Slick 60's

Started with the brake lines tonight, hoping I would finally finish them and bleed the system but am short a coupler. I pressed the front drums onto the hubs and put the front tires on so that the evening wouldn't be a total loss. I left the front axle on blocks so the front brakes would be a bit easier to bleed. Now I'm shooting for Monday or Tuesday night to finish the brakes.



Here are the squashed mounts I replaced the other night.

After working late into the night yesterday, the truck was finally ready for a test drive. My wife helped me bleed the master cylinder and the brake lines at each wheel. I had a few leaks that went away once I tightened the fittings a little more. I then drove to a park on the edge of town that has a huge parking lot, threw her in reverse, and began backing up and stopping repeatedly. My pedal is now as firm as before but the brake feel is a little dull yet. I have a little clean up work to do at the master cylinder, so once that is finished, I'll bleed the system really well and hopefully that will take care of some of the dull feeling, as I'm sure will diminish as the shoes wear into the new and turned drums. I took it by my mom's house after work to update her on the progress, but she wasn't home so I snapped a few photos in her driveway. On the way home, I picked up some flat steel to make a bracket for the stop light switch.

The steering wheel has become a bit sloppy and noisy in the column, so next on my agenda is to tear into that and see if it is only a bearing. Also, I plan to have the gear ratio changed in the rear end which is currently 3.89 according to the data plate (I'll double check before I assume no one changed them). I'll drive it more if it isn't winding up so tight to stay up with traffic. I may go ahead and order new cab mounts; the front mounts are looking kind of mushroomed.

It's amazing how much a set of wheels and tires can change the character of a truck.

you have done a great job iam about to start on my dads 65

wow! nice job truck looks great.

Now that the brakes are working again, it was time to get the brake lights functioning. Several guys on this site have great ideas for modifying the system once the old master cylinder is swapped out for a dual res. My first choice was to find the correct combination of fittings to place my pressure switch back into the system, but I couldn't find the right thread sizes in the fittings my local parts suppliers had available.

My next choice was to create a bracket and locate a switch underneath the dash near the brake pedal. My stock wiring was long enough to reach the new location and I was able to use an existing hole in the fire wall to get the wire into the cab. It all came together very well. I did have to grind 1/4 inch of material off the end of the relay rod to maintain the correct play in the pedal.









We took the rear bumper in to be powder coated today; looking forward to getting that back on too.

Beautiful truck!!

I had Specialty Gear in Atascadero rebuild and regear my rear diff before my trip to Arizona this last March. I dropped from 3.89 to around 2.8; goes down the highway really easy now and the granny low is actually somewhat useful now! Specialty gear also found a device in their shop that corrected the spedo too (well, pretty close). They went above and beyond to do a fine job by painting the rear axle and replacing a leaky seal on the tail shaft of the tranny. I'll definately use them again.





I received my bumper back from the powder coater before I left. They did a great job matching the color with Wimbleton White. I'm not sure if I like the looks of it yet, but it is growing on me.



On our trip, I noticed the odor of antifreeze when climbing steep grades. On our first stop in Santa Clarita I popped the hood to check the water level and found antifreeze all over the engine bay. The water level was fine, but I kept my eye on it from then on. On closer inspection, i found some green areas around where the tank and the core come together; pinhole leaks. When we got home, I pulled the radiator and took it to Paso Robles Radiaor to have it recored. Interestingly, my dd lost a radiator a few days after this. During my truck's three month down time I found new OEM type hoses to replace the hated universals, replaced what may have been the stock heater hoses (ugly!), cleaned and repainted the fan, pulley and battery tray, pulled the core supports and painted them black, and pulled the hood latch to clean it and all the bolts and associated hardware. Pictures to follow.

That fresh paint in the engine bay sure makes everything else in there look dirty.....

Great restore on 64. Have you finished your engine mods. I think the FORD 100 on side of hood is from a 63 with your build date of aug. 63. Sold as 64. Like the 262 I-6 and 4 speed. A 2.80 or 2.75? gear is right there for rpm"s.