72 F100 project, longbed to short conv, CV swap, 20s

[JG F100]

Thanks for all the compliments, funny thing happened the other day. i usually add a gallon or two if I take it out for a spin since the guage has been hovering around E, well I was quite surprised the tank filled up and spilled out! I thought what the hell??

Turns out the float had a rip in it and kept sinking. None of the auto part stores have the float, so a quick trip to the junkyard and a dollar later it was fixed. Found the exact same float in old Granada.

[Joshpow]

Lookin good. Keep us posted.

[48prerunner]

Would you know the distance between the top of the rear axle and the frame? Trying to set mine up and a little hard with no weight on the frame.

[JG F100]

Would you know the distance between the top of the rear axle and the frame? Trying to set mine up and a little hard with no weight on the frame.

I have 2.5" from the top of the axle to the flat part of the frame, the drivers side is a little lower at 2" to the frame.. must be a weaker leaf spring. It bottoms out pretty easily too, needs a notch

[48prerunner]

Would you know the distance between the top of the rear axle and the frame? Trying to set mine up and a little hard with no weight on the frame.

I have 2.5" from the top of the axle to the flat part of the frame, the drivers side is a little lower at 2" to the frame.. must be a weaker leaf spring. It bottoms out pretty easily too, needs a notch

Thanks thats just the info I needed gave up on the leaf springs going coilovers. I used about 6" diameter tube and 1/4" plate to notch I'll post up a pic when i get done welding.

[JG F100]

I finally sorted out the wiring mess under the dash, I now have the correct ignition switch and all my turn signals, brake lights and hazards work as they should.

Before

After


I also got a chance to do a few panic stops and this thing STOPS ON A DIME! Straight too, its night and day compared to the old manual drum setup it had, wow. I was worried the hydroboost would led to the wheels locking up too quickly but its not and easy to stop.


Stock 360FE..

[Fordnatic]

Great project. Just re-read the whole thing. I want to do a very similar build on my 70. Thanks for taking the time for detailed photos/posts.

[SmokeyBurnout]

Your truck is coming along very nicely! Love the stance, actually kind of like the mix matched colors on the panels too. Hope that mine turns out half as nice as yours. Keep the updates coming, it gives me something to look at while i'm at work!

[JG F100]

I had an issue with my clutch the other day, my pedals were so loose the clutch rod fell out while driving around the neighborhood. Had to drive through stop signs to get home while stuck in third, hate it when that happens. Took everything out to take a better look and this is what I saw, looks like some kind of hack to me!




Look at my brake pedal, no wonder it looked different!


I thought it would be a good idea to buy some bearings and put them in there but while researching saw a reference to MustangSteve's ball bearing kit. He had just what I needed all ready to go, I didnt take any pictures of the hammering and welding but they are in there now.


I also trimmed the brake pedal and splurged on new pedal pads, Rockauto had them. It looks crooked in the picture but its on their straight


I put new bushings throughout the clutch linkage and z-bar plus I trued up the holes and rods, the holes were egg shaped and the rods were missing a bit metal. Clutch feels much better and firmer, no more slop!

Now I got to figure out how to mount this, its an ebay special. Even though I just fixed my clutch linkage I bought an auto column shift as I'd like to convert to auto eventually.

[69NVF100]

Truck looks great, you've done lots of great work.

[JG F100]

Got the column mounted...


made a little bracket similar to the stock one but I mounted it on top so it would not be visible from underneath.


I cut off the GM harness and used the Ford plug, I crimped new pins in there. Had a hard time trying to salvage the old ones.



This column had a 1" DD tube on it, what I did was cut the spline end of my original one, filed it into a DD shape and inserted about 2 inches into the column and then welded the whole thing. I also drilled a small hole in the tube and partially into the spline shaft just to weld it up for added safety.


clamped it onto the OE shaft mount although the new shaft is a little smaller, its 2" diameter.



The steering wheel is just something i picked up used, I'd like to dye it maroon to match.


also got new bezel.


getting inspection sticker.

[SmokeyBurnout]

This is one of my favorite builds on here. She's came a long way, looking forward to more updates!

[Joshpow]

Lookin better all the time!

[blackford72]

WOW You have done a lot on your 1972 Ford Truck. More than what I have done with mine.

[JG F100]

Went to a locksmith to see how much it would cost to rekey my door locks to match the ignition key, he wanted $28/lock. He said something about having to take it apart and tumblers this and tumblers that; I passed since I knew I'd seen a whole new set for less and he was ok with that but then I wondered if I could re-key it myself. Sure enough I found tips and suggestions on how to do it, a few hours later and I did it. Its tedious but at least now I can use one original Ford key for both the doors and the ignition.



I also cleaned out my gas tank as I kept running into fuel starvation problems with rust clogging up the filters after a few minutes on the road. I didnt take a before pic but there was rust sediment all over the place getting sucked into the pick up tube. I used some phosphoric etch from home depot and it did a heck of job, the hardest part is rinsing it and drying it before the rust forms again. Here is a peak into the bubbles working away.



I dont trust the gas tank sealers as I've seen them fail if its not done perfect. So I just blew the lines, replaced the filters and filled it up. Runs better now, I was amazed it ran it all with the amount of sediment I had in the fuel pump filter. Looked like coffee grains in there.