1970 F100 - Kids first truck

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Hi all,
Been working on this truck for a couple years now. Was supposed to be a present for my daughters 16th birthday but things happen. Hoping to get it to her this summer while she is still in high school.
Rebuilt the engine, transmission and driveshaft (more on these later), cleaned up the radiator, and got it running just enough so I don't have to push it in and out of the shop.
Tonight's project is front wheel cylinders, brake hoses, bearings and pedal pads.

[Mancar1]

How great, a project for your daughter Does she work on it with u? My 3 girls all worked on their vehicles alongside me. They are now 37, 43, and 47, and they can do their own repair work.
No matter how old, our kids will always be just that. Our kids.

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Unfortunately they are in TX and I am in CO. She did pull the engine apart during the summer and helped me install it and the transmission at Christmas break but that is all so far. It is nice when we can work on it together.

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Was going to post a pic of the final product but those two came out really bad. Time for Cylinders, hoses, bearings and pedal pads was about 2 hrs, not counting turning the drums.

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Got a chance to work on the truck during some down time today. I have had new battery cables sitting around for a while and bought the new battery today. Picked up a 24F to go with the Autolite cover and tag I ordered and the side decal I already have. The horn didn't work so I cleaned up the contact - its important to take it out and clean up the brass part at the bottom of the spring as well - and also cleaned up the back of the button and horn ring. Now that the horn goes beep I decided to paint it. The power steering pump mount came from a 68 and needed some major cleaning and a new spacer on the part that mounts to the head. I will be headed out tomorrow to pull the pump, gear, column and other hardware needed to convert to power steering. I will also be pulling the bracket and rod for the power brake booster. The booster and MC will be purchased new. Will also be stopping by the parts yard to look for seat belts, a new seat and a bunch of small parts and hardware.

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Went out and pulled the parts today. Got the Power steering stuff and brake booster bracket from the donor truck, Stopped by the local Pull & Pay and found some seatbelts I think I can make work. They are GM but new units are expensive and I have more time than money. I also grabbed some side trim for the front end that looks a little better than what is on the truck.

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This is the rest of the junk needed to convert to power steering.

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Tonight I tried to dismantle the power steering components that I pulled from the 68 this weekend. I left the tools I used at home so I will have to pop the center link and pitman arm ball joints tomorrow. I did manage to disconnect the pump and got the pitman arm off of the shaft. Got the gear all cleaned up and ready for paint.

[Mancar1]

Good work, u will have the truck looking good for your girl.

[hillcountryflt]

Progress looks good.
converting to power steering will be appreciated by your daughter. Will you be doing disc brakes as well as power. Ran across a disc brake option on eBay that really lowers the cost.

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Progress looks good.
converting to power steering will be appreciated by your daughter. Will you be doing disc brakes as well as power. Ran across a disc brake option on eBay that really lowers the cost.

Yep. I pulled the whole business out of a 77 F150 a couple of weeks ago and left it with someone else to dismantle and clean up before I return from Wisconsin. As soon as I get back I will finish cleaning and painting the P/S items and then start working on the disk brake conversion. I have seen several different versions of conversion packages over the years but this jumble of parts (pics to follow) only cost me $200 at the local pull & pay with a caliper kit (seals and hardware) at $24 and rotors at $51 each. This also included the sway bar mounts that I pulled off of an 89 E-150 so I will be ready to add that later as well (mounts fit, sway bar doesn't).

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Well, the kid I left my front end parts with barely managed to get one side apart so I started cleaning that up tonight. I painted the steering gear before I left and now it in a bag waiting for the rest to be done.

[BlueOvalDave]

Great thing to do, father daughter project. Dont feel too bad about how long it's taking. My daughter and I have been working on her's for 18 years now.

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Finally got the P/S pump bracket painted (Rust-oleum semi gloss), also painted the tie rod ends, pitman arm, and drag link and installed a new tie rod adjuster sleeve, way quicker and easier than cleaning up the old one. The tie rod ends and drag link are painted with cheapo wally-world paint at 88 cents since these are replaceable parts but the pitman arm is also painted with the semi-gloss. I forgot to mention earlier but the steering gear is painted with Rust-oleum appliance epoxy, this stuff is a little pricey for a rattle can but dries rock hard and doesn't need primer, it is a little temperamental though, pay attention when it says "shake often while applying".

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Also made some progress on the disk brake conversion this weekend. cleaned and painted the left side axle, spindle, radius arm, backing plate and spring. I am going to reuse the yellow shocks seen in previous pics since the seem to bee in good shape and heavy duty as well, however I am going to paint them blue and apply some Ford logos.