Folks, I just purchased a real rustbucket of a truck. 1966 F600. The body is pretty much gone, but the running gear and frame seem sound. It has an 8000# 35 foot hydraulic boom behind the cab that is in good shape.
It cranks and runs fairly well. There is trash in the carb, and the gas is old, so it skips a little. Does smoke heavily, but its hard to tell if that is bad rings, valve seals, or the fact that the oil does not seem to have been changed in a number of years.
The owner did not know for sure which engine it had, but thought either a 360 or 390. I have a fondness for that engine line having driven several for many years and miles. That was one of the reasons I went ahead and bought the truck. But, even so, I would have bought it anyway with any engine in it.
Once I got a chance to look at it, I realized that it is almost certainly not a 360/390. The motor mount is under the front, and the exhaust exits from the center of the manifold.
I figured a 292. The VIN seems to bear that out: F60CC819670
Everything I can find on the web says that the "C" engine code was a 292 2bbl.
However they also say that it stopped in trucks in either '63 or '64.
I have seen parts from one model year leak over into the next, but an engine two years later?
Since, if my revive attempt I am going to try when I get it to the farm fails, I will be looking at a rebuild, I hope I can find out which I have before I start tearing it down.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I have not had a chance to do much examination on it, do not know if the timing cover is al or cast iron.

Thanks

J.

 

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is the dist, at the back.

 

Nope, working from memory, its front and center. I remember, because I was studying how hard it would be to do a tuneup.
I am meeting a wrecker this afternoon to move it up to a friends house. Its drivable, but has no brakes right now. He needs to use the boom to pull a couple of inboard motors out of a 35 foot boat, and while we are doing that, we will be working on the brakes and whatever else necessary to make it drivable. While we are doing that, I will look it over better and maybe take some pics so I can refer to them later. Next week I hope to have it up to the farm where I can do some serious work on it.

Thanks

J.

 

One other thought. I don't have any hard and fast proof that it is a '66 model. If its a '64 or earlier, then the mystery goes away. Anyone know where the date code is in that shortened VIN number?
As you can see from the orginal post, there is a 6 in there, but there is also a 1. Not to mention an 8 and a 9 <G>. But I don't think it a '90 model.....

J.

 

Post all your door tag #'s in the 61-66 forum. Somebody will decode them for you within a day. And if you have any other questions, ask.

 

No need to post in a "foreign" forum!

It is a 1966 model with a 330 cube V8 and 2 bbl carb

 

Sounds great. I knew the 292 didn't seem right. The only source I could find for trucks that old, gave a "C" engine code as a 292 but said that that was up to 1964. And the next year given was 1967. Made me wonder if they even made trucks that year.

The great move got postponed until tomorrow morning, but once I get through where I am taking it then, I will be bringing it "home".
Then I wil probably be dropping in frequently for advice.

BTW, I only have to tow it about 5 miles to start with. And I am guessing that since it is a manual 4 speed tranny, Top Loader I assume, that it should be ok to tow it in neutral. I don't think they had any kind of oil pump attached to the input shaft.
I suppose that the front cluster gear might splash oil and lube the rest of the system, but surely there are enough gears spinning on the back end to keep everything wet.

Thanks again for the help. Now at least I know what I am dealing with.

J.