The Progress Of My '66....

[Effie]

I decided instead of a buncha threads with what I'm doing to the ol boy I'd just do one and update it. At least until I get it running.

Not much to say right now though, other than I found a couple little interesting things and added a tiny dent to the top of the cab. D'oh!!

Got over to my brother's house. Right now the plan is, the 352 is plumb wore out. My old 65 had a rebuilt 352 with very few miles on it, so pull wore out Fe, install ready to run FE. He tells me to go crank it and move it to the garage and it won't crank for me. He gets in it and it fires right up. It already doesn't like me!

Get it in the garage and go to take the hood off and we're gonna lift it straight up, walk it back over the cab and set it on the bed. It was good until I thought we hit the garage door opener and kinda dropped my side and dented the cab. It wasn't such a huge catastrophe as it already was dented a little, looks like somebody carried ladders on it or something at some point.

Then I sit my cute little butt in the driver's seat and start flipping through the owner's manual. Typed in the front is the original owner's name, address and the dealership where he bought the truck February 2, 1966 - it's a Georgia truck from "Whaley Daly Ford". There were also some notes in the back of mileage, and dates, I guess for some oil changes. Good as we can figure it has 125,000 miles on it.

So while I'm flipping through the manual, my brother is under the truck. He tells me to come look at something... It has the original spare tire. It's a goofy looking "4 ply polyester" or something.

Am I the only one that finds things like that cool? I love history and there's just something about finding things with an old Ford truck that has survived 40 years.

So that's where it's starting. I'll post up pics as we go along. I told my brother this truck will be "Factory Efficient." I want to keep it as factory appearing as possible, while upgrading the efficiency and adding a little touch of "me" to it. As a rule I'm not all about the "numbers matching" thing like those crazy MoPar guys, but being this truck is so complete, I hate to mess up this rolling piece of Ford truck history.

[blackagatha]

hahaha nice....

don't EVER try to drive on that spare though... it's probably all rotten and is gonna blow... haha

keep it safe in the garage, and put a nice brand new tire under there. (I had an "experience" with a used tire I had as a spare.) Had a "fair looking" used tire as a spare in the back of Aggie, one day I went out and noticed that the "gator" had separated itself from the sidewall. Sure glad I didn't have to count on it.

"He gets in it and it fires right up. It already doesn't like me!"

I think "SHE" is gonna take a while to adjust to the sex change. She may be irritable in the meantime....


original paperwork is cool. My truck came with none of that... she was hardly even mostly operationally complete.... parts missing everywhere...

I want to keep it as factory appearing as possible, while upgrading the efficiency and adding a little touch of "me" to it. As a rule I'm not all about the "numbers matching" thing like those crazy MoPar guys, but being this truck is so complete, I hate to mess up this rolling piece of Ford truck history.

that's the way to go with something that is already so nice. Ol Aggie was beaten down and abused. She needed a reincarnation, stronger, faster, badder and meaner so she could be a contender to kill the SOBs that messed her up in the first place.... Revenge is a bitch.

[6Slick5]

The 76 I bought for parts had the original spare tire, right down to the little nubbies still on it. I aired it up, it held pressure for about 2 min. The wheel was so rusty that it looks like if you tightened up a lug nut on it the wheel would fall apart.

Useless but still cool

Have Fun!
Marty

[Slick Fan]

Until a couple years ago, our '91 Exploder's original spare (yes, the recall Firestone) had never been on the ground. Then we had to use it one day. Still cool, though.

Having the original spare for your truck is way cool too, IMO.

My '76 dentside I recently bought had it's original owners manual, along with an interesting spec sheet I thought was cool. I took pics.
http://73-79.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=295
The spare tire however, has been used many times, it seems.

[Effie]

Well, if "she" is still pissed about the "sex change" to being a boy, it'll have to get over it! I just spent about $800 trying to make it run better and look cool. Ha.

While I was sitting in the cab making engine noises like I was going somewhere I was reading that owner's manual and discovered something...the back of the seat is adjustable to lay back some. Sweet!! I didn't get to adjust it though because of the close quarters of the garage. Then I giggled at the Rotunda recommended 6000 mile or 6 month oil change.

I just don't remember that big steering wheel being so close in the '65, but hell it's been 10 years since I've sat behind the wheel of an Effie and in the mean time have been driving my "cushy" Bronco...so it feels a little different than I remember.

The little "intake and timing chain" swap turned into a little more difficulty than first anticipated. My brother always makes it sound like it's no problem, knock it out in a few hours type thing, but I know better....I know how the "well, while we're doing this..." things start. Heh. Then my dad swore up and down the timing chain was all wrong and he'd just run to pick up another. Like the chain stores stock stuff for an FE. [I had to order the one I got from O'Reilly's.]

So I just piddled around today while him and dad did most of the heavy work. Cleaned the aluminum intake I had and the timing chain cover, got the gauges out and ooohed and aaahed over them. [Forgot to take pics though.]

We decided since the 352 from my old blue truck had been sitting 10 years, we had better go through it first. Especially if going to the trouble of an engine swap, better make sure it's good to go for a long time. Now the plan is to get this one running, and then freshen up the other one because we have other projects going, like my mom's El Camino needs to be put back together, oops.

Oh funny story about getting parts at O'Reilly's. I tell the guy, ya know, 66 F100, 352. Then hear the guy beside me mumble, "oh yeah, that's a good engine." I try to ignore him, then he turns to me and goes, "Yeah, I've got a 69 F100 at home with a 240 straight 6 and a 94 F150 with the 300-6, mmmhmmm, real good engines." I wanted to say, "ok, and what do those inline 6's have to do with my FE?" I just kinda gave the, "yeah ok, you're cool" nod and went back to looking up some parts.