66 restore

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BrianMadigan
Posts: 3
Joined: August 14, 2015, 10:35 am

66 restore

Post by BrianMadigan »

I've had this truck a few years and it was a good daily driver, including a few exciting moments when the hood opened itself at speed or the old carburetor stuck open and I found out just what the rev limit was on the aftermarket ignition someone installed.
Motor
It came with a rebuilt 390 block from a 72 Mercury, with headers, an Edelbrock intake and a 4bbl carb that had some balancing issues.
After tuning it a few times I got to thinking there was something wrong with the carburetor, since I had one of the idle screws set where it should be, and the other one nearly closed. Turns out the carb was cracked right through in one corner and the crack was providing some extra idle bleed air :)
I set that right with a Demon 625CFM, and at the same time changed out the old duraspark or whatever with a HEI coil in the distributor ignition to cut down on the wiring and splicing that was there.
Trans NP435
The trans was an old 3.03 with a Hurst shifter. It was useable but not to my liking and not heavy enough I think, so I swapped it out for a NP435 and had a custom driveshaft w/ slipshaft built over at Tom Wood's.
The old 3-finger clutch died from one of the fingers cracking, so I put in a new Centerforce with a Ford Racing steel flywheel.
Frame
I'm just cleaning the frame up and cutting out/patching up any areas thinned by rust over the years, especially around the cab mounts etc.
No major mods there, it's already low enough for me and it sits nicely on fat tires with 15" Cragar Nomad replicas. The wheels will need replacing as they're made in another country and the lug seats are looking pretty tired.
Fuel
Removed the in-cab 15 gallon tank for a 22 gallon Mustang tank behind the axle. Little bit of frame cut out to get that in there.
Electrical
Painless wiring harness and everything point to point wired with a screw terminal under the dash for easy access. Clean wireless look under the hood ideally.
Body/Paint
About a year ago I started tearing it down to restore the body. It looked OK after having been restored a few times over the years by folks with different levels of skill in repairs.
Removed a few pounds of filler, someone had a problem with corners..
Lots of rust, rebuilt the whole floor and rocker areas, new cab corners, skinned the doors, patched the fenders.
Someone had shaved some of the side trim, so I figured I'd stick with that instead of trying to locate all the trim pieces.
Suspension/Brakes
I switched over to a dual master, but the drums are just not good for slowing down at 80+ mph.
I'm installing a full front disc kit from MPB. Still in the box.

random body work pics
https://goo.gl/photos/wVxFQi9rytg9Ffym8

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Toyz
Posts: 4333
Joined: March 22, 2011, 6:23 pm
Location: Baja Houston Taxes
United States of America

Re: 66 restore

Post by Toyz »

Welcome from Baja Houston, looks like a nice truck!
Paul
The Ford Orphanage
Life's too short for boring vehicles!
My quest to develop a universal solvent is held up by the lack of a storage container.
Paul
ICEMAN6166
Posts: 11470
Joined: July 11, 2006, 11:28 am
Location: Dove Creek, Co. elevation 6842
Poland

Re: 66 restore

Post by ICEMAN6166 »

welcome from sw Colorado
1966 F250 4x4
1964 Rambler Ambassador 990
Rest in peace departed Slick family members
Cam Milam
Lesley Ferguson
Steve Lopes
John Sutton
BrianMadigan
Posts: 3
Joined: August 14, 2015, 10:35 am

Re: 66 restore

Post by BrianMadigan »

Things that got did this weekend:
New custom driveshaft (Tom Woods) put in. Needed a 1310-1330 combo u-joint to fit the big yoke on the NP435 trans. Part #YADSU-134 (Dana-Spicer)
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Front spindles stripped down, ready for MBP disk brake kit.
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Those front drums & hardware are new, the backing plates are old but good. Anybody wants front drums can PM me..

New 5/16" hard line for fuel run from the rear tank to the pump. Since this line is 2x the length of the old one, I wonder if I should make it a 3/8"? Don't want to starve the carb. All I had was rolls of 5/16 at the moment.

A LOT MORE work on the roof. It was badly stretched, so I did a lot of shrinking with my stud gun to get it tight. Got rid of all the old oil can spots and raised some low spots. I laid down some epoxy primer and then some white polyester surfacer over that and built up a few coats for blocking.
Smoothing out nicely now that the sheet metal is corrected.

Pulled the front bumper. Needs fixin.

Trying out a color, Ice Blue Metallic from Kustom Shop. The white is just surfacer, I'm thinking it will be wimbledon white after I get the masking right. I need some high quality masking tape to get the lines right. Has white surfacer underneath, sanded to 400 grit after a 220 grit on a D/A sander.
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