1970 f250 camper special

[lloyd70cs]

Hi guys. just a quick question to confirm what I was told by an exhaust guy here. I have the 360 engine and I'm not planning on changing that at the moment. I was told best set up would be a single 3 inch from the stock manifolds rather than dual exhaust. he said better torque and for stock there is no need for the duals. what do you guys think?

[lloyd70cs]

Also, almost have the front end removed. One stuck radiator support to frame rail bolt is tight!
The plan is to:
1. disassemble to the point where I can redo gaskets on the engine (there is a lot of oil splashed around)
2. clean up the engine and paint.
3. Clean engine bay, sand and paint, and sand and paint frame
4. Install new shocks and coil springs
5. Install pertronix 2 ignition and Flamethrower 2 coil
6. Install new alternator
7. Disc brake conversion up front. From my reading my understanding is with the 70 F250 I'm looking at a simpler conversion. I have the dust shields, proportioning valve and brake booster and MC from the 78. The spindles and caliper mounts are the same as the drum brake hardware on F250 of my year apparently I will need a different outer wheel bearing (or was it inner ) and new rotors etc.
8. Do power steering swap. I have all the items now out of a 78 f250. Only thing I'm still in need of is the inner firewall bracket but might be able to cook something up. Also, have a friend who will cut the manual steering shaft to fit Saginaw box.
9.I have a new inner fender on the way and a 73-77 rad support to adapt before install.

Front End Disassembled.jpg

Front Drivers Side Frame Rail.jpg

[DuckRyder]

With respect to the exhaust.

IMO if you’re going to run stock manifolds on an FE, nothing you do after that really matters... Of course if it is a stock 360, it is not exactly hi performance either.

[lloyd70cs]

I had time this weekend to deal with the front end from the 1978 that I picked up last year. Bought a pickle fork and that worked wonders on all the necessary spots.

But i noticed that the 78 spindle does look different than the 1970, though I was under the impression that for F250's i wouldn't need to change out the whole front end like the F100's.

Here's what I have on the 1970 Camper Special:

1970 Front Brake Setup.jpg

And here's what I have on the 78:

1978 Front Brake Setup.jpg

There is a bolt hole in the same location on the lower arm of the mounting plates but they are shaped differently.

[lloyd70cs]

Here are the components I ended up with.

1978 Front End.jpg

Power Steering Box.jpg

Power Steering Pump.jpg

I thought I would be doing the disc brakes first but I believe the proportioning valve is supposed to be on the power steering box so I will do the steering first.

[lloyd70cs]

Do you guys recognize the pump bracket above? It doesn't seem to match the brackets i've found on this website or anywhere else.

[DuckRyder]

I’m not too sure what you are asking on the spindles, it doesn’t help that the parts and the floor blend together ....

Pump bracket looks strange...

[lloyd70cs]

I'll try and get some better pictures tonight. It all came off a 1978 or 9 F250 2wd.

[Ranchero50]

It's a late '70's bracket, probably off a modified or other junk. You should be able to get a set of FE brackets and swap them out.

[lloyd70cs]

so after some reading and digging it appears that is a bracket from an inline 6. I guess the only question left is do I need the old ford metal reservoir bracket or the Saginaw bracket?

[lloyd70cs]

this looks like I need the bracket in the top right.

20140527115057.jpg

[Ranchero50]

You can run the older style pump and bracketry, just buy the correct hose.

[lloyd70cs]

well, got some engine disassembly done tonight. just little by little as this is a hobby and there's real life to deal with. removed the fan, hoses, alternator and bracket. there is lots of oil leaking down the front and back so I think my cork gasket job on the intake two years ago wasn't so good.

I ordered a bracket for the power steering pump. I already have the hoses that were with it on the 79.

also got my new inner fender yesterday!

[lloyd70cs]

It's Official, I'm in over my head!

Heads Off.jpg

I was just trying to paint the engine and then there was so much oil I figured there must be a gasket leaking, but then I wasn't sure which one so I thought I better do all of them. I wasn't actually planning on doing the heads, but to all your amusement I'm sure, I started loosening what I thought were the intake bolts only to notice they were the head bolts. So they're off now

Not sure what to do now. I have head gaskets on order, they'll be in on Tuesday. This is far beyond what i planned to do, but probably needed to happen and I don't feel like doing this again any time soon!

I was going to redo the oil pan gasket and oil pump in all of this. How hard and how much would it be to now convert this to a 390, while in the truck?!?

Can I do the rings while at this stage?

Hmmm, odd moment where i wish I had bought a smart car

[DuckRyder]

This probably won’t make you feel any better, but I was just going to reseal mine and the next think I know I have like 9 grand in the engine...

Give us some shots of the cylinder walls and the ridge at the top of the cylinders...