Grandpa's 1964 F100

[Singularity]

Hello, everyone!

Since this is my first post, I should start with a little background on my truck.

My great-grandfather bought this F-100 new in 1964. He and my great uncle had bought some property in Fresno, and used the truck to ferry building supplies for the two houses they'd designed. They finished construction in 1965 and my great-grandparents lived in their house till they died. My great uncle and great aunt still live in their house.

After selling the truck to my great uncle, my grandfather eventually got ahold of the truck. My dad had it for a while, and then I got it. I've had it for twenty years now, and it's time for a restore. Overall the truck is actually in pretty good shape. Especially, since it has 460,000 miles on it now.

The engine in it now is a 1971 351C from a Mercury Cougar. I picked it up 12 years ago and rebuilt it, and it runs really well.

It's been in California its whole life, so there's very little rust. What rust there is, is minor surface rust. About 10 years ago, I got in an accident while driving it. Another truck pushed me into a concrete center divider and beat up the front end sheetmetal. I've been collecting a few parts here and there for quite a while now.

[Singularity]

So, this is a long-term project for me. The original brakes and steering and suspension are all going to be replaced for a newer more modern setup to deal with these California roads (and drivers). Not to mention I'm going to haul my children around on occasion, and I'd like to make sure they are as safe as possible in this family heirloom.

At some point, I'm going to buy a Crown Vic and strip out the mechanicals so they can go in the truck. The rear leaves are staying, so I can still use it as a truck when necessary.

I've got all the front sheet metal I need but I've got some extra stuff I'll get rid of shortly. I'll post pics of that stuff in the for sale section here later.


For now, here's the extra stuff.


A Barden bumper someone installed back in the 70's.




A front right fender


16" Wheel


Here's a 63 grille, upper grille panel and lower valance. The upper grille panel is good. The other two pieces are bent up pretty good, not sure if they are salvageable. On the plus side, they aren't rusty.


1965 front sheet metal minus the outer fenders. It looks straight, and again no rust. Also has the radiator support.




Don't remember what these are called. Headlight doors?

[foodstick]

I love the trucks with a long family history..

I also got a kick out of your nickname (Singularity) I guess in the end you will always make the final point on all things !

[jamesdfo]

Wow!, it's cool to see a truck that is still in the original family, and @ 460K miles, it wasn't just sitting around either!!
Good luck on your build, and you probably already know, around here, WE LOVE PICTURES!!

Cheers!
James

[64 f100]

How fortunate that you can have a family truck with history. Welcome and thank you for sharing. Only dream of having something that nice here in the rust belt. I am not certain I would do the crown vic swap on that truck as there are other options. Power steering and disc brakes are available for the original front end. I personally like the old straight axle . Drawback is really the brakes and steering, both can be fixed. Since you are thinking of still using the truck for hauling, I would think long and hard before installing the vic front end. Most likely it will work out fine, but truck stance may be an issue, at least for me it would. Seems that all these trucks looked nose down after years of service, and perhaps when new. With the vic front end I feel certain it will drop the front end even more. Most likely, the front end drop could be resolved in the build with the Vicky front end, but it would still be less sturdy than the original. 460K and it's still here, The vic front end is most cost effective I suppose, as fixing the original with disc brakes and power steering is expensive, plus having springs re-arched bushings etc. . In addition, to be honest and make the original really safe, I would install a panhard link or something similar and sway bars front and rear. Once you get rid of the original front end, most likely it will be gone forever, as you won't hang onto it. To much iron laying around in the way. Most likely you will not haul a half ton of gravel in this truck or anything that heavy, but I would not like the thought of trying to with the vic conversion. Honestly, with a complete rebuild of the stock front end , this truck would most likely drive much better than you might think, but it does need disc brakes and power steering.
I noticed you have a 65 front end in the picture. I am in need of a radiator support in good condition for my 65, Would you be willing to sell it?

Thanks,
Rich

[64f100sixcylinder]

I have a 1964 F100 also, and I actually do not mind the straight axle. I did put a Speedway disc brake kit on the front, for consistent safe stopping. I am leaving my straight axle in place, I feel it makes the truck feel, well like an old truck. I am not against the Crown Vic swap, it's just not my thing

[SRSControls]

As long as we are on the subject... , I would be interested in that grille and headlight doors......PM Me!

[Singularity]

I love the trucks with a long family history..

I also got a kick out of your nickname (Singularity) I guess in the end you will always make the final point on all things !

Thanks. I'm a physics enthusiast, and I especially love reading about the more extreme examples of natural structures in the universe.

Wow!, it's cool to see a truck that is still in the original family, and @ 460K miles, it wasn't just sitting around either!!
Good luck on your build, and you probably already know, around here, WE LOVE PICTURES!!

Cheers!
James

Yeah, I love this truck and I've driven about 180K of its total 460K. It's been used pretty much constantly its whole life.

How fortunate that you can have a family truck with history. Welcome and thank you for sharing. Only dream of having something that nice here in the rust belt. I am not certain I would do the crown vic swap on that truck as there are other options. Power steering and disc brakes are available for the original front end. I personally like the old straight axle . Drawback is really the brakes and steering, both can be fixed. Since you are thinking of still using the truck for hauling, I would think long and hard before installing the vic front end. Most likely it will work out fine, but truck stance may be an issue, at least for me it would. Seems that all these trucks looked nose down after years of service, and perhaps when new. With the vic front end I feel certain it will drop the front end even more. Most likely, the front end drop could be resolved in the build with the Vicky front end, but it would still be less sturdy than the original. 460K and it's still here, The vic front end is most cost effective I suppose, as fixing the original with disc brakes and power steering is expensive, plus having springs re-arched bushings etc. . In addition, to be honest and make the original really safe, I would install a panhard link or something similar and sway bars front and rear. Once you get rid of the original front end, most likely it will be gone forever, as you won't hang onto it. To much iron laying around in the way. Most likely you will not haul a half ton of gravel in this truck or anything that heavy, but I would not like the thought of trying to with the vic conversion. Honestly, with a complete rebuild of the stock front end , this truck would most likely drive much better than you might think, but it does need disc brakes and power steering.
I noticed you have a 65 front end in the picture. I am in need of a radiator support in good condition for my 65, Would you be willing to sell it?

Thanks,
Rich

One of the first projects I did when I got the truck was rebuild the front end. I replaced the bushings, kingpins, pitman arm etc. Really tightened up the front end. But, like I said, I've put nearly 180K miles and 20 years on it since then, and nearly everything needs to be rebuilt again. The steering box especially needs to be gone through. It is really sloppy. That combined with the old marginal drum brakes, wheel slop, and worn bushings mean it's time to do the front again.

With the CV front, it takes care of all the front issues, and frankly, I'll feel a lot better driving around with my kids in it with the newer stuff. Plus I'm going to take all the running gear out of it and replace it with the CV stuff.

As far as the 65 rad support, yeah it's an extra part for me. PM me.

Thanks for all the replies, gents. I'll post more pictures as I take them.

[orangeRcode]

Great story. You are fortunate indeed to have kept the truck in your family.

Keep us updated on your progress.

[64shortbed]

Your story caught my eye because I also own my grandfather's truck. I used to play with my cousins in the back when we were small and I have loved the truck ever since. I was both excited and honored when he called me and offered to sell it to me (at a price I could not refuse ).
After considering the many different directions we could go regarding modifications and such, we left it mostly stock. I love driving it the way it is and making memories in it with my own children. Good luck with your build. We all look forward to watching your progress.

[Koolkatt]

Hi, I am fairly new around here. I too have grown up with a '64 that was my grandfathers, he set me on his lap and let me steer the truck while he was driving at slow speeds when I was only six years old. He gave me the truck ('64 F 250)when I was twelve and I owned it till I was twenty-three. It broke my heart to have to leave it behind when I left home. Anyway, Has anyone ever thought of using a late model rack and pinion Ranger front clip? The frames are the same width and it wouldn't take a lot of effort to graft one of those onto a older frame. A person could source all that they would need from a pick your part for little money. You would have all of the modern conveniences of a newer F150 and still have your slick and drive the hell out of it too! Just a thought. I would do this to my Unislick myself but I am going stock all of the way.

[Singularity]

Hello everybody,

I'm finally back after an incredibly hectic year. I haven't had five minutes to work on the truck in the whole year!

Having really young kids (1 & 3) and working a lot more than a full time job, while trying to remodel the house is not really conducive to having down time. Or money. I'm about worn out and broke.

My apologies to everyone who wanted my leftover parts right before I vanished. Seriously, I'm sorry about that. I'll put everything I've got available in the next post.

But, back to the truck.

The steering is so sketchy and loose at this point that the truck has been parked permanently. Not that I'd been driving it much before that, without fenders on the front, anyway.

The radiator support on the truck now is bent up on the left side. I've been debating replacing versus repairing it. The only problem with repairing it is, I've got no idea how to do that. It looks like two separate pieces spot welded together. I think Id have to drill out all the spot welds and bend each back into position, then reweld. But, I've never done any sheetmetal work, so I'm not at all confident of the final result, given the many compound curves. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Also, I've never done any paint work or prep. Any suggestions on books?

[Singularity]

So, here are the extra parts I've got for sale:

Barden bumper - in good shape
Right front fender - in okay shape, has a few small dents and a stress fracture along the bottom about 1"
'63 grille - left side bent
'63 lower valance - left side bent
'63 upper grille panel - in decent shape, a few dings, but otherwise okay
16" wheel - in good shape
'65 grille - in excellent shape, needs polish or paint
'65 lower valance - nice and straight
'65 upper grille panel - in good shape, comes with FORD lettering
'65 inner fenders - in good shape
'65 radiator support - in good shape, nothing more than slight surface rust on any of the '65 stuff
Headlight doors - one's great, the other has a deep scratch in it, needs refinishing

You can see pictures of all this stuff up in the second post in this thread. The money from the parts sales is going back into the truck (hopefully). Make an offer.