In 1977, I bought a 1962 FORD F-100 Unibody long bed that was for sale on a main thoroughfare in San Jose, CA. It had a 'tired' 1954 LINCOLN V-8 in it with a 4-speed truck transmission. The engine ran very rough, and it was passing a lot of blue smoke. After paying the owner $250.00 for the truck, I was able to drive it home, but I had already decided on the way home that that was it for that motor. Question: Have you ever bought a vehicle and then gone outside the next morning, and taking a good look at it, wondered "What did I Do?"... yep, buyer's remorse slapped me down right then and there! My brother and I mulled the situation over, and we decided to 'bite the bullet' and give the truck a much-needed 'transplant'. A few days later, we came upon 1963 DODGE 4-door sedan that had front-end damage and it was for sale by the owner.... Hmmm. We checked it out it had a good-running 318 C.I. 'Poly' V-8 and a good, strong Torque-flite transmission. I parted with $300.00 and drove the Dodge home. The transplant of the 318 engine & Torque-flite transmission went very well, I was even able to use junkyard-sourced engine mount frame brackets out of a DODGE truck (with a slight modification to each one), the driveshaft came out of a full-size Chrysler station wagon, the rear transmission mount came out of PONTIAC Firebird, and I was able to retain the truck's original radiator. I kept the truck for ten years after that, driving it all over Northern California. During that time, I had to take in it for bi-annual smog checks here in CA. At one smog station, the mechanic asked me what kind of motor was in the truck... I told him, and his comment was "that looks like factory installation!" I sold it to a friend in the late 1980's because I needed to buy a 1-ton truck to build my portable welding rig with. That 1962 FORD Unibody was not really suitable for hauling a LINCOLN SA-200 arc welder monte di its bed along with OXY-Acetylene tanks, etc. and then there was the issue of it only having a 1/2 rear axle. I found that out after having mounted the welded in the bed and not long after that one rear axle shaft's bearing had 'popped out' while making a turn. Oh yeah, regarding that '54 Lincoln V-8... I sold it to my employer, as they needed the crankshaft out of it to repair an older 35,000 lb. capacity forklift that they had with a FORD Y-block engine. On that forklift, the PTO that was driven off off the front of the crankshaft froze up, and snapped the snout of the crankshaft off when it seized. When my employer's mechanics tore that LINCOLN engine down, they found a broken piston skirt in its oil pan.
Fantastic story Man, these are great trucks. I choose the 3/4 ton specifically for towing the gasser and maybe putting a camper on it as well. Its been a lot of fun so far, plans are for AC, Disc brakes, power steering and possibly a 4x4 conversion in the front. Time will tell, but thank you for taking the time to tell your story. I appreciate it.
Hey, I’m enjoy both! I started as a kid working on Massey Ferguson tractors. Helped a buddy restore a 69 Camaro and an Apache pickup. Loved turning a wrench. Can’t do it more (brain surgery) so I enjoy watching y’all.
As can be expected. I can at least still do basic stuff. Oil changes and brake jobs. Doing motor or transmission building or body work? Don’t have the motor skills for that anymore.
@@darrellbeam8053 Wow dude, well I hope my channel can at least entertain you. I'm always messing with something and I feature other peoples hot rods too.
