gives? Is it the right one there trying to sell me.

 

There is no difference.

 

I disagree , there is a big difference. 20 years ago there would have been some one with both knowledge of a car and common sense at the parts store and he wouldn't have had to come here for clarity.

 

He is meaning the inner fender, I think, that is the location for my 66, not sure about a 64. It will mount on the firewall easily enough. Just take a photo, or the part itself, or a copy of the exploded drawing from your shop manual into the store.

 

I don't know of a school today that offers auto shop, or any thing even close. Yea you can go to Wyotech and learn how to read a scanner and swap a part. What the older generation takes for granted is not in this generations wheel house and the roll is reversed when it comes to technology.

 

I ended removing the solenoid from the firewall, next to the battery and Went to Napa. They had 2 different types. One was an exact match, one was not.
even throw the specs say fender mount only, it was an exact fit..

 

When they say fender mount, that is opposed to starter mount, like on a chevy starter. So fender, firewall, whatever as long as its not on the actual starter.

 

Wiring Question... 1964 f 100 292
I am replacing everything in the picture but have a question...
Battery is to the left, so it’s wired as shown. When I reinstall all with new parts, can the red positive battery cable
and the black “to starter” cables be reversed? I’m my thinking, and remind you, I have zero mechanical training,
wont the power just go threw the solenoid from left to right instead of how it is now from right to left? do the smaller
wires need to be revered as well?

 

You are correct in thinking it is a simple contact switch that connects "black to red" or post to post, when the ignition is turned to 'start'.
You can swap these - but you need to move all the wires from the one big post to the other, not just swap the red and black. All those extra little wires with your red wire need to stay with the positive battery cable.

However, the small wires on the small posts need to stay put - they have specific functions. See snip from the schematic posted on Fordification, below.
One small wire is the ignition 'start' voltage that pulls the contact switch closed - pink wire 32 below. - if you were to put his on the other terminal, it would not energize the small coil (the spiral loop in the figure) to pull the switch closed. When you turned the ignition, nothing (good) would happen.
The other wire, green #262 below, gets 12 volts when the switch closes (just like the starter does). This small wire supplies a full 12v to the coil during start up - this bypasses the resistor wire to get hot spark during start up. When the ignition switch is turned back to 'run', wire 262 is no longer connected to 12v, and your voltage then goes to the coil through another path - the resistor wire - which drops the voltage so the points don't burn up too quickly.

 

I wanted to neat in it up so the cables didn’t cross, but the other wires with the positive cable didn’t reach and I wasn’t going to start yanking on them.
so I left well enuff alone.

 

i live in a small town in VA and we have a 4 bay auto shop at our high school and they work on many older vehicles..... we have two awesome teachers that ensure their students are well versed across the board.

 

There are allegedly still over 500 schools within California that teach auto mechanics, but I would guess most are Jr. Colleges, Tech-Schools, not many high schools. Much different, I think, than in most of the rest of the country. I have never met, in the over 40 years since moving to Cali, one teenager that has, or is taking auto-shop classes.

California has more than 12% of the US population, in just our one state. We drive more cars, per capita, than any other state. There are many decent paying jobs to be had , that certainly beat flipping burgers, or working for minimum wage in retail stores. There are plenty of kids, not cut out for college, who are not being well-served by schools, who fail to provide vocational education. And, besides, a college degree is a fading guarantee these days, of a meal ticket for life. They should be teaching them wood shop/carpentry, auto tech/mechanics, CAD design, Machining and CNC, etc.

 

Having trade skills IS unparalleled. It separates the men from the boys. IMHO

 

I agree with this statement 100%. But as these trucks get older the qualified professional is getting very limited and further apart. It’s forums like this where knowledge is freely shared to people who appreciate it. And that, in a way keeps the hobby alive and these classic trucks on the road.
This forum has saved my *** more then once!

 

No question that this site including this forum has given me lots of great info to which I have put into practice. Thanks to all!!