New to the forum and have been surprised at the information i have been able to find here. I have a 66 LWB F100 that i plan to do the disk brake conversion on and eventually the power steering and will use a donor truck.

Can anyone tell me what other usefull parts i could use from a donor truck and of what year models?

 

welcome to FTE,i think about any f100 f150 and f250 ps would interchage, 61-66 maybe later years also, as for disk brakes it should be about the same but i dont know if the disc brakes on a f250 ar the same as the F100 but i know quite a few years interchanged, good luck

 

Welcome to FTE!!! Perform a search on this forum for disc brakes and power steering and there are answers to any question you might have. The short answer is only F100 disc brakes will fit on your F100, but the ps gearbox is the same thru all series. There are several parts to look at, rear axle, i-beams, wheels, engine, trans, etc. that are swappable. A F150 often has some hd pieces that can be used.HTH And again welcome aboard!!


Putt

 

Welcome to FTE! I would recommend you look for a '73 to '79 F-100 or F-150, which has the engine and transmission you either currently have or wish to convert to. With a complete truck, it is much easier to harvest those little parts and save return trips to the boneyard. You can use the engine perches, transmission, driveline, rear-end, etc. The rear brakes are a complete cahnge out up to '79, and will give you better rear stopping power with wider shoes than what came with your truck originally.
If you include power steering in the swap, you might want to look at a '69 - 72 F-100. The steering column is easier to adapt than one from '73 or later, but the disc brakes were only an option before 1973.

 

You have twim Ibeam front suspension, just like all Ford trucks in the F100/150 series untill 1978. As such, your front spindles can be swapped (as can the ibeam and radius arms frequently). Look for a 72 - 78 truck with front disc brakes (+/- power brake assembly) 67-71 had them too, but less common. 65's have a couple special considerations -- look at the article in the tech section here. This will be your opportunity to escape from your dangerous old single chamber master cylinder as well. It will require new lines, as well as some sort of new provision for a brake light. Do some searches, post back with remaining questions.

PS is doable as well -- if you can find a Bendix PS, is it a bolt up swap to your current stearing. Unfortunately, Ford phased the Bendix out for Fords own unit in the 67-69 years. The Ford unit is longer, thus requiring that the steering column be shortened. Or, you can swap in a 67-72 column instead, if you have a tranny shfted on the floor. If you have a auto or 3 speed on the column, it is much harder. Shortening the column requires you to cut off the rag joint, remove about 2" of shaft, and then re-weld the rag joint back on. Actually not that hard, but needs some experience in cutting/welding.

Or, you can do like some folks that specialize in this -- buy a 1972 to 78 pickup that is sound mechanically. Strip it to the frame. Drop your 65 onto it in the reverse order. I have read about this. Apparently, very little mods needed. New holes for bed bolts I think. Unsure about the cab mounts. Firewall forward is identical.

Search the site -- lots of stuff. Have fun....

 

So the steering column was longer from 73 on! Sounds like the best bet would be to find a 69 to 72 that had the front disk brake option. How difficult would you say finding an f100 with disk brake option on a 69-72 would be?

 

Pretty difficult.
I'd look for a later truck for the brake parts and hope for the best with the column. Banjopicker is the expert on pwr steering swaps, and wrote a real detailed story on here someplace about the choices. The 'wrong' length column can be modified a couple different ways to make it fit.

 

Guys There are a couple of issues off track here.
The F series truck setup is the same from 65 to 79, with about 4" added to the rear of the cab in 73. I am gonna try to demonstrate the total length on both power and non power steering. Count the blocks.

axle|--X--------| steering wheel, nonpower & bendix setups
axle|---X-------| steering wheel, Ford power gear setups

The power steering gear has hydrolics on top, and this causes about 2 1/2" shift on the end pointed towards the firewall. This causes the X (rag joint) to be closer to the firewall than on the non, thats all. I had side by side setups on the floor in my garage and measured them.

As John the picker says, Plan your upgrade and buy accordingly. My prefference is the total I-beam swap only because if you get a tight front end you don't have to spend a couple of days beating on king pins. You can drop a lined up setup from under a donor truck and put it in it's new home and it will remain lined up.

I like FEs so my donor would be a 73-76 with a 360 C6. I would pull and rebuild them both, and have new running gear for my truck.

I swapped in the two speed wiper motor, and later got a delay switch installed. I have the wider track rear axle, with the larger brakes on my project truck.

John

 

most 67-72 will have the SHORTER columns as well, as Ford phased in the longer Ford PS gear box in starting 67. I recently saw a Bendix (bolt up for 65) on eBay, but I think its gone. $295

For my taste, the manual steering is not so bad, especially if you live with stock (relatively narrow) tires, keep everything greased, etc. The dual cylinder master cylinder swap either to disc or even keeping the front drums, this is a MUST, IMHO.