Hello All !! Cool site!!! As you can tell by the name Im Im not partial to one make of vehicle. If its got A wheel on it, im into it.
Anyway I thought someone could shed some light on a little problem I have with a Ford. I have a 1972 Glasic Modle A Roadster Replicar. A company in West Palm Beach Fl made them for a few years. They first started putting fiberglass bodies on International frames with 4 cly International motors. But in The early 70s they struck a deal with Ford to use all ford parts with the exception of the frame and body. The cars then came with 302s with a C4,and a slew a other parts from differnt fords of that era. And as long as the cars past all saftey standards and emssion test, they could be sold as New Fords in Ford Dealerships(which the first few didnt pass and had to recalled .
I have a 1972 Ford Glassic Roadster.The front end is a leaf spring set up with a straight axle. It has spindles from a E-100 econoline van with drum brakes. I want to convert to disc brakes. So I need to know if there is a spindel that you can put on a early 70s e100 van that allows you to use a disc brake set up?
Thanks Darrell

 

you have a first generation e series axel, the only one with leaf springs.

there are no spindles that can be swapped to use disc brakes. there are however a couple of kits that can be bought for this. just do a google search for disc brake kits, you should get a few hits from that.

you can also search the 61-67 econoline and ranchero forum for info on this swap.

 

Hey there. I have a '74 e-100 van that I just put disks on. I got them from a friend that had a f-100 pick up. The e series and f series had the same frame, running gear, etc. The problem is that the f has the larger bolt pattern. (5.5" instead of the 4.5") Depending on what rear end you are running, this may or may not be a problem. Mine also has manual brakes so you might need to change the master cylinder. Hope it helps.

 

Totally False

The Glassic was a Model A replicar, but they were NEVER sold as new Fords from any Ford dealership, or anyplace else. Ford dealers or others could obtain a Glassic franchise, and sell them, but they are registered as a Glassic, not a Ford. Ford Motor Company would never allow this or any replicar to be sold as a Ford or Ford product.

 

WHAT???

NO 1961/74 Econoline used the same frame as any F100 past or present.

1961/74 Econolines are Uni-bodies. A Uni-body does not have a separate frame.

The 1969/74 Econoline is a completly different vehicle than the 1961/67 Econoline.

The front spindles are the same for 1968/72 F100 & 1969/74 E100.

All these models came with drum brakes only.

Only Econolines made in 1975 and later have a separate frame.

All 1975 and later Econolines have disc brakes.

 

good point. Mine is a '74.5 and does have a full frame. I had to replace the spindles with the f-100 disk assemblies. It did have four wheel drums to start with. would the disks from the 75 and later fit onto the f-100 spindles? and if so, would they have the smaller bolt pattern?

 

What is a 74.5?

If you have a 1975 or later Econoline, you will have disc brakes, and a separate frame. The body bolts to the frame. If you have a 1961/74 Econoline, you have drums. And, it's a unibody...a unibody has the frame members and cross members welded to the floor pan, there is no separate frame.


There is no reference to a separate frame (Ford number 5005) in the Ford parts catalogs inre to Econolines till 1975. None.


The 1969/74 Econoline E100/200's have 15 inch wheels with a 4.50 bolt pattern. But the 1969/74 Econoline E300's (1 ton) have the same bolt pattern as the F250/350 = 6.50.


The 1975 and later E150 Econolines have 15 inch wheels, the bolt pattern is 5.50. The E250/350's have 16" wheels, the bolt pattern is 6.50. The wheels interchange with Ford trucks.

 

"Totally False" ?
Thats funny. Because on my title it says 1972 Ford with a 3 digit serial number. I also know the history of the car. It was sold from a new ford dealership as a ford. It was also traded in not long after it was purchased to a chevy dalership and then resold again as a ford.
You may want to check the web site out on these cars and read the history of the company. www.Glassicannex.org

 

I know the history and if it's registered as a Ford, someone goofed, because it's not a product of Ford Motor Company, in any way, shape or form. It was built by Glassic Motors in West Palm Beach, Florida. The last time I checked, Glassic wasn't owned by Ford, nor did Ford have anything to do with it, except to sell the company some parts.


It used new Ford related parts, bought from Ford, but so does: the Panther, a SS Jaguar replicar; several replica Cords; a replica Duesenberg, all the replica Auburn Speedsters; a replica Mercedes-Benz Gullwing; myriad replica Cobras, and dozens of other replica and kit cars...none of which are registered as Fords. Any dealer, new or used could obtain a Glassic franchise..one dealer I worked at for 10 years sold them for a while, and they were NOT registered as Fords.



Contact Ford Motor Company, and see what they say. I already know the answer.


The website refers to them as Glassics, not Fords.

 

It is a 1974 and it does have a frame. Growing up at a body shop I do know the difference between a unibody and a frame. My 84 ford mustang has a unibody, my van has a frame. It also had 14" wheels, but I know they were aftermarket. If the later year vans had the larger bolt pattern, would the drums and axles fit onto the 9" rear? Could it be that it was an early '75 but with '74 running gear. It has the twin I beam suspension in the front. The door tag does state that it was made in late '74.

 

You've been lead to the water, but refuse to drink. Don't get caught in the model year VS. year of manufacture hole.

1975 was the 1st model year for the long nosed Econolines that had full 'ladder' frame bolted to body construction & disc brakes. Production of 1975 Econolines began well into 1974 for typical fall new model introduction.

The older style flater nosed Econolines had a unitized body with frame integrated directly into the floor pan & had drum brakes. Production ended in the 1st half of 1974.

All Econolines since 1968 had Twin I-Beams.

A Glassic is a Glassic, regardless of who's chassis they build it on. Titles are subject to all kinds of human errors. I have an old Olsen/Grumman Kurbside on a Chevy chassis, the S/N belongs to Olsen/Grumman not GM. Its always supposed to work this way, if some clerk typed it wrong that does not change the way its supposed to be.

 

Since a uni-body with a front mounted engine floor pan doesn't extend past the cowl (in most cases), everything forward of the cowl are frame members. This is called a stub frame. Almost every uni body (1961/74 Econolines; 1965/2007 Mustangs, etc) has a similar setup. If the engine is mounted in the rear like older Porsches and VW Beetles, the stub frame is at the rear.


In addition, some unibodies have full floor pans, rear bumper to front bumper. These are also known as belly pans. The 1955 and later Citroen ID and DS models have full belly pans. There are others just like this, mostly European in origin. The advantages of a full belly pan are better handling, ride and fuel mileage. There is very little wind resistance, because the belly pans frame members are welded above the pan, not below.

 

Minor inaccurate statement....the 69/74 E-200 had 15" wheels, with 5.5" bolt pattern.