Technical part interchange between 61 and 64 ford wagons?

Hello all!
I've been working on the restoration of my 1961 Ford Country Sedan. The previous owner changed and screwed up a lot of things, leaving me to replace or find plenty of the mechanicals. My local yard has plenty of this era of fords, but the owner wants to keep his 61-63 parts as much as he can. I found a good 64 Country Squire in the yard with the parts I needed and I wanted to ask if anyone had information on the parts interchange or adaptability between 61 and 64 Ford 9 pass station wagons. More specifically, are 64 and 61 front spindle/drum assemblies different? Can 64 leaf springs be adapted to 61 frames easily, perhaps by keeping the shackle but swapping the bushings? And finally, what are the differences between 61 and 64 power steering boxes, linkages, valves, and cylinders?
Any info is greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!
Queen City Classics

 

Okay- let's see if I can help here-
Front Knuckle-
The interchange is '61-'62 ford full size fords.

'63 - '64 will interchange only between those years.

Drums- 61-64 will interchange.

Rear Leaf springs- '60-'62 will interchange
'63- '64 interchange only.

Steering Rack- '61-'62 only
'63-'64 only.

I hope this helps.

 

Thank you for the info!
I suppose I might be able to weasel my way into getting a 61-62 PS setup, as there is quite a bit in the yard. I should be able to figure out most of the rest with the owner, hopefully.

As for the rear leaves, I don't think he cares much for 1960, and there is a very roached 1960 6-pass station wagon that I could take leaves off of. However, I'm not sure if the extra 100lb capacity between 6-pass and 9-pass leaves will make a big difference. I do plan on using this car on trips with friends and I don't want to wear anything out unnecessarily. The car sat fine on 4 leaf sedan springs, so I can't see standard-duty wagon springs causing too many issues.

 

Be aware that the '60 full-size Ford has a lot of one-year-only bits on it...

And before you commit to using OEM power steering, look into a Borgeson power conversion box. It wouldn't be too hard to have that much money into rebuilding the stock power setup, it may prove cheaper in the long run.

 

Take into account that your springs have been holding the car off the ground for a long time and won't be as fresh as they were when built so unless you plan on getting them reset I'd bung in a few extra leaves. Nothing worse than loading up for a trip and having your arse dragging over every speed hump or corrugation.

 

That's a good point. Maybe I will go the route of taking the 1st spring from a 61-62 and attaching it to the other 5 leaves of a 64 9-pass station wagon leaf spring. Hypothetically that would put me above the factory rating of 1280lbs and allow me to connect the springs as they were originally. Better over than under!

Thank you all! Either way, I should be able to figure it out with those interchanges and information.

 

@queencityclassics …..I second the suggestion made by @Crazy Steve above regarding the use of a Borgeson unitized P/S box conversion. IIRC, the Fords of that era used the ram assist cylinder. Not really a desirable unit unless you are restoring to showroom stock.

Ray

 

I got a PS box from Lares Corp for my 49 Buick with a GM sub. They sell new or rebuilt steering boxes, both power or manual. I believe they will rebuild your box also.
https://www.larescorp.com/product-categories/power-steering-gears

 

Check out my build thread on my '62 Mercury Monterey Wagon (Essentially the same car as your Ford, but with different trim.) I used a GM center steer rack and pinion and fabbed mounts. This was much more cost effective than replacing the FoMoCo power steering setup (I think it was going to cost well over $2K, 10 years ago) The GM rack works really well, and I was able to re-use the stock PS pump.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1962-mercury-monterey-custom-wagon.959751/

 

not an answer to your question but over the winter I put NEW springs & bushings on my 61 Sunliner from a local spring shop. front bushings were worn thru had to replace the bolts. sits & rides much better now

 

Comically enough, I actually sold my Borgeson unit that the original owner had installed. I'm really nitpicky about originality and because I work for the junkyard that I get my parts from I actually stood to make money in converting back to the OEM unit. However, if I weren't concerned about originality, I would have certainly stuck with an aftermarket unit because of all the flaws in the OEM one.

As far as new springs go, it's definitely tempting to buy new ones. Maybe down the line when I could budget out the cost of new station wagon springs I will. I've heard it removes a hell of a lot of hassle.

Thanks for all the info!