Hi peeps, I bought my ‘64 F100 a few months ago and finally the past few weeks I have been able to get few things done. 292, standard Ford 3 speed on the column. The original owner put a lot of effort into keeping it stock, and I just happened onto it when that started to not be so cute anymore lol. At first it ran a little, then not at all, then fair, then repeat that a few times and now finally it’s running like a clock. So my question. I’ve had to replace several stock ignition parts, and have found something to work on everything but the new parts are not stock. For example my vacuum advance diaphragm was bad and I couldn’t find the stock one anywhere. Stock had brass fittings on both ends with nice coiled stainless tubing between. I had to buy a cheap replacement and pipe it in with vacuum hose. And my carb is the stock FoMoCo 2 barrel, which since is either autolite or Motorcraft or something, anyway I think they are all the same. The parts guys are telling me they can only get rebuilt now and it’s getting hard to find those. I replaced my clutch (which was baaaad). No problem finding everything but the flywheel. Mine is usable but has a few hot spots. I partly bought this because I could work on it myself. Most of my past has been jeeps and you can find any part for them from several sources all the way back to’41. Are parts for these old Fords getting harder to find? If so I might start stocking up.

 

Just wanted to say thanks for mentioning the vacuum advance diaphragm. I think the one on my 61 F-100 is bad. It runs like crap with the vacuum line hooked up, but when I leave it unhooked it runs smoother. I didn't even know what it was called until I looked it up when you mentioned it. You can find parts for these, but not the best quality parts. My floormat I bought from Dennis Carpenter said it was for the small hump transmission which mine has, and the floor mat was a little too big. I had to cut about an inch off of the mat on the passenger side. Then I bought a hood hinge from Dennis Carpenter and it was so badly made it didn't even fit. It was a half inch too narrow and the holes for mounting it didn't line up with the holes on the truck. So, I sent that back because it was unfixable for me and completely unacceptable.

 

@Columbus1961 I think mine had sat at least a couple years before I bought it because it was almost totally stock and I had a series of failures right off the bat. The coil went bad, voltage regulator, a couple more things. Once I got it running decent I really dug in deep and when I took my vacuum advance diaphragm off I could blow through it. My symptoms were rough down low sometimes bad and I’m told that when those go it usually affects either the top or the bottom. But a shade tree mechanic is a grade above me lol I’m just persistent.

 

Do a search on ebay for NOS and NORS parts. The vacuum advance diaphragms pop up occasionally as do many other hard to find Y block parts.

 

In some ways, things are getting easier to find and in other ways, things are getting harder to find. More and more parts are being reproduced for these but there are a lot of items that aren't and those are only getting harder to find.

In terms of keeping it "stock", I'd say that's only getting harder because only one thing is stock and that is original parts, which are used or NOS and that supply gets smaller every day.

I usually look an eBay once a week and if I see something that I think is priced reasonably and a search suggests that there is no reproduction and it seems like something good to have "just in case," I will buy it and add it to the stash.

Y Block parts can be tricky to find but aren't that hard to find, if you are involved in the community and know where to look. New flywheels have been available at one time from FORD Y. Not original, so depending on how far you want to take "stock," it may not work for you. And there are quite a lot of engine parts that can be custom ordered from many places and while not the cheapest option, means that some hard to find stuff is technically available, almost indefinitely but again, not "stock.".

 

Thanks all, that’s about what I’m finding. Coming from the old Jeep world I really didn’t know what to expect, as every bolt and nut on an old CJ or even M version Jeep is available from many sources. I didn’t want to mention it here especially since the original owner put so much effort into keeping it stock, but stock is meaningless to me I plan to drive the wheels off this thing and that ain’t gonna happen with a bunch of 58 year old parts lol.

 

In my book its still stock even with newer tune up parts etc to make it dependable. Only museum pieces need have original tune up and wear items with numbers correct. Remember you can always take it back later if only bolt-on items are used!

 

Ok, while asking for parts and stuff:
I was snooping around here on the forums and someone had a link to an eBay vendor selling Flarside steps. Wow, they also have quite a selection of body pieces, panels and parts for the early ****** too. _ _ _ _ and Ford pickups and vans
You can search on his eBay store by make of vehicle to isolate our search.

Ford F-100 Pickup Truck Steel Stepside Step Plates Set 1967-1972 Made In USA | eBay

| eBay

 

In the spirit of this thread, Walmart has been out of FL-1As. Tried ordering online to from them, out of stock until last night. Finally got one coming.