Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and the ford truck world. I come from a jeep background, so I know my way around vehicles and engines, I've just never had a ford truck until now. Long story short, the family ford is now my ford its in pretty good condition, minus a few things. Here are a couple of pictures and then I have some questions.




One of the first things that I'm going to address on this truck is the rotting wooden bed. Do you have to take the bed off of the frame and seperate the fender/wheel wells from the tub to accomplish this?

The front right quarterpanel is FUBAR due to the wheel coming off of the front hub about 10 years ago. Can new quarterpanels be had?

And I've examined the braking system on this truck and I'm not satisfied with the way that the ford designers did them. I'd like to put a new dual master cylinder and new plumbing to all four corners along with new disc brakes at all four corners to help. It has the ubiquitous ford 9" rear end and the Twin I Beam suspension system up front. So what are my options for swapping in a new braking system?


I should mention that this truck has a 302 swapped in from a Mercury Cougar that was done about 10 years ago and the original block has floated down the river. The "new" engine has about 140k miles on it and seems strong up to this point.

It has also been brought to my attention that though this is a '65 it has a '66 grille. My dad did this without knowing I'm fairly sure that I'm going to find another '65 grille and swap it back someday.

I've been told and have seen that this board has some quality knowledgeable folks who are plum helpful, so I just want to thank everyone ahead of time for all their help.

 

Some of the answers...
Front disc brake/dual master cyl is a bolt-on with newer model Ford parts. Very easy and inexpensive. Click here for the how-to.
Rear discs are not easy and not worth the expense, honestly. It's a pickup with no weight in the rear so the rear brakes do very little. No sense making them any better than the drums.
The '66 grille was the only available replacement for many years which is probably why your truck is so equipped. Only way to get a '65 grille is used.
I don't think complete new fenders are available. Fiberglass ones exist but the one guy I know who used them wasn't happy with the fit. Good used is probably your best solution, and they are out there. Just be aware 4x4 and 'big' trucks have a fender that physically fits but has a much larger wheel opening which won't match yours.
If you post the info from your door data plate others on here can decode it for you.

 

First and Foremost, Welcome to FTE. Really like your truck. Also have the 65 F100 'flareside' with the 302, but with a T18 tranny. Few years ago, after having driver the truck for some 35 plus years, made a few upgrades and oh what a difference.

IF recall, do not need to remove fenders to replace wood flooring. With regards to front fender replacement, don't know of any Ford part supplier's who reproduce them but most offer repair panels. Tend to prefer steel front fender that can be repaired of fiberglass.

Finding 65 grille can be as difficult as pulling hen's teeth, occasionally see them on ebay, it's a matter of how high one is willing to go, seller can get a good price for one in decent condition. Also, the 65 front fender I beam emblem is not reproduced; like the grille, they offer the 66 as a replacement.

Have 2 65's and cherish them both; however, tend to prefer the 65 with 302 over the 65 with a 390, it has become my daily driver and contantly imazed at it's capacity for hauling, sometimes don't get as many miles out of a clutch as I should. Also, as a senior citizen going through a mid life crisis, swapped the 2 bbl for a 4 bbl, what a mistake, never get into the secondarys, and IMHO believe lost some of it's performance. Anyhow, had the urge to chime in, again welcome to FTE, a storehouse of information and helpful members. Keep us updated, and don't hesitate to post any questions.

dave

 

For some reason, the links to the pictures that I had up there broke, here they are again.

 

Sorry Dude, Maybe someone unlinked them. The site has galleries for folk to place their photos. This forum is for tech help not newbie show and tell.

Big pictures cause the test to over run the screen size and we have to side scroll to read it.

John

 

Great photos, keep them coming, perhaps resize them a bit(the one in the middle) and don't let anyone stop you from having a good time.


Thanks for stopping by FTE, hope you stick around awhile.

 

Sharp truck!!! More photos please! What a beaut!

 

Several FTE sponsors sell new oak bed wood and mounting hardware. The wood only needs to be varnished/painted, as it's precut and rabbitted. The strips are available separately.


Technically there's no such thing as a front quarter panels. On Flareside pickups, you have four fenders...2 front, 2 rear.


In September 1965, when the new 1966 F Series pickups were introduced, Ford Parts and Service Division replaced the 1965 grilles with 1966 grilles. Good bright anodized 1965 grilles are almost impossible to find, the painted steel grilles are easier to locate. I know where several steel grilles are available in the Los Angeles area.

 

Very nice! Almost as pretty as mine.