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Here's what I've got:
1963 F100 - 2wd; 223 with manual transmission. 3.89 9" rear end.
This is my son's truck and he is looking into what can be done to make it a better highway (60-70mph) cruiser.
If it were your rig (or your kid's) what would your most cost effective modifications be?
Press on the rightmost pedal and it should go faster. The 223 is a serious limiting factor. Your looking at 114 horsepower. If you regear the differential you might get better cruising speed but you might burn up the clutch trying to get it off the line. Drop a 427 SOHC in it and you’ll have cruising power at the expense of economy.
Here's what I've got:
1963 F100 - 2wd; 223 with manual transmission. 3.89 9" rear end.
This is my son's truck and he is looking into what can be done to make it a better highway (60-70mph) cruiser.
If it were your rig (or your kid's) what would your most cost effective modifications be?
Welcome to the forum! That looks like a great truck and it's good to know the old truck hobby is still attractive to someone from the younger generation. I'm a little disheartened that some of our forum brothers gave a more flippant answer to your questions than you deserved, especially with this being your first post. That said, let me ask a couple clarifying questions.
What exactly are you looking for, or what is your definition of a "better highway cruiser"? Does it drive fine, track down the road smoothly? Or are you more concerned with the rpm's the engine is turning? If the latter, the most cost effective thing you can change is the rear end gears. With it being a 9" Ford rear, changing that is easy. Swapping from your 3.89's to a 3.50 gear will reduce your rpms about 10 percent at any given speed, which is significant. There are speed/rpm calculators online you can use to see where you're at. https://purperformance.com/p-29669-rpm-calculator.html At 60 or 70, that change will drop your revs by about 300, or from 3000 to 2700. That's fairly significant, but not enough to hurt you from a standing stop or put undue pressure on the clutch. You'll be able to drive at 70 at lower r's than you are now at 65.
You have some options on how to do this. You can buy a ring and pinion gear set and find a local shop to install them in your current center section. You can look for another center section locally and take that to your local shop with the new gears afore mentioned and have that setup without taking the truck apart and leaving you stranded while the work is done. Or you can just buy a done deal and swap it in in a couple of hours some weekend. Doing some quick online shopping, this is a pretty good deal, here. https://www.quickperformance.com/for...mber_p_36.html
I would definitely go this route before doing anything more drastic like engine swaps or radical suspension changes.
The other thing you're fighting is mental. We've grown accustomed to the quietness of low running revs in modern cars, and forgot that the cars and trucks built back in the 50's, 60's and 70's were designed to run at 2500-3000 rpms all day long and it didn't hurt anything. They only sound like they're about to grenade because we're no longer used to hearing that revving noise. It's perfectly normal. If the kid's running down the freeway at 3 grand for a few minutes commuting or going to school, he'll be totally fine, as long as there's oil in the crankcase and all the normal old time maintenance is kept up. This is a good learning experience for him, and probably you, too. Good luck with your project. Keep us posted on your progress.
I gave an honest answer. He asked what I would do if it was mine or my kids truck. IMHO the 223 does not have enough power for the truck even with the gears it has so I would not re-gear it. If you’re happy with the front suspension, brakes, steering; a 302/T5 combo will make it a nice cruising truck. If you want better ride, brakes, steering; then I’d be looking at the crown Vic option.
I had a truck just like he has when I was 19, when the 292 lost a rod the engine and trans got swapped out for for a 302 and a C4. Made it a much better driving truck. My kids in high school drove an 1984 Ranger running a complete first generation Explorer chassis. I’ve been modifying/building trucks for almost 50 years, I told him what I’d do.
