My '66 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special

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'66 Camper Special
Posts: 26
Joined: July 15, 2017, 5:11 am
Location: Texas
United States of America

My '66 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special

Post by '66 Camper Special »

Not sure that this is exactly where this should go as it is not much of a build. I was lucky to find a pretty complete truck. She does have a few problem areas that will have to be taken care of with time. I wanted a place to help me remember what was done and when. I picked her up in Tomball TX from a Craigslist ad. She has a 300 backed by a 4 speed manual Warner, and a Dana 60 out back with 4.10 gears. I made a deal with the PO, that included him having his mechanic install intake and exhaust gaskets that he had already purchased. Turns out the exhaust manifold had a crack at one of the bolts, and the surface of the intake manifold where the exhaust manifold mates up was pitted beyond resurfacing. So, I ordered a new set of manifolds and had them shipped to his mechanic (our deal was about the gaskets, and neither of us anticipated an issue with the manifolds). When braking, she pulled pretty hard to the left when I test drove her, the tires were badly weather checked, I had to keep the choke almost completely closed to keep her running in June in Texas, and there was fuel seeping from all of the gaskets on the carb. So, I opted to load her on a trailer to get her home.
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Vynal stickers on the doors are an advertisement for the PO's antique store. I like the look, so they are staying for now. The wife and I decided to take her out for a quick spin to the local convenience store maybe 2 miles from the house. On the way back, as I made a corner I heard a loud hiss from the driver side front tire (the valve stem broke off, not from an impact, it was just that sun damaged). We were just outside of our subdivision, the tires needed replacing, and my only spare options were the even more iffy, under inflated tires on the original spit ring wheels. I decided to just slow roll to the house. About half a block from the house the belt came loose. I parked it, and we walked home. I came back wit one of the split rings, and eased home. She now has 4 new tires, and I ordered an under bed tire carrier as well as a steel wheel for a spare off of ebay. Next thing I tackled was changing out the blinker switch in the steering column. Fishing the wires down the column was a bit of a chore, but not too bad overall. Then the battery gave up the ghost. I had a nice fairly new AGM battery in the Jeep YJ that I am supposed to be selling since I bought the Slick, so that is now in the Slick, and the Jeep will get a less expensive, but new flooded cell before it goes to its new home. The truck was running pretty poorly, so I ordered up a rebuild kit for th Holley 1940 from Mikes Carburetors, including a new brass float. This is what I found in the float bowl.
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After the carb rebuild she runs like a champ, and I haven't had to use the choke at all. Next thing I tackled since she was running good, was why she wasn't stopping well. One look at the backing plate on the passenger front drum confirmed my suspicion, the wheel cylinder was bad. I swapped that out, and she now stops like a dream. I went and got her inspected, and waited for the year of manufacture license plates that I ordered off of ebay to show up. They finally came in, I got her registered, and the wife and I headed out for our first legal cruise to the same local convenience store.
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We met Robert & Ruth that evening at the convenience store.
These are the main issues that I know I will have to deal with sooner or later. Planning to try to get some rust converter on it from the back side to keep it from spreading until I can get it cut out.
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Her interior is very nice. The only thing's there are to get the speedo working (ordered a cabe from LMC, but got sent the wrong one), possibly add A/C, and maybe change out the seat belts, as the black has faded to blue.
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1966 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special
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Jason_S
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Joined: March 4, 2017, 9:11 pm
Location: SE Kansas
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Re: My '66 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special

Post by Jason_S »

Very nice!
"1) Peace through strength; 2) Trust but verify; 3) Beware of evil in the modern world"

1964 F-100, 223/3-spd
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'66 Camper Special
Posts: 26
Joined: July 15, 2017, 5:11 am
Location: Texas
United States of America

Re: My '66 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special

Post by '66 Camper Special »

Thanks Jason! I am really enjoying it. It is nice to have something that is easy to work on, and the attention that it gets when I take it out is pretty nice as well. That is a good looking '64 you've got.
1966 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special
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Jason_S
Posts: 40
Joined: March 4, 2017, 9:11 pm
Location: SE Kansas
United States of America

Re: My '66 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special

Post by Jason_S »

You're welcome! I have always loved the '65/'66 F-250 Camper Specials and yours is no exception.

Thank you for the complement, my '64 is a Texas truck that spent most of its' life as the family farm truck.
"1) Peace through strength; 2) Trust but verify; 3) Beware of evil in the modern world"

1964 F-100, 223/3-spd
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'66 Camper Special
Posts: 26
Joined: July 15, 2017, 5:11 am
Location: Texas
United States of America

Re: My '66 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special

Post by '66 Camper Special »

From what the PO told me (and VIN plate seems to at least partially verify), mine is originally an Arizona Truck. Second owner brought it to Texas, and repainted it, and recovered the seat (cover has the Ford logo embossed). PO was the third owner, and used it as advertising for their business, they did make some "picking trips" for their antique store around the state in it. It was originally Sahara Beige, the current color is not an exact match (you can tell if you look at the dash around the radio, they apparently had a different radio, or some kind of bezel in place when the dash was painted), but it is pretty close. I would like to get that blended in, and the paintake on the driver side cab corner below the fuel filler neck is miscolored, and in general poor condition, I want to get that repaired as well. The paint elsewhere isn't perfect, but plenty good enough for several years to come. It apears to be single stage paint with no clear coat, so those repairs hopefully won't be too costly.
1966 F250 Custom Cab Camper Special
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