Projects 1966 F100 "FE" Powered Project

For steering column because power steering was added took the stock bracket and installed it on 77' column. Looks stock now especially with stock steering wheel.

 

Wow

 

Glass, column, dash going together

 

A couple more before/after

 

cab done, time to drop cab on chassis, doors and fenders painted

 

I have had four of these trucks, one I still have, this is a wonderful thread, excellent excellent job.

 

If my 66 comes out 1/4 as good as urs ill be happy. All I can say is wow. I'm loving the guage pics, I need to rebuild mine bad.

 

loving this build ! your doing a amazing job!

 

damn thats the tidyest f truck i've ever seen!! i thort they came from the factory with rust. seriously tho this is gonna be one sweet truck, is there anything you cant do?

 

Damn that was a clean start , been a pleasure to see you make it new again ....
Picked up a couple of tips and tricks too , thankyou !

 

wow some of the cleanest work i have ever seen..... Love it!

 

Thanks to all for the interest and comments!

I had 6 of these trucks but down to the best 3 that are on these pages.

I was a bit worried when I took the first one apart to "restore" it, since then I have done the same for my other 2 trucks. Hands are not so steady anymore but still managed.

My goal when I started this project was to do just that. Make it so no matter where you looked it not only appeared as new but the newness was more than just surface deep. This truck is a tribute to my Father who gave me the love of things mechanical and especially this year truck. He passed away back in 1989, wish he were here for that first "drive". Its been over 40yrs now since I made the goal to one day have a truck like it. In 1978 I made decision when I did find the right truck it would have a dual quad side oiler.

I had big dreams as a young kid to be able to repair/restore my own.
I also learned very early on to take care of what I did have. Waxed my toys and bike, tried to keep them new as long as possible... Learning how to restore stuff was all trial and error. Still learn a lot on each project.
Case in point: This is my first automatic trans rebuild, lets hope it works.

Although I would like to learn I cannot do the actual sewing or make my own seat covers etc. Upholstery work is something I am unable to do although would like to learn. Its always been so reasonable to just buy the covers/kits and put them on. Other than that I am able to do the rest of the build myself. self taught but a very STEEP learning curve. Machine work I have done but this time purchased new items with machine work done. Even then found some pretty critical errors. Lets hope they are all corrected...

Now that the health is not so good it gets much more difficult to do much at all. This will most likely be my last complete project without some MAJOR help to do another. The older I get the painting portion gets very difficult, especially as I try to make the next project better than the last.

A couple with engine and trans mounted to chassis.

 

Engine and trans along with cab on chassis. Pic of cab just prior to dropping it down on chassis.

 

going backwards a bit but a few of "final" prime. At this point had to still fine sand every nook and cranny but much closer to paint. This for sure was a very overwhelming job, one forgets how much work it is until you review the pics again.

 

A few more with a bit better detail.
Steering gearbox is from a 1977 F100, the power steering brackets etc are all stock 1966 F100. Goal was to make it stock appearing. The valve covers are 428 Cobra Jets just until I can get some run time on engine and save some $$ to have the Mercury script ones re-chromed.

Having to do it all on my own is taking up an unreal amount of time as I am sure you all can attest to.

Once painted I will have the HUGE task of repairing, straightening, polishing of all the trimwork. I may have to build a set of headers also as the ports on current headers do not match up to CNC'd heads. I will also fabricate my own exhaust system and what ever it takes to finish the project. Engine has oil and is primed but have not fired it yet.

 

Awsome keep em coming. Ford has a lightning, would this be an old tsunami ???

 

Best thread on the H.A.M.B. Thank You Sir!

 

wow. wow. wow. awesome build. i could only wish my 65 can come out that clean. well done!

 

----------------------
No.... methinks, it's more like a totally earth
shattering, magnitude 10 EARTHQUAKE that
triggered a tsunami! This truck's amazing!

Mart3406
==========================

 

Very nice, great thread, thanks.

 

Again, Thanks to all for the kind words!

A bit about the box. Bedsides were pretty much perfect with exception of one small door ding near left tail light. The bed floor was another story. Multiple little dings and a few larger dents did not go with my make it look new theory. I made an attempt to try to shrink the dings in bed floor but working by myself with knowone to hold dolly on other side was near impossible. I my search for a bedfloor found the 2008up Ford Super Duty to have a bed that was near perfect match in size. Ordered a new bed floor for 300.00,
a couple crossmembers in floor will have to be swapped but otherwise a good fit. 225 drilled spotwelds later had the old floor out. In order to make job easier again the box cart was used but made an adjustable rod to hold it stable to stand up on cart.

A few pics of process

 

Few of bed floor

Thought others might get a kick out of poster hanging on my shop wall. It was in same folder as bed pics.

 

Whatever you do, don't toss the old floor, put it up for sale - a lot of F-100 guys would kill to have a replacement floor as nice as that.

 

Several words came out of my mouth while scrolling through this... I had to hurry up, I couldn't take it all in at once... my brain was on overload... just, wow.

I just *thought* I did a good job with mine, would have loved to have put that kinda attention and detail into my '66.

I'll be back to review more of this further. I especially like the comparison between the DJM and AIM beams because I had heard some stories about DJM, and I like how you used the '77 steering column and didn't shorten the original.

Good job indeed. Awesome.

 

My truck the day I got it. The seat and wires went away asap, the intake I have for my motor, and Im picking up my slicks in the morning from a buddy....Not nearly as clean as yours is, but pretty solid for a new england truck...


photo of tires taken from Radirs website.

 

Your truck is unreal !!! Very nice work !! Hopefully you can help me with a couple of questions. Is the later power steering a bolt in, with no modifications ? I notice all your trucks have power brakes. What did the boosters come off of ? What disc brakes are you using. Thanks, and awesome work !!!

 

Sad part is I tried to sell it but could not... It would have been great for patches etc or complete floor. Recently sold the house/shop and was already overweight so had to let it go for scrap. Just did not have a choice.

Looking good! Do you need any sheet metal?

Thanks! This FE Project truck has a 1977 F100 Booster and steering gear box along with disc brakes and column. Same box from 1973-79 and other years. fits 1965 and up. I did have to take my belt sander and take some from corner of steering box at shock mount. No other changes and a direct bolt in.

The 65 F250 and 66 Ranger have stock Ford Boosters. The 77 is much larger in diameter. The mounting brackets are also a bit different.

The 73-79 spindles are a direct bolt in, new rotors, calipers, master/booster combo and the reman steering gear are all pretty dirt cheap new/reman.

Only thing I had to do for column was mod the clamp to fit because I wanted stock looking parts. Column could be a bit shorter on inside but left it alone.

 

Stickler for the details so its been a 11 year search for NOS part. All trim, emblems, knobs, switches were found NOS if at all possible. Even the grille and bumpers were found NOS at prices less than repo junk. Tail lamps, bezels, park lights, headlight doors also all NOS.

A few more recent pics and of NOS grille box.

The core support in these pics is epoxy primer (dp90) as did not have time to get it painted prior to assembly. After years of trying the house finally sold and have moved out. The project is being sent to the land of Sunshine! Enough of the PNW crap.

Project will continue in the Phoenix area and hopefully very soon.

 

I will restore the plate and keep it with truck.

 

Hole. E. Cow. Your work is amazing, and that truck is blessed to be in your hands.

My daily driver '66 longbed F100 is the best damn Ford truck I've ever owned, and I've owned a few.

Good call on the move, as well. I'm about fed up with the PNW, and I've lived here since '81.

Have fun in the sun. And keep us posted on your badass truck!