Disclaimer: I am 26 years old doing my first total rebuild. In the past I have done minor body work and paint, lowered suspension, and replaced or rebuilt parts that were no longer functioning properly. I am by no means an expert nor do I believe that I am an expert (I am a rookie at best.) I am here for encouragement and some much needed help along the way! Two years ago I purchased my second "old car" a 1960 Ford F100. Found her on Craigslist for dirt cheap and decided I needed another project (why? I don't know.) The original plan was to drive her daily until something needed repair. That lasted about 4 months. I was driving home from downtown Nashville (8 miles) and I couldn't keep her running. It died at every light on the way home (approximately 15 lights.) I had been having fuel issues for about 2 weeks. One day it would be so rich the exhaust smelled like gas, the next so lean that I couldn't keep her running. I thought that this was the issue. I made it home popped the hood and uh oh fluid everywhere! Gas was in the oil, gas was gushing from the carb, and it looked like gas was pouring out of the heads. (I later found out this was only grease that had been liquefied by all the gas.) So, what did I do? Sure that I had carburetor issues I got online and purchased the Clifford Performance kit for my truck. (That's what a hot rodder does.. buys speed parts!) I got the new manifold webber carb and headers. After I removed the valve cover I was surprised at the amount of wear on the parts and build up of old oil. I took the heads off and went to have them cleaned and pressure checked. After I got down this far I thought, might as well take the rest of the engine out and go through it too. I took the engine to a local machine shop. I was unable to remove the distributor. I used an entire bottle of PB Blaster and a chisel no luck. Other than that they found multiple issues: -1 Egg shaped cylinder wall -Worn Pistons -Completely worn out Crank -The lobe for the fuel pump on the cam was perfectly round (suspect the spring on the mechanical fuel pump was too tight for many years) -Clutch worn out Luckily they were able to source many of the parts from core houses that did not come with an outrageous price tag. The list of repairs is as follows: -Bored over cylinders -Grind and polished core crank -New Pistons and Rings -Re-ground cam (low end torque) -New Freeze Plugs -New Rocker ***embly -New Gasket set -Re-faced flywheel I finally get the engine back home. All I need is a clutch. I had a hard time sourcing a clutch. NPD did not carry them and the LMC truck price is out of my ball park. I found one at a reasonable price that is "Guaranteed to Fit." Guess what? It doesn't fit. That brings me up to date on where I am at on this build. I will continue to post as progress moves forward.
the truck looks good. Try NAPA for a clutch. I've had good luck finding parts there, usually for a good price.
Cool truck! I had a '60 F100 as my first car. Did you know your front bumper is an upside-down rear bumper? Those rears were optional and I actually haven't seen all that many of them. AutoZone or RockAuto will be able to sell you a clutch for your truck. I bought one from AutoZone ... but it turned out it was way out of balance. I took it out again to have my engine guy balance it. You might want to have your engine guy check it out. Did you have the valves in the engine checked out? Those 223s have vacuum advance only. As the valves wear and start to leak vacuum around the intake valve stems, your timing retards and the motor will never run right. Best of luck as you press on with this one.
That's what we're all in here for. Some are masters at thier trade, but most are luck you and I. Learning as we go.. Anything that says: Universal fit, or one size fits all, DOESN'T. If it says FITS MOST APPLICATIONS. It won't fit YOURS! Good luck on the project. Get it running good then get it looking good! For an idea: I like the Mooneyes Push/Tow truck.
Thanks for all of the comments and encouragement! I did have the valves checked and re-seated for proper seal. Thanks again everyone. I hope to have updates and more photos soon.
Okay so it has been a long time since I posted on my progress. So, here it goes: I was able to source a clutch through Rock Auto and the engine was put back into the truck. I have a crazy work schedule so she sat without much work for a few months. In July of 2011 I got busy plumbing and wiring, trying to take my time to make the engine bay look clean. By the middle of July I had the engine running! There is still a small list of engine work that needs to be done before she can hit the road: -I have a water leak at the inlet which needs to be attended to (I bought the wrong type of gasket sealer) -Vacuum Advance line needs to be installed -Electronic choke needs to be wired -Linkage not connected -Final timing adjustments -Carb tuning for lean BEST idle From here I started my brakes. I know this might be a little off topic for this web-site but, it won't be visible so I'm not overly concerned with it and I do plan on driving it every day. I am switching to power brakes with discs in the front. I ordered a kit from CPP and got down to installing. I have run into an engineering hurdle at the moment and CPP has been working with me to try and get all the kinks worked out. Before: Old spider infested drum brakes After: Cleaned up and ready for discs
Keep going your doing great! The best part is your learning by doing,and that makes the first drive after the re-do the most rewarding.
Looks good. My 61 made it 2 months before getting new front and rear suspension, new ignition system and new heads. Still going at it on tweaking and adding things, but it drives reliably now.
I like it... I am working on a 60' F100 myself. I have some body rot to attend to, and I plan on replacing the front suspension and drive train in the future (got an engine, looking for a trans). Keep up the good work!
Thanks all for the kind words. I'm hoping that in the next couple weeks the brakes will be complete. The plan is to get her on the road and then start getting rid of all the body rot when time allows.
Just got started back on my 60 f100 today after a year off due to unexpected back surgery. Yours looks a lot better than mine. Keep the updates coming.
I have been considering the CPP brake kit for my 1960 F100. What kind of difficulties are you having?
The difficulties that I was having have now been resolved!! They were not related to the rotors or the disc brake parts at all. All of that went on smoothly. The power brake master cylinder and booster would NOT fit beside my hydraulic clutch master cylinder. It was also resting on top of my carb ( I have the clifford intake with 2 barrel webber carb). I think this application had only been tested with a V8 scenario not the inline 6. The guys at CPP worked with me on this and did a great job engineering a new bracket where it snakes around my intake and extends out far enough to clear my hydraulic clutch master cylinder. It is a bit of an eye soar but, I will have power brakes without any further modification. According to Javier at CPP this bracket is going to be available in their next catalog, so it might be something to look into if you have an inline 6.
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