I have a 1965 F-100 Camper Special. I am interested in converting the front drums to disc. Anyone done it? Who makes a conversion kit and how much could it cost?

 

Hi Joe, Welcome to FTE

There are several of us that have done it, and it has been covered about a gazillion time on this forum. If you will read on, it shouldn't take long to bump into one.

John

 

Hi Joe,

I'll second Johns' greeting, and advice also.

In addition I'll throw a few ideas out here for ya'.

1st, all F Series frames are basically the same design from 1965 thru 1979. Any Variables which exist in them are specific to model and wheelbase of each specific truck. By that I'm saying a 1965 Short Wheel Base F100 is wihtin 2" of a Short Wheel Base 1979 F100, as well as all "SWB" F100s between 1965 & 1979.

The same applies to Long Wheel Base F100s, 1965 thru 1979. All again, are within 2 inches of all other "LWB" in that year range.

Same applies for Models. F100 & F150 are same model group, tho some F150s are slightly heavier duty, such as Trailer/ Camper Specials. Same goes for F250 & F350 models.

This commonality makes many F Series components & assemblies somewhat Universal among all trux among these years. Because of such Interchangeability upgrade and "retro fitting" options are virtually endless. In that fact most of us use "donor" vehicles, or collect our parts at the local salvage yards. Doing this has many merits, 2 that come to mind first are cost containment and having a standardized system when done.

1, Generally a whole system, like Disc Brakes for example, can be bought used at a fraction of the cost of "Kits", and will consist of OEM, "Script" genuine Ford Parts.

2, While Ford parts are easily recognized, identified/ replaced Kits tend to be combinations of many makes & types of parts all being assembled, often modified, to work together as a system specific to the design of each Kit supplier. Who knows what Calipers, wheel Bearings, Wheel Seals, rotors, so forth they will need in the future? Kit supplier (hopefully still in business) has be contacted to get "repair replacement parts when need arrises. Now not only is higher cost an issue, availability, down time and more frustration & stress also enter into ones' "hassle" equation.

3 Okay, you will notice a "link menu" at upper right of this page.
It has a Site Search Venue, Tech Article Venue, and so forth. Generally I find "SITE SEARCH" to be most usefull for researching info & data specific to this Forum page, or other FTE Site forums. Many Tech Articles seem to be geared towards later Models. They often involve OEM/ TSBs (FoMoCo technical service bulletins) or NHTSB (National Hiway Transportation Safety Board) issues later vehicles have etc. like recalls & reporting problems/issues etc.

4, Mostly All of us are up for discussion, revelation of Insight & experience. offering tips and of course views and opinions on request, and sometimes inspite of request too. . . .heh heh heh

But hey Joe, it's just OOO / POV [our own opinion/ Point Of View] which is great for forming your own consensus on whatever. . . If nothing else there's an abudance of knowledge, experience, tips, suggestions, references, sources and on and on here if you ask. Come to think of it, that happens even when folks don't ask too, I 'spose.

Anyway Joe, You've come to right Site for our 1961-1966 forum page which generall covers Anything about, on, for against, concerning, with, without and of, our beloved early 60's [ often called "Slick 60s" FoMoCo, F Series (and E series) Trux

Okay, as you can see by the book I wrote, costs vary acording to what path you follow. I have bought all the disc brake parts I've needed in a "U-Pull It" salvage yard for under $100, probably add another $200 for replacement, repair, conversion, installation stuff so I've done this upgrade for as little as $300 + labor.

I've bought whole systems from regular salvage yards between $200 & $300, plus $200 for parts repair & installation etc, making it $500 + labor. I have bought donor vehicles and rempved parts I needed plus many other parts I used, sold,or have on hand. I know of guys who spent $1200 + for "kits" which still req'd labor.
So the price factor ranges.

IMHO I'd say figure on $500 if you do the labor, or $800- $1000
if you have it done for a ballpark to do a "Class A job".

CIAO' FBp

Glad to have you in our community welcome aboard.

 

Or, the short-winded approach:
65-66 Disc brake swap

 

Thanks to all the great info folks. I really appreciacte it. Now I have a good idea of what I need to do. I just dropped a new long block and rebult the tranny for this truck so its running sweeter than ever. I live in the LA area so the obvious saftey of having disc brakes is obvious. I really enjoy working on older vehicles. My oldest son has a 68 Nova 4-dr that we also put a new long block in. I try and do all the work myself. I have been looking at some really sweet trucks on this site. Hope to have mine looking good someday. Happy Holidays to all and happy motoring.

 

Consider adding dual chamber MC and power brake booster to your current drum/drum system. check out www.mpbrake.com This would be a heckofalot cheaper than converting to disk/drum. That said, depends on the budget, planned use of the truck and if you get lucky and find everything you need in the junk yard. Drum/drum work well on a F250, boosted would be even better.

 

.This turned out to be a mistake, as my donor I-beams were bent, either damaged or simply made differently. Quoted from the guide on the webpage.

are I-Beams all different or were his just bent?

JJ

 

Good question (I'm the guy who wrote that).
I think they were made differently. Reason is, I saw the truck they came off of. Decent truck, not used hard, just rotted away. No indication of any damage to the front end, and the parts were just dropped off the truck, not drug or lifted or anything before I touched them.
Could the arms have been bent when the truck was forked into it's place in the yard? Maybe. But I think this truck was there before my yard buddies bought their big John Deere fork loader. Both sides were the same, also, which makes me believe they were made that way.
And of course, the donor springs were different as well, along with the location of the spring perch (height) on the frame vs. what was in my truck.
Easy enough to measure for yourself before you go through the hassle I did!

 

Another question: I have access to a `79 f150. Will the front end of this truck bolt on to my `65? I have measured everything I can think of on both trucks and it seems to match up right. This tells me I`m either forgetting something or don`t know something that I should, hence this question.

 

'79 is the last year that will be a bolt-on for you. I think that's the year I used.

 

"This page cannot be displayed"

 

I usually change spindles at end of Twin I's, rather than twin I beams themselves. As far as any "difference" in I Beams, I'm not aware of any from Manufacturing stand point. But since I change my conversions at spindle of existing I beam I probably wouldn't run across that problem.

I'd presume if OA Length, inner pivot to spring mount and radius arm location, as well as distance from radius arm to king pin bore are all the same, on both front ends, it's safe to say they are the same.

I know some people destroy F Series twin I beams by heating & bending them to do their version of front end alignment. My own take on that is, it's a good idea to avoid any I Beams that appear to have been heated/ heated & bent. Twin I beams are forged at FoMoCos' own Rogue River Foundry. Heating any forging enough to bend it is not a good idea. It's structural integrity changes with heat. The more heat the more integrity gets lost....metalurgy 101.

When you get dual chamber M'Cylinder & Booster assembly also get pushrod from donors' brake pedal into Booster assy, along with the diverter & lines bolted on frame, below M'cyl, as well as proportioning valve for rear, drum, brakes. I usually grab it all, as 1 thing, mastercylinder & booster w/ lines + diverter block, w/line and proportioning vavle. Then I get Pushrod from inside.

Also BeSee, you should have "forged steel radius arms" on your 65. I always retain them because, IMHO, they've tons more class, style & character than stamped steel ones used from 67 on.

I went to trouble of replacing stamped steel radius arms on a 79 F150, Trlr Spcl, Chassis, I used OEM forged arms from 66 chassis I removed from under my F100 when reframed a few years back.

CIAO' .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

FBP

 

Fordboypete...
I was told by a fellow that I would have to grind down the spindle where it joins the king-pin housing. Also not sure if steering linkage hook-up is the same location on the disc-spindles as compared to my drums. If one fits the other then I`ll just swap the spindles. (along with master, pushrod, diverter etc.)
I`m with you on the look of the older I-beams compared with the punch-outs of later model trucks.
I`m keeping the straight-axle on the `51 too, but those questions will be asked in another forum.(disc-conversion)
Thanks for the info and anything more you can add to above criteria.

Bill in Miami.

 

Bill: I think the grinding you are referring to is the stub for the steering linkage on the spindle.
The '73 and later tie rods have longer studs than the '65 to '72 years. You will need to either:
1. Grind/cut the steering arm on the spindle to a thinner dimension to allow the earlier and shorter tie rod stud to bolt down to it correctly, or;
2. Replace your linkage with '73 and later parts. You can use the '65 on up pitman arm.
The dimensions of the linkage '73 and later are almost (but not quite) exact as the '65 to '72. The drag link has a slightly different curve to it, and of course, the studs are longer. If you switch to disk brakes, the best thing to do is not grind, but to use the correct linkage.
You can replace the '65 to '72 linkage with the '73 and later if you have the thicker steering arms on the spindles.

 

I chose 'grind' as the existing steering parts were good and the donors were not. It is a lot of work, but there is plenty of material left even after you grind the excess off, so no safety issue. If you're buying new steering components, then I'd use the newer stuff with the longer studs.