Projects 1965 F100 father and sons project

While what you did with your crimp will work, the second set of wings on a Packard 56 spade are supposed to be crimped on the insulation, not the wire.

 

Gulp! I can't remember if I caught that on the next ones or not - I remember looking it up and thinking something isn't right and if my Middle age brain serves me I think I cut them all off because I found the correct new pigtail. Problem is now I have doubts. All shrink wrapped so can't look at them. Will pop one off this winter to see if I corrected or not - and if not, I'll correct. Good catch, the only spot I used those connectors was for the headlight pigtails, everything else were butt style connectors. I cut all the stock insulators off and stretch wrapped everything because they looked hokey to me out of the package, also not weather proof.

So my steering is incredibly quick. 3 turns lock to lock. The problem is lock either way the tire scrubs. Damn Chev wheels have too much back space. Tire to outer rim is 5". I would rather put the dough into some new front wheels rather than try to correct with spacers. Default for now is 1 turn of the wheel either way then stop or rip something up. Fargin dirty bostich Icehole HOTRODS.

 

It isn't anything to worry about. Since you shrink wrapped it the shrink wrap will provide strain relief on the terminal.

 

Been cooking up some witchcraft concerning the power for our rig on another site. It was suggested I incorporate dual blow through carbs on our homemade manifold then let the hairdryer puff through the two of them. Outrageous huh! Posted up a tech question about a disk/drum distribution block issue. Pushed a bunch of fluid suddenly through the rear circuit and now I can't bleed the front brakes. Come on Clementine, do you not want to drive this week?

I put a 3" exhaust pipe under the truck when we started ripping apart floors to make sure I had routing for a large pipe through all the various equipment moves. Here's a portion of our exhaust side. 3" exhaust looks like nothing on my daily. On this truck it looks like an oil pipeline.

 

Nothing technical or special for this post. Stepped out to the driveway last night to get a breather and compare the size of a vintage vehicle to a modern truck. Kind of liked the lighting. Between the trucks is a bin I have been using to throw every piece of rusted metal that has come off our F100. I took the rad support to the metal recyclers earlier with a big load of other stuff so not everything but, I think the overflowing bin is about 300 lbs at least. I want to load our F100 with that and put it to use hauling her own garbage for a cleanout of our space. Show at the end of the week we're shooting for. Went to bolt our box down last night and the bolts I got, actually a kit for this model year truck, are not threaded enough leaving a shank exposed. Either I thread them or I have to make spacers which is quicker. It's going to come down to the wire. Insurance tonight.

 

New parts today, the day of the show. Proportioning valve, residual valve and a T for the front brakes. Getting rid of our distribution block. We zipped around and saw everything we wanted to see then back home in time to start installing. Shooting for Monday morning drive to work. Saw only 4 Slick's at what I would guess was a show of about 7-800 cars. Found myself admiring paint and anything in the '28-34's. My tastes are certainly changing as I age. Also spent time looking at customs. Could easily have been happy in a few we saw today - alright back to my crapper.

 

Father/Son project reflections. Kid's car interests are moving towards imports, although they still like old stuff. If it has wheels we like it. I was blown away by the paint work on Lowriders - I used to walk right by them. The only cars I ignored yesterday were muscle cars, quite likely because of saturation - my guys seemed to do the same. Not a lot of stuff that was really different and that seemed to be what I was looking for. Spent a lot of time looking at wiring, plumbing and brake lines. A lot of these cars had it pretty dialed - routing, symmetry. Found myself rushing to get through the show so we could get back to working on our project.

I'm fighting with details of wrapping up a big project. Electrical fittings, brake fittings, JIC fittings, compatibility of parts are frustrating me. Like long tube nuts vs. short tube nuts for brake lines. Three parts stores - No Long thread 3/16" (3/8" -24 tube nuts) and no 3/16" tees. Reclaiming some old fittings I came up 1 short - brakes still not together. Amazon is 1 week for delivery. Holy Man, is this stuff not stocked by stores anywhere? JIC fitting knowledge will be next up. I'm going to use a second power steering pump to work as a remote oil pump for our Hair Dryer. How that will come together is a mystery right now but, I don't want to run a noisy electric scavenge pump then have it fail on us. Lot's of reading coming up.

 

Tried not to blow away all the lines I had fitting to the old distribution block. Because I'm short of tube nuts, I made all I could with the new proportioning valve under the hood by shortening our bracket. Will be calling brake shops tomorrow to see if I can buy what I need. Will possibly get residual and proportioning valves under the truck in the next round. Taking all this apart had me drizzling brake fluid all over the inner fender several times. Glad it's not final paint. Bent up old lines to bleed the master. It was fine.

 

Wow, I missed a lot in the last week. Was away helping daughter and SIL with the new baby (3rd one now).
Anyway, you are right about to cross the finish line!!!

 

Wow, 3rd grandchild, congrats @NashRodMan . Think I'm going to like that part of my world when it comes. I like those critters.

Found the simple tube nuts today that I needed and a 3/16 Tee and at a 1/3rd of the price. Think I need to switch up suppliers. These guys were way more knowledgeable and they were nice. Guy had a personality - I digress.

 

Home today with a positive Covid test. 3 of the 4 of us just tested positive. I have the sniffles, my wife feels like she was run over by a truck and one of the kid's is more like my symptoms. Taking calls and directing traffic from the carport.

I have exactly 1 foot of Nicop left. I have more of the green coated steel lines but, didn't want to mix the two. Not as originally choreographed but, functional with a flare. Will hook up something for the clutch return spring, tighten a few bolts and it should be ready to drive for when I have no symptoms and can return to work.

 

OMG! Leaking like a sieve at the proportioning valve. The residual valve came with adaptors, the proportioning valve didn't. Same brand, same supplier. I got 3/16" tube 3/8 - 24 long tube nuts and they threaded right in. The lessons are coming hard but, not fast right now.

 

Spent an hour under our pickup today tightening and rechecking bolts - taking me a long time just to get under the truck. Reading about the adventures and mishaps of fellow car folk will do that for you. We replaced every bolt with grade 8's where possible even if we didn't need it. Nice hardware is just - nice! New fuel line, new ground straps, new shocks, new bushings, new u bolts. When we pull it all apart again I'm tempted to detail the frame and paint it. Anywhere we bolted up something new I cleaned and painted the frame but, there are areas not done yet. Made sure to get the top side before bolting the box on. That way any future work will be so easy. I was going to get the bottom of the box and cab blasted and painted too but, that might be officially over the top. Rear end and engine coming up next. Trans - well, we'll see. The budget for all this stuff is putting us into a different league.

 

Have been thinking about this for a while. I got a photo off the web a few years ago and this is essentially a rip off of that design. The deal for the grill was to get the finishing of the openings figured out because it looked ackward but, good as a starting point. Think we finally have the openings figured out and how it could be detailed using our '64 upper valence and a donor '65 grill. I like our existing setup but, I want to make this other one so we can swap when I want to change things up. Any goofy idea I get I go back to this original photo as I tweak ride height, grill wheel etc.

Revision from today. Have to say Hot Rodding is fun when you get things done. I want to thank the guys at Bumper to Bumper on the North Shore. They know their shit and they have stock - and they are nice. No Sunday shopping but, when you get what you need all our issues fall away.

 

Looking good Will! Getting there bit by bit. But...don't bother adding up the cost. It will make you sad. LOL
Just forget about it now and go forward. Its a hobby and an adventure to share with the family, not a money making thing.

 

Ha ha, the voice of wisdom. Thank you for reminding me during a time when this project is feeling more like a J.O.B. than a hobby. I'm a glass half full type by nature - I'm blaming any diversion from that approach to Covid fog.

Actually the attitude is partially because of a perpetual nagging leak at the proportioning valve. Ran a tapered 1/8" - 27 NPT tap into it to clean up the threads and thinking I need to now pull the leaking adaptor and put some sealant on the threads then run it back in. Brake pedal has beastly mount of pressure so if this thing doesn't stand on it's nose when I hit the brakes I'll be surprised.

Going back to work tomorrow. Come on truck, are ya with me or not!

 

911 linkage assistance for the daft if anyone has any insight on this one.

Connected our return spring (actually 2 springs linked together). Clutch pedal won't come off the floor. I moved the anchor point to the front of the new crossmember which is an additional 6 inches further away from the original location (adding more spring tension). No change. I have not done anything to our clutch adjustment beyond disconnecting the return spring off the old crossmember. Thinking there was a bind I loosened the anchor on the frame then threw some shims under it (it looks better but, don't think it did anything to aid our cause). Nothing felt like there has any tension in it when tapping the frame anchor around. Pedal goes to the floor very easy, much easier than original in spite of doing nothing. Is there an additional spring I might be missing somewhere to help the pedal come back up or does this greasy mess look correct. The spring under the dash is in place. Do I switch phasers to 'KILL' and keep increasing spring tension until the pedal comes up or is it like a bungee cord. You make tight but, still too springy?

Update: Pulled on springs hard to tighten and snapped one. All bets are off. Must be another spring pulling from another direction.

 

All over Dennis Carpenter's site looking for pedal and springs, bump stops and other rebuild parts associated with the clutch and brake pedals. Think I'll steal a page from @Mike Lawless and do the damn bearing thing. Take all the friction out and maybe I can get the stinking pedal to return properly. I have to do the Pilates ab crunch then hang upside down balancing on the rad to work on the linkage with everything else done. If I can cheat to just get this functioning now then go after this task in the winter that would make me happy. Bought 3 months of insurance last week.

 

I'm not familiar with a '65 Ford truck, but something (I can't put my finger on what, just a hunch) doesn't look quite right. Have you been able to find a manual or parts catalog that shows better detail of what the stock configuration is? It looks like that should be enough spring.... is the mechanism binding? Is the pedal pivot binding? Is the throw out bearing sliding like it should? Identify what the current wheel should be before you re-invent it. Good luck!

 

Connected our return spring (actually 2 springs linked together).
Update: Pulled on springs hard to tighten and snapped one. All bets are off. Must be another spring pulling from another direction.


Will,
The picture of the 2 springs in series...That doesn't seem right and wont give you more tension. They need to be in "parallel" to give you more tension. Make sense?

And..."I have to do the Pilates ab crunch then hang upside down balancing ...." Been there done that, especially uinder the dash. Not fun.

 

I think the place the spring should have attached is no longer there on your truck with the steering change. I can't remember exactly where, but it was in the vacinity of the sterring box. So, you'll have to make a spring hanger somewhere's.
The factory clutch linkage is very "agricultural" as some would say. The clutch pedal shaft runs through the hanger bracket on plastic bushings, and the brake pedal pivots on that, again on plastic bushings. The pull rod just has bent ends that poke through holes, and the Z bar has plastic bushings.
I'd imagine yours are in at least as bad a shape as mine were, as this stuff never gets serviced. It does look pretty dang crusty!
That might be what's needed. Check Carolina Classics for bushings, as well as LMC.
The spring can probably be bought local. My system no longer needs one, but I found suitable springs hanging on the rack at Auto Zone. One end was long so it could be configured as needed.

 

Had to go back a few posts. I didn't see this.
The clutch pedal has a big over-center spring on it that is supposed to help with pedal effort. The clutch itself should be able to push it back. If the clutch pedal is going to the floor with everything connected, then something is very wrong, either linkage-wise, or the clutch itself.
No reasonable amount of return spring is gonna bring the clutch pedal off the floor once it snaps over. That return spring is only there to get the release bearing away from the clutch fingers.

 

Thanks Guys for the quick reply. It was my wedding anniversary yesterday so stayed out of the garage. As has been said before, I might be the head of the family but, my wife is the neck - or something like that!

I went through old photos before taking it all apart and the spring in this configuration was what was there. It does seem very crude. I pulled some drawings up and the spring in the version I found was a coil with a long wire hooked into the frame or attached at the old crossmember. For sure it's not performing correctly.

This makes sense to me. although being down a spring right now it seems like the spring is only to get it past the over centre. I don't think it should take killer spring tension. Will try the double up just to see if the over centre can be achieved.

Correct, the anchor point for the spring is no longer there. The point I hooked it up at was a test to see if it would return the clutch lever. More spring tension didn't help the return which made me thi there is a bind. That's when I started shimming the pivot at the frame. Looking at it closer Mike you nailed it on condition. The 'Agricultural' nature of the linkage is in not much better shape than one would expect. Carpenter's site has plastic bushings etc. but, I think you fix is the long term approach.

 

This makes the most sense. We were BS'ing at work and consensus was the clutch should push up on the pedal at the bottom to some degree. The return spring should just bring the peddle past over centre. There is no spring tension at the floor. The linkage is the only thing that was disconnected however, if the return springs on the clutch are weak Hello T5. Spending any money or time on the stock transmission would be a waste. It's all together waiting for me to get off my wallet or somehow yank my head out of the fog. Dilemma! I will give the pencil crayon a few turns and see if I can engage any spring at the bottom to assess.

 

Thinking through budget and now considering finding a suitably geared ZF5 transmission out of a 2wd truck. This would likely still leave me with a grannyish 1st gear more in the 4.XX ratio as opposed to a 6.XX like we have now. Final drive ratios vary but, these are heavier duty truck transmissions that came behind Windsors, 300 6's and diesels. Found one for $600 obo that someone has cleaned up already. Read where some final drive ratios were around .77. Supposed to be thinking like driveway Hot Rodders where we work with something in the supply chain as opposed to dropping $3k on a new transmission

 

Even if you leave the stock style clutch release lever, at the very least, I'd recommend converting all of the pivots to spherical rod ends. The ball bearing pedal pivot conversion is a good mod too, but is a bit labor intensive. You have some fab skills, so it's within your skill-set to do it. I gotta say though, that "over-center" spring that slams the pedal to the floor is a royal pain to put back on when you go to re-assemble! It is STIFF!
The small return spring itself has one purpose. At the very top of the clutch pedal stroke, it serves to pull the release bearing away from the clutch fingers for the "Free-Play" area. Without it, the release bearing can stay in contact and maybe wear prematurely.
Assuming the trans is installed, and the clutch adjusted correctly for a bit of pedal free play, my guess is if the clutch pedal won't return from the floor, then something is wrong inside the bellhousing. Either a broken/bent release arm, fubar release bearing or collapsed pressure plate.

 

Thanks Mike. I will adjust what I can then decide once I drop the trans if there is a quick obvious repair to get it roadworthy or not. I am already looking for a ZF5 (OK) or T5 (preferred). Not going to spend more than a few minutes mourning this trans if I has anything obvious broken.

 

Bummer. Damn transmissions. I'm currently going through tranny problems myself.
Alas....I long for those Fred Flintstone days! LOL

 

I was sufficiently down the road to excess this morning. If all the parts were in front of me in the parts aisle I would have fired up the Visa hard and had everything I needed for this weekend. Trans, pedals, bellhousing, etc. I laughed at myself because it would have been like going over the falls in a barrel - I've got this - I hope. I then thought about all the threads I've read where the theme was, Take something out, pull it apart, fix and move on. I wanted to get into engine stuff first before transmission swap. My genetics are from the Farm so I did a check swing. Fred Flintstone can drive a car with no floor. I can fix a caveman transmission linkage.

 

You can. Just start with the basics. See if you can adjust any pedal freeplay out to determine if it all even works.

Question....have you ever been able to drive it? Shift it while running?