I'm looking for a donor truck for a brake and steering conversion on my 66 F100 Long bed. Can i use a 70-79 F250 to get the parts needed? Or can i only use an F100. I've read many of the threads on this subject but just have not seen if this has been done with the 250 camper special.

 

2 things matter, F250s have/ use 8 lug wheels so front rotors have 8 lugs instead of the 5 on 5.5 of an F100 or F150. the other is the GVW of the F250 donor. If F250's GVW exceeds 6900 lbs steering box will work but pitman arm & centerlink will not.

So if you were to use a F250 Steering box from a F250 rated at or over 6900# GVW you'd have to refit box with light duty (light F250 & F100/ F150) pitman arm, then use a light duty centerlink.

However the pump, brackets, & pulleys will interchage if both trucks have same family of engines,ie: FE, or Windsor or whatever.

I believe if you use light duty F250 set up and you can buy rotors for a 77-8-9 F150 Trailer Special with HD Chassis & Suspension & they will fit, work, & be 5 lug on 5.5 pattern. The Bad news is these rotors are A)Not common, and B) extremely expensive at around $150 to $175 each, and you'd need 2.

A F100 or F150 standard 11" rotor goes for as little as $30- $35 new. That is $145 less, per rotor than a 13" x 1.25" with a 5 on 5.5 rotors of an F150 trailer Spcl.

F-250s and heavy F150s also use larger calipers, but calipers are relative to spindles themselves so if you did install F250 Brakes you could make it fit & work using light duty F250 spindles. But it's costly to do and costly to maintain compared to std F100, F150 & Light duty F250 system.

I personally would look for a more suitable Donor. I'd stick with 73 thru 79 versions rather than earlier 67-72 set ups. I also would avoid making a mountaim out of an ant hill by complicating what would otherwise be a relatively easy and simple upgrade with having to convert this & that and/ or purchase pricey stuff ontop of the rest of it all.

Just my opinion on the retro upgrade, It's well worth it even with the Light duty set up the difference is noticeable and less expensive to maintain than Drum Brakes or HD F250 & F150 Trailer Special Brakes.

Don't forget to get the lever actuated brake light switch & bracket & short harness from the Donor also. You don't want to retain your PSI activated, wet switch.

FBp

 

I have a complete '76 F100 front end w/ rotors and p/s, but I think the freight to CA from FL would kill ya! I'd do as Pete says; find an F100 donor. Junkyards around here are full of 'em. When I buy used rotors, I take a caliper to the junkyard and look for ones with life in 'em. The books will tell you the sizes.

 

I used a '76 F-150 for a donor truck. I got both spindles complete(calipers,rotors,etc.),booster,master cylinder,proportioning valve, steering box, and pump for $95 @ a junk yard in Daytona. the only new piece I had to buy was the king pin sets. The ones on the '65 F-100 won't work. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the great information and advice. I've looked for donor trucks for a while and seems all i run into is the Camper specials. I've been through several Junk yards and found a couple of F100's but had nothing i could use. I used to live in the Jacksonville area and these trucks were plentifull but have found its not the case here.
Thanks again for the expert advice.

 

They're still around here, maybe not "bountiful" as they once were but we don't have the harsh laws that the shakey coast has around here, nor the Income either, so lots of folks here abouts are still driving these great FoMoCo Trucks around. What part of California is Spring Valley located in? There's a pile of these 73-79s in AZ, NV, & N.M. too, or were last time I went thru there a cople years ago.

Tell ya what, price a set of rotors & rebuilt calipers in the AP stores & jobbers there,
If ya get a good price on std 11", front, rotors & Std Calipers, maybe it'be worth it to just buy spindles out of state, and get "replacement" rotors & calipers locally, new. It's a thought. We can get a whole set ups here, like Lyne's65 & FL Gargoyle say, for under $100 at Speedway U-Pull It (or maybe it's Daytona U-Pull It now).

I can get Spindles for about 1/3 that. If I can help you, or you'd like me to check it out & send you a copy of their price sheet via e-Mail, PM me thru FTE members profile here & give me your e-mail address, I'll scan/send a price sheet to help ya figure it out.

FBp

 

Hey Dads 66, I live in El Cajon, only a few miles away. I am also having some dificulty locating usable 70's stuff, the junk yards are full of 80s and 90s crap around here. I have a F-100 swb that Im going to do the swap to, my dad has another swb 65 and a 65 f-250 also. He's over in San Diego. He has all the disc swap stuff for the F-100 so Im going to use his stuff, and ill have to replace it for his swap later. I also picked up a 69 rear axle to upgrade to the larger rear brakes at the same time. Im going to stick with manuel brakes for now.

 

FBP, i priced calipers and rotors here locally and were 35.00 for the rotors, 17.00 for calipers without pads or 47.00 with pads. Spring Valley is Located in San Diego area. I'll continue to look around here but will definately send you an e-mail for the price list if i can't find anything. My ultimate goal is to get a donor truck so i can get everything I can use for both projects and even more if possible.

Tremecgt, looks like you are set up with your Brake conversion. What about power steering? I get around out in El Cajon from time to time, we have probably crossed paths at one time or another. Really the only junk yards i've been to lately is out in Chula Vista.

 

I hit Ecology and sometimes pick your part by Brown Field, thats really the only high volume junk yards anymore! Im not going to do the power steering conversion right now, maybe after I do a v8 swap. I have the 240 six right now. I might stop by highway 67 truck yard in Lakeside to see how much they want for the stuff, but I am prety sure I could get a better price from the u pull its! Good luck, keep me posted on your finds, I let you know if I find a pile of them, Im going down within the next couple of weeks!