1965 F250 front end advice

[knoxwhite]

Hi guys - been driving for a few years a 1965 F250. Somebody before me dropped in a 351 W and a c-4 tranny. And there's a new gauge kit. So I'm plainly never gonna return this critter to stock, not that such was ever gonna be my intent. And the body is solid though ugly. This is my haul gravel and firewood truck, and I put very few miles on it annually (under 1000.) So if I need to limp along as is, that's okay. But the brakes need a lot of push, the steering has far too much play, and the camber in the front is chewing away the interior rubber to a getting-bald state. I've moped around a few sites looking for rebuild kits and read a few articles on grafting on the front clip from a crown vic. This would be overkill as to my goals. And there's a wealth of excellent mechanics in the LA area who would love to take my wealth. But I'm a capable mechanic, have plenty of tools, can weld, pull the motor if needed, and have some space in my driveway. What I'd like to accomplish is: align this thing, upgrade to power steering of some kind, and get some disc brakes on this ogre. And if in the end I also manage some parking brakes, even better.

After all that I may do some wiring and replace the hood (only rust to speak of.)

Thanks in advance for you time and patience since my work schedule may keep this project going for months, but for now any advice would be much appreciated.

[colnago]

Well you're obviously pre-dating our Bumps, so this is all hopeful advice. I know that the bumps can get disc brakes from later trucks (I drive a '67, so I had to use a brake booster from a '67, and calipers, master cylinder, and rotors from a '68 (disc brakes weren't an option in '67, and the brake hardware for '67 was changed for the later years)). But I was able to use my spindles and hubs. There are no kits for a 3/4-ton, but you could check LMC, NPD, etc for a half-ton (I assume you have a half-ton, since you mentioned a swap from a Crown Vic).

On the Bumps, power steering is relatively easy to swap in, but you do need to swap steering columns (PS column is shorter).

It might be easier/cheaper to do a Crown Vic swap, and grab everything (axles, brakes, steering, etc). That way, at least you'll have everything matching. I'm not sure, but I think a CV swap goes hand-in-hand with lowering your truck. There is a LOT of info available on the net if you want to go that way. The 351 is a very capable engine, and the C4 should outlast us all.

By the way,

Joseph

[knoxwhite]

Thanks Joseph-

We actually put the ogre on a rack today and found so much wobble on the front wheels that plainly my king pins are trashed. And the full CV franken-grafter experience will be overkill for what I wanna accomplish here. Likely next step will be to pull off the front end and have a machine shop nearby press in fresh bushings and then we'll reinstall with virgin king pins and I'll go like that for a few years. Like I said the ogre rarely gets out. I'm definitely gonna put some 16" rims on since the stock 16 1/2" rims call for crazy expensive tires. 8-lug hubs.

And since I'm going light on the suspension rebuild I may rewire the ogre sooner than otherwise. Need to get some sound in here. And a weatherstrip kit.

Anyway thanks for the response and stay safe.

Knox

[jamesdfo]

Swapping your '65 to discs & dual master uses the same procedure/donor vehicle as the bumpsides.

There are several articles in the link below that may be of interest to you, including Power steering swaps, disc brake swaps, etc, so scroll down and have a look:)

**If you find a donor truck, take all the bits from one vehicle, and make sure you get a phone pic of the sticker in the door jamb, then when ordering parts, you will have the vin, as if there happens to be any changeups over the course of the Model year of the donor vehicle, the first question the partsman will ask you is "what's the VIN # ??"

http://www.fordification.com/tech/technical-index.htm



James