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1965 Ford F-600 resto mod project

24K views 25 replies 15 participants last post by  410customs 
#1 ·
I started a thread a while back on a project my brother and I are working on http://powerstrokenation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54948&highlight= . We made good progress in one direction until we found this



Its a 78 F-600. We scrapped the cab and motor. And started to swap everything over. This is where the problems started, the 7.3 turned out to be too wide to clear the 78 steering box and we couldn't adapt it to the Clark 5 speed easily. So we found a 390 from a 68' F250 for free. We worked like mad trying to get everything working but only got this far.



What does this info have to do with the thread title you ask? Lots is the answer. After towing all this stuff home and working on it with my brother I decided I wanted a 4x4 dump truck. I combed Craigslist for about a year and found nothing. Then one day while combing the local rag I found a listing for a 1965 F-600 4x4.
After contacting the guy spending some time trying to get it started I cut a deal. 3 cords of wood delivered.







This is from the day we drug it home.

The truck is in rough shape. The cab is a little caved in, I'm guessing its from snow piling up on it and crushing it. The glass is all cracked. There is cancer in the front cab mount areas on the floor boards. The wiring is a nightmare and almost every seal leaks. The motor however was rebuilt a few years ago according to the previous owner. It looks to be a 330 V8. Tranny is a NP 435 with a divorced case. The plow and bed are operated via a PTO hydraulic pump. The plan is to run the gas motor while I collect parts to get it premium. Here is a short video I threw together after I got it home and tuned it up.

http://youtu.be/8jPVqKvN2z0

I'd want to put a 6BT in it with a 7 speed but the cost of both of those is pretty steep. I started looking into the cost of a whole IDI truck and the decision became clear to me. A 7.3 with either a banks or ATS kit would make for a slick setup. I can find a whole truck for under 2000$ if I'm willing to wait. I already have a T-18 and bell housing from the 56' build that never got used. It should be a fairly straight forward swap and will work really well with the divorced case. The steering box on the 56 is much smaller and positioned different than the 78' frame is so I think it will all fit.

I'm doing all of this to use the truck for fire wood gathering and hauling. I've always hated rolling rounds up or down the hill to the truck so I decided I needed a winch. I had an 8000lb Braden left over from another project so I put it on the front.





I decided I wanted to be able to winch from the rear and took an idea from my brothers 56' build and found a 1972 20000lb Braden wrecker winch. Here is where I put it. I plan to run fair leads through the head board and tail gate to make it all work.








I also had to find tires, Craigslist came through again. I found 9.00x20 military take offs in San Clemente at 25$ each. With the cost of fuel factored in 9 tires and wheels cost me 40$ each. I'd say its a good deal.



Here are some pics of how the truck is now.









 
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#3 ·
The plow blade was in ok shape. But all the brackets and guide were hammered. The PO had made attempts to repair it over the years but made the problems worse with their lack of welding skills. I hauled it home for the hydraulic rams couplers and hoses. then i made the call to cut it all off and sold it for scrap. Besides the brackets hung extremely low and would have been in the way of water bars and rolling dips I have to traverse while banging around the woods.
 
#4 ·
Quick update. The cab on the truck is done. The front of the floor pan is really rotten, and the roof is smashed in the passenger corner. There is no real reason to save it. I also decided I wanted to have mechanical means of picking up fire wood. The best idea I could come up with was a knuckle boom.
A phone call to my uncle resulted in a line on a replacement cab and a knuckle boom. Both were free!! He does some horse trading with a salvage yard in San Rafael.
The new cab is in really good shape, except for the broken glass. The knuckle boom is missing 2 cylinders and needs bearing in the mast pivot but else wise it's in great shape.
Now I have to pull the center winch and start fitting the boom, and get the old cab prepped for removal.

Vehicle Transport Filling station Car Commercial vehicle
 
#5 ·
It has been a while since anything significant happened with this project. After more than a year of sitting I decided it was time to get moving with modifications. I spent two afternoons prepping the cab for removal. I pulled the doors, seat, and most of the wiring out if the truck to make it lighter and easier to maneuver.

Prepped for cab lifting.





Cab going up.









Cab off.





I used home made camper jacks to lift the cab. My brother and I have used these and other similar jacks on numerous cab and body lifts. It works, but with wider axles it gets a bit sketch rolling the tires over the bases. I used the winch on my truck to roll the frame out from under the cab.

The wireless remote control for the winch came in handy. I was nice to be able to move around the truck and not have to run back to the winch to pull a little.

I knew the truck was greasy underneath but I was underestimating how greasy it really was.



Tomorrow the old cab will get chopped up for scrap minus the important have to have stuff. The new cab will get a good wash and if the cleaning of the frame goes well the new cab will get set on.
 
#7 ·
Yesterday brought little progress. Between loosing the axle shaft bolts on my 96' and all the pressure washing the new cab took, all I got done was setting the new cab on the chassis.



The tires on the truck were low on air pressure. It made for a bit too much resistance for the quad, 60 LBS got everything rolling. We still had to use a pusher quad to get up and over the jack base legs.





Clearance over the core support and air cleaner was about 3".



Current status:

 
#9 ·
No real update for today. I do have a question about some options that are available to me. Initially i thought a IDI swap would be the way to go. But after reading the markfuga 58 conversion thread and adjoining youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IYaJur9V00

I got to thinking a Powerstroke conversion would be way better than an IDI swap. markfuga really does a good job at removing the mystery of a PSD swap. And is just so happens I have a few 95 Powerstrokes to donate to the cause.

The first is a 2WD with auto tranny. It has a smoked IDM and possibly a dead PCM. It was a 100$.





The plan is to make it 4x4 with this truck:



I will be left with a motor 2wd E4OD, and the guts of the single cab. I don't want the auto tranny. I have an IDI to T18 bell housing, I thought that might be good behind the PSD but Google has not returned any one who had done that combination. I will have to see if it will fit up. I think it will because a ZF5 will fit the PSD, 7.3 IDI, and the 6.9. Why wouldn't the 4 speed bell housing fit on the later models? The pattern is the same?

I really want the 4 speed to work out. I have a 18% 3 speed brown lipe transmission I'd like to put between the tranny and divorced T-Case. I like the idea of creepy crawly in the woods on fire wood runs.

I have a F-Superduty S-42 ZF5 I could use but it'll be too long to get my Brown Lipe behind and the Tcase. I run out of frame length. I could lengthen the frame, but the truck is long as it is. I had also allocated the tranny for my 96 to swap when my E4OD craps out.

Any comments?
 
#11 ·
I did get lucky. It belonged to a cold storage construction and repair company. Ford quoted them 6k to get it up and running. A friend( who happened to be the operator when it died) had been after me for a year to go check it out. Kinda glad I did now. The owner was tired of looking at it in the yard and didn't want to pay the non op tags and 1500$ a year insurance. It was the right day to go check it out. It does have a broken up dash too, but I think we'll get that worked out without too much trouble.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App
 
#15 ·
This truck is bad a**. I would love to do an old school truck restoration. Keep up the good work!
 
#16 ·
I figured it was update time. Not much progress happened over the Summer/Fall, fire season was busy and left little time for projects. My brother has made progress with the conversion on the 100$ extra cab and to the point where the single cab donor truck can be parted down to the various receiving trucks.



Today I started pulling the front clip apart, I got the main wiring harness pulled, the PCM, IDM, and other seemingly relevant electrical out. One thing I noticed when disconnecting the harness from the PCM, IDM, and cab pass through points was dirt and dust in the pin area. My truck didn't have dirt in the connections that I noticed when I took it apart. Is it normal to get dirt in there? Or is it a sign of crappy mechanics from the previous owner to my brother?



I'll post up more when I get the engine, transmission, brownie, and Tcase located.



We did a test fit sorta of the Centurion seats the were in the single cab. They fit well enough, Ill have to make a bracket to bolt them to the OEM mounts in the 65'.

 
#17 ·
Quick update for today. More progress in taking the donor truck apart. Front clip off, all wiring out, motor disconnected from the tranny, fuel lines, and anything else attached to it was disconnected.







And on a side note,my brother scored a Ramsey winch bumper and fairlead for 140$. It'll get cleaned up and a new powder coating before it goes onto the 95 extra cab.



 
#19 ·
Progress as been slow. I did get a test fit of the engine and mock up transmission done this weekend. I salvaged the engine mount and cross member from the donor single cab F350.

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I plated the inside of the 65' frame with some 1/4" plate and trimmed the engine mount to fit. Currently everything is only tacked in place, in case I need to move the mount around. I used my Trailblazer 302, Miller 12VS suitcase and NR211 flux core wire to do the welding. I'd really like to use Lincoln 71M dual core wire but its too windy outside for that process.

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These were taken before final placement. The mount sits about 3/4" proud of the frame rails. But you get the idea. I also removed the original motor mount/cross members. You can see the one in the fore ground of the last picture. I was using it as a point of reference to attempt parallel placement of the plates and the new engine mount.

Engine in

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65' radiator for initial reference it clears the fan and clutch by about an inch. It may be tough to see but the engine leans back a bit. Ill have to raise the transmission mount an inch or so.


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I have a clearance issue with the drives side up pipe. I trimmed the pinch weld a little. I think the issue may mostly go away when I get the whole assembly sitting more level.

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#25 ·
Would you mind sending me pics of the hoist attatchment to the bed and frame please.
 
#26 ·
dang goingon a year no updates! We are not worthy! that is a nice project makes our little trucks look...well........ little
 
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