Hi my fellow 'DOG HOUSE' dwellers. Name is Fredo in San Diego Calif. In the procces of putting a 289, C-4 auto tranny with a 9" rear end in my 63 PU 3 window. So far it's been a chalenge till I found and talked to a few guys here in so cal. I should recive the rest of my parts from one guy in a few days, including the new cross member with motor mounts, new short tail shaft housing with mounts, 9 in rear end and all pollyurothane bushings for the front and rear of the trucks suspension! Every thing is bolt in, no BS to deal with and it's done right. I've always been a big fan of letting some one else to the research and development end of things LOL. Any way I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. If any one is intersted in some info let me know and I will let you know what I've learned not to do or pass on some phone numbers. Good luck with your restorations.
KEEP IT IN THE DOG HOUSE
Fredo, 63 Econoline 3 window PU, San Diego Cali

 

Hey Fredo, I bet the guy your getting the parts from is in Pasadena and goes by the name of Eugene . If I'm right then you're getting top notch parts.Good luck.
Eric


Proud owner of a '73 F-250 4x4 High Boy, 460 V8, NP435, NP205, Dana 60 rear w/Detroit Locker
And a '68 Bronco 289 v8 , NP435 , Dana 20

 

Fredo,

If you are dealing with Eugene Phillips you are in good hands.
Good luck and keep us posted on the progress. One thought, if your dealing with Eugene ask him about the conversion to dual master cylinder. He sells a kit for around $200.00 I think.

Jim

 

Hey Guys, yes I'm speaking of Eugene Phillips. I'm kinda new to this computer stuff so I didn't know if I should put his name up. You guys are right, every thing I've heard about him is good, every time I talk to him I feel like the truck is getting closer to comletion. I talked to him about a front disk brake set up he sells installed for around 700 bucks. So that will probably be the next big dollar move for me. As soon as I learn a little more about computers I'll post a few picks. Right now the truck is stripped in and out for the instalation of the new drive train.So I went through and removed any surface rust I found, sealed and primered the spots. I was real lucky, there is no real rust any where I can see she is a straight as an arrow.
I'll keep the post coming, so you all can maybe toss in a few hints or bits of advice. See ya on the road....
Fredo 63 Eco

 

Well guys and gals, I got a call yesterday from Lyn Jordan of anythingford.com. He is going to pick up and deliver my parts for me this weekend so I guess it's time to get at it. Yesterday I took out the front and rear windows, did some cleaning and repaired any rust I found (very little again) I'll order some new seals and have them put in by a pro. With a little luck the motor and tranny will be in the truck by Sunday night and I'll change out the rear end and all of the bushings with the pollyurethane set up I'm getting from Eugene Phillips up in Pasadena. That and some new shocks will pretty much take care of the "under the truck work" except for the new drive shaft and exhaust system. Next I move into the interior of the truck to clean up and do any repairs necessary. The only real trouble in there is the previous owner cut the heck out of the dash board while trying to install a stereo, I'll have to come up with a way to cover the area with one piece of material, I'm, thinking of a nice wood grain or an upolstered piece of sheet metal should do the trick. Once the truck is running I'll take out the seats and dash components and paint any exposed sheet metal in the trucks cab. After that it's a short drive to Mexico for a custom exhaust system and then back up here for paint. Wow I can't believe that at my age I'm still playing with trucks, pretty cool huh? Some day I'll figure out how to build my web page and I'll post all of the pics I took durring this "experiance" Later all have a good week end!
Fredo
63 Econo 3 window PU

 

Fredo,

The dash can be replaced but it is a sawzall and weld it back procedure. Seems to me your idea is better, cover it up.

Yeah, it's pretty cool for a lot of us. Looking forward to the pics.

Jim

 

Hi all, First off sorry for the long post but a lot has happened. You may have been wondering what happened to me and why no updates on the refit of my truck. Well in a nut shell I forgot my password and could not post. What can I say I'm not computer literate lol. Any way I reregistered under this name and will use it from now on. Latest news, recived all the parts from Eugene up in Pasadena cal and got at it. First thing I noticed was I haven't got a clue what I'm doing. While I "thought" I had a 289 with a C-4 tranny it turns out that I really have a 260 with a old "fordomatic 2 speed" I found out I had these items when the short tail shaft housing I got from Eugene didn't fit the tranny!! I called Eugene for help and he told me to crawl under the truck and read casting numbers too him, I did and he said he thought what I had was C-6 tranny even "better" but then he said the parts he sent would not fit. The solution to the problem was for me to load up my tranny in my wifes little import car and drive up where he and I would do some horse trading and I would end up with a C-4 when it was all said and done. Well not so fast there skippy, I load up the tranny and me a buddy head out on the road. I had Eugenes cell number and once I got close to his house he talked me in. I met him and unloaded the tranny from my wifes car. He looked at it and said "that aint no C-6 either" Well hells bells, now what do I do? I didn't have the option of buying a C-4 from Eugene because it would not bolt up to the 260 (different bolt paterns) Eugene tells me to follow him and off we go to his pile O' parts. He starts to dig around and pulled out a huge metal bracket (home made), and hands it to me and says, here this will work to mount your tranny. Ok I say how much, he says nothing, free, gratis, on the house!!! This guy is top notch I tell you. OK so now I have the part I need to fit my tranny and I ask him about the headers he makes for the small block ford motor to fit my Econo and we make a deal on that. I don't know how many of you have gotten parts from this guy but if you haven't you should. The headers came with gaskets and reducers for the tail pipe. Then to top it off he takes back the short tail shaft housing I got from him and discounts the amount from the price of the headers!! OK I may be jaded but I havent seen this type of help or service from any one in a long long time. I also picked up a carb from Eugene for next to nuthin cuz it needed a float bowl gasket. I shake his hand and battle my way out of Los Angeles. WOW that was a long winded way for me to get to the part where I tell you all where I am on the truck. The motor is in, I did have to cut the floor pan a little bit to clear for the alternator but I'm a pretty fair hand with sheet meatal so no big deal making a box to cover the area, the tranny is hung, the 9 in rear end is in, the drive shaft has beeen cut to fit and balanced, the headers are mounted and the steering colum for the auto tranny is installed. I was installing the distributor and droped the drive shaft for the oil pump into the bottom of the oil pan, That only backed me up a day and a half till I could get a hoist to lift the engine so I could take off the oil pan. Oh well live and learn. Ha ha, hell you gotta laugh or you'll go nuts right?
Now I need some help or advice, I plan to run a dual exhaust system, but do NOT want my pipes to come out of the sides of the truck. Has any one done a system that comes out under the rear roll pan of the truck? If so where did you get the tail pipes for the set up, did you have to have them custom made or are they available from a supplier. Will the rubber hose for the gas fill pipe be an issue if I do it that way? Also I bought but returned a new set of gauges for the truck, the problem is that the sending unit line for the water temp gauges' is too short to reach from the intake to the dash board. Does any one know where I can get one with a longer set up, or did every one have to go with a under the dash set up? I was hoping to locate the gauges in the dash area where the previous owner of the truck butchered the sheet metal but like I said it wont reach. Well ladies and gentelmen, that's where I'm at on this project, any words of advise will be greatly appreciated.
PS: If any one needs some stock parts heres what I have available in good to great shape....the Three speed steering colum, stock radiator and the shift linkage for a three speed. I'm not looking to make a bundle on this stuff in fact I will take Eugenes lead and pretty much help out any one that "Needs" the stuff, maybe a little horse trading? I need 2 15 inch police rims, I want to run wheels and beauty rings with hub caps, no mags for this old fart. Let me know maybe we can work some thing out. Thanx for the ear folks, keep it in the dog house and keep em rolling
Fredo in a 63, down San Diego way
GOD BLESS AMERICA, I will never forget where I was at 6:45 AM on the 11th of Sept 2001.