Guys, make sure the folks who know you know that you like Ford trucks best. And make sure they know what years you like. One of the men where I used to work told me he had a '68 F250 in his back yard and if I was willing to pull it out I could have it. I told him okay and went to get it. It had been sitting on the ground for a Loooonng time, no wheels and tires on it. It is in really sad shape, very rusty, windows shot out, hood is missing. But it does say camper special on it, and has extra leaves above the normal rear spring pack, and some really big dual piston front disk brakes. I think from looking at the grille it is really a '71 or '72. It was getting dark as we were loading it on a trailer so I didn't look it over super carefully. What year did Ford begin offering disk front brakes on two wheelers ? Are 15 inch wheels big enough to clear those twin piston calipers ? Will the 3/4 ton I beams fit my 1/2 ton's frame ? I have a '71 half ton 2 wheeler if I can swap over any of the suspension parts, what do y'all think ? DF

 

>> What year did Ford begin offering disk front brakes on two wheelers ? Are 15 inch wheels big enough to clear those twin piston calipers ? Will the 3/4 ton I beams fit my 1/2 ton's frame ? I have a '71 half ton 2 wheeler if I can swap over any of the suspension parts, what do y'all think ? DF
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My 72 has the large (camper Special) caliphers ..8 lug 16.5 rims
15" rims will not clear the caliphers


__JOHN__Õ¿ö
FTE Club #7
Member-
http://www.cruisin-north.com/
Santa Rosa, Calif.
72 F-250
ICQ#6030753
http://www.ford-trucks.net/users/jbhf250/
https://www.ford-trucks.com/pictorial/big/1972_f250_2.html

 

I don't know if this will help you out any or not but i had a 69 F250 2wd camper special and it has those dual piston caliper front disk brakes and power steering. It was a great truck but the body went on it with living up in the northeast and i couldn't give away the from or anything at the time so it all got junked.

 

I would say swap boddies and go 3/4 ton all the way. There is no significant advantage to having a 1/2 ton in my experience. Due to the 3/4 ton rear spring design, the ride will be about the same as a 1/2 ton. As the springs compress, an arm from the rear shackle (compensator) begins to contact the top of the spring which essentially shortens the overall length of the spring. With this and the fact that the auxiliary springs you mentioned contact only when there is a load, will give you carrying capacity when you need it, and a soft ride when you don't.

I have the dual piston calipers on my '69 F250 Camper Special also. I like them; however, they are not perfect. The mounting pins and bushings begin to loosen up over time, and they start rattling over rough surfaces (annoying). Also, due to the fact that the pressure seal is in a groove on the piston OD, the piston housing (bore) can sometimes corrode and cause the brakes to stick and remain applied which can cause them to heat up. If the seal groove was in the housing bore instead, then most of the piston would remain lubricated with brake fluid and probably never stick.

The Camper Special will probably also have the heavy duty rear brakes which use 3" wide shoes. The full floating Dana 60 is also a big leap in strength and durability over the 1/2 ton's 9" semi-floater.

The way I see it, even if you don't haul heavy loads that require a 3/4 ton, having the stronger components will make them last much longer even if the only stress is just the vehicle's own weight.

 

Ford began installing disc brakes in 1968 with the introduction of the 360 and 390. They were an option on trucks with 360's and stock equipment on those with 390's.

 

The F100 didn’t get discs until ’73 though.

 

 

I took the spindles and disk brakes (with the large twin piston calipers) off a 1971 F250 camper special and put them on my 1966 F100 without swapping the I-beams (I also swapped rear ends and trannies). I compared the I-beams on the 71 to the 66 and they looked the same and the king pin was the same part number for both. I took it for alignment, expecting that the I-beams would need to be bent, and was told they were perfect, no adjustment necessary. I just wore out a set of 16 inch tires after 40,000 miles so I would have to say it was a success. The 71 came with 16.5" rims but I purchased four used 16" rims and they worked fine. 15" rims would not clear the calipers. DONT forget to bring over the "brake metering valve." If you put those dual piston calipers with those 12" rotors on the front of your truck and don't have the metering valve you will realize what it is for the first time you hit the brakes hard and your rear end jumps up off the ground because the front brakes grabbed so well. I would also bring over the brake differential valve if your 1971 1/2 ton doesn't already have one.