'69 F250 power steering and power brakes complete!

[farmallmta]

Finished up the install today. Wow, nice additions!

Notes about the install.

Power Brakes: Used factory bracket, Fomoco original booster with its adjustable pedal rod that I didn't need to adjust, and a new master cylinder (not reman) from Autozone. Bench bled using a board tucked into my belt against my waist, followed included instructions... easy to bleed. Had to fab a vacuum fitting for the engine intake manifold using a 3/8 IPT galvanized streit L plus a straight brass 3/8" MIPT-to-3/8" barb adapter for the vacuum line, which is 3/8" black fuel line. Hose clamps at each end to seal the vacuum line to the barbed fittings. Some folks suggest longer brake lines to the master cylinder is needed. I found that to not be the case on mine, that the loops can simply be bent towards the new more-forward position of the master cylinder. Easy to bend. Two pumps of the pedal after firing up the engine and voila! Power brakes! Sweet results!

Power Steering: Using the Saginaw/Ford PS gearbox so had to change the drivers side engine perch. Not easy unbolting them. Need to have it up on a lift and use a counterwrench to hold the bolt head on top. Hank the Deuce, you could have used welded nuts instead of seperate nuts on the most difficult part of the frame to access! Did not remove the column from the truck, just slid the original long shaft out and slid the PS shorter shaft in. Easy. Since I had a firewall bracket for the PS setup, I didn't have to drill different holes in the original. Used the manual box's original rag joint on the power steering box. Took the opportunity to change the broken turn signal mechanism while the steering wheel was off. Also fixed the horn: the button was contacting and causing it to blow randomly, so I'd unhooked it at the horns some months ago. Fixed it with spacers I fabbed up to keep the button from contacting unless actually pushed for purposeful blowing. All the airspace in the new hoses/pump/in-line filter and new cooler from O'Reilly's cause the new oil to have lots of entrapped air. It took a while for all that to work out. Also, very nice results. My wife is happy now!

All in all, following the guidance of the Tech Article in Fordification for changing to power steering is right on! Great resource! Thanks a bunch, Fordification!

[Mach428]

Great news. I added both to mine years ago

[HIO Silver]

I got both PS and PB from FoMoCo... want discs, have parts, but am consumed with a house remodel.

[farmallmta]

Discs are nice, for sure. My wife rented a little car while I was converting her '69 F250 to power steering and brakes, and wow, would that little thing stop. I loved chasing parts in it... zoom onto the highway, dash right up to a stoplight and stop on a dime, zip around corners and left lane diddlers with ease. Sweet! And a real gas saver.

Even with power steering and brakes the '69 takes a more studied approach... can't run up to stopsigns and expect to stop right NOW... better be slowing down well in advance and using the engine for most of the braking. I'm actually a smoother, probably better driver in the '69 F250 than I would be in a zippy little car.