I've already asked for help so I figured I'd better introduce my F100.

A little background story. My wife and I have a small market farm as a side business. We raise produce and sell it during the summer at the local farmers market. We have been looking for an older truck with a flat bed. One Sunday as I was leaving church I saw this old Ford driving the opposite direction. I thought, "That's a good looking truck. That's what I'm looking for." About that time we passed and I noticed a For Sale sign in the back window. Thankfully the traffic was light and I could hook a hurried U-turn in my F250. I missed a light, he made a turn, and I finally caught up with him at Walmart after about three miles. We talked briefly and I got his number. A couple of days later I was driving it to the shop at work.

1966 F100 240 converted to a T18 transmission with an aftermarket flat bed and beefed up rear springs with overload leaves. The seat had been reupholstered very recently and it had a new windshield. Paint job is a 10-15 footer depending on the light. It looks perfect in the dark.

No significant problems considering it was off a ranch in SE Colorado (no safety inspection). I did a little unwiring and rewiring, swapped out the tail lights with the plain ol' 4" round lights (I think they look better with the flat bed), upgraded the bulbs to LEDs and replaced the marker lights to LEDs. Next was a new turn signal switch. Then I checked and adjusted the brakes, installed shocks, swapped out the modified donor air filter with one from LMC, and got the Texas inspection and registration. Replaced the missing Twin I-Beam emblems...just because.

Next on the list is to replace the U-joints and carrier (and hope it corrects the vibration around 45 mph), clean up some wiring under the dash, and start getting the bed set up for the next season's farmers market.

Winter projects will be a complete brake job, converting to a 2 pot master cylinder, and maybe adding a booster. I'll need better mirrors. The oil pan seal is leaking a little and I've heard you have to pull the engine. Not sure I'm up to that right now. I'll just top it off until I get up my nerve to pull the engine. I'll be getting rid of the points and going with electronic ignition. I'd like to find some original rims and hub caps but that's pretty low on the list. It needs a head liner and new window gaskets. I might upgrade to 3-point seat belts. I'm kicking around the idea of painting the grill white to break up the monolithic black look. But again, low on the list.

It won't be a daily driver so I'm not in a real big hurry for anything that isn't directly needed to function or safety. I'm very content to just take it to market and cruise around in it. There's something very comforting about driving an old truck. The squeak of the door as you open it, the feel of the road, the smell of the interior (what is that smell?), cranking the windows down and hanging your elbow out all bring back nostalgia. I've taken my younger son to lunch a couple of time in it and he feels it. It's just cool.

Thanks for being a great group to get info and help from. I'll post a few more pictures when I get it set up for market.

 

Hi Trog,
I have a '65 F100, with the trusty 240. I have taken the pan off with the engine in place. I took two 2x4's (about 4" long) and in each one, I drilled a hole(don't remember the size), a little bigger than the stud, about 2/3rds of the way from one of the 4" sides. Then with a saw, cut two cuts up to the hole. (now the blocks can slide and stop where the hole was drilled). Then took each nut off each forward motor mount. Next was putting a 2x6 under the pan so I could push the motor up with a hyd. jack. I could then push up the motor enough to slide the 2x4's under each side of the forward motor mounts. With the motor up I was able to get the pan off and back on, no leaks either.
I left the fan on as I recall. No damage to the rad. Please don't trust my memory...that was 32 yr ago.
Nice truck. Yeah, painting the grill white would make a nice comparison. Pete

 

Good looking truck in good shape.

 

I agree with the white grill and/or bumper would set it off. And if you get the steelies for it they would of course have to go white.

Dan TK65