So I FINALLY got this '59 F100 running. It has a 292 w a 3spd on the floor. The first gear isn't synchro'd but it's plenty torquey.. Anyway, due to the newly installed speedo cable and speedometer causing the needle to bounce all over the place, I'm confused as to how fast this fridge should be able to cruise. There's lots of threads about how the 292 w/ the 3 runs good, pulls nice, blah blah. I want to know if it'll run on the hwy at 60. Cause in 2nd gear, at an guestimated 25 mph, the motor sounds like it's revving pretty hard. Thanks for entertaining my noob question!
#1, something's not right if the needle is bouncing. #2, what gear is in it? I'm sure it will do 60, but who knows what RPM it will be turning at speed. But on the bright side that's a 9-inch rear, so changing it to a more highway friendly ratio should be relatively cheap.
#1 I had the hardest time connecting that cable to the back of the speedo in the dash.. I probably don't have it all the way in, #2 it was 2nd gear, but I'm a bad judge of speed as i'm on a motorcycle most of the time and the truck is way higher off the ground than my bike. #3, thanks for the the quick reply!
I drove my '59 F100 every day from 1971 thru last year. I put in a very high geared third member ( 2:78:1?) and put over 400,000 miles on 2 engine rebuilds. (started w/ a 292, 3/speed, ended up w/ a 400M/C6) No race car, not the best gas mileage, but still fun to drive, very dependable, easy to work on. If the rust hadn't eaten away nearly every inch of it, we'd still be on the road together.
Nice! That's what i'd like to do with mine; drive it until I can't. With such a high (or is it low?) third gear ratio, what speed did your truck cruise at? I'm trying to figure out if drives to work (on the interstate)are possible.
Well, I jumped in the truck this morning, took off down the road and used the app on my phone to see what I was REALLY traveling but after reaching 54 MPH, I started to smell smoke so I shut her down. A little plume of white smoke came out of the oil dipstick when pulled it out.. I'm ***uming that's pretty nasty.
I drove it on the highway almost every day, and it would easily run with traffic, 65-75. It had plenty of go left in it, but over 70 or so, it became quite a handful to keep in one lane! (worn out steering box, worn out linkage, etc.)
I think you answered your own question about the speed thing. On the speedo question. Jumpy needle is usually just the cable sticking. Either it is bent or kinked or it needs grease. Check that it is hanging in smooth curves and straight lines not bent sharp or kinked. If it is OK time to grease it. Get a tube of speedo cable grease at the parts store a lifetime supply for $1.79. Take the cable off the transmission and pull out the inner cable. Wipe it clean with a rag and apply fresh grease. Do not grease the top 6" or 1 foot. You do not want grease working its way into the speedo. Feed the cable back in. You may need to twirl it with your fingers to get it to go the last couple inches into the speedo. Reattach to transmission. Do this every 10 or 20 years. If the speedo still jumps you need a new cable.
Ah, 1959 Ford F-100 was my first vehicle 37 years ago, 292 v8, 3 spd manual trans, speedo worked and I think I could get it up to at least 65 or more but the engine was screaming! Lol
Hey Rusty, thanks for the tips. I'll give it a go and see how it works. Oh, and I've noticed while driving the truck at night (using GPS for speed) that there's no dash lights. Are those bulbs accessible by removing the dash from the front? Part nos for those bulbs?
Doesn't make any difference what ****** you run, it's the rear end gears that will dictate the speed. All ******s are 1:1(except OD) in 3rd gear. Your rear end gear ratio could be 4.11:1 or 4.56::1. A lower number would give you more speed if that is what you are looking for.
No dash lights at all? Try twisting the headlight switch knob, this turns up the dash lights and eventually turns on the dome light. If the lights are on but not working it is unlikely they all burned out at once so it could be a broken wire, bad switch or bad ground. The dash light bulbs are not hard to check if you can get at them. On the back of the instrument panel you will see the wires that go to each dash light. THey are in sockets that push into the back of the panel. Pull them out and see if the bulb is blown. Be sure you get the exact same light, they come in different amps but look the same, they used a certain size bulb to get the right light and could use 2 different kinds in different spots. The older sockets pull out and are held by friction. In the sixties they had a printed circuit board and plastic sockets that twist and pull out but I think yours is the old kind that pull out. You will see if you can get a look up behind the dash. If it is too hard to get your head under there use a mirror.
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