68 F250 "special" Camper Special Project

[cash667]

Hi Guys,
my F250 has finally arrived in germany. We picked it up by trailor last week.


little shooting with my cougar:


as mentioned in my welcome thread, it´s a 68 F250 camper special converted to a 429 with a 4 speed T18. regarding to the marti report it has HD suspension on front and rear axles.



the master plan is doing a little resto, hopefully without complete body paintshop. frame and axle/steering parts will be painted or coated...not sure yet. First was removing all cabling which was NOT belonging to the truck. We take out **** loads...


I will do new wiring anyways. So if anyone is interested, here is a link to my own wiring diagrams with some specials and add ons. Sorry - its german
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qyca84x0bmqj ... e-Yua?dl=0

next step was a little checking on engine and ignition, I had a Ignitor 1 on the shelve which went directly into the truck. Engine runs OK, compression readings about 117-140PSI. Its ok for low compression D3VE heads I think. Alternator not working, PS also not alive. Its a Bendis Style gearbox, but I got a Ford style coming in the next days.

after a short test drive I drove it on a scale to get the actual dry weight. -> 4500lbs dry. wow...heavy...

next step was removing the carpet and seats to check the floor pans. Headliner was removed to:







I´m very suprised about the excelent condition of the metal. Absolutely no rust in the cab. I just found a little rust under both battery trays and some on the radiator support. but that is ALL for the moment. Got a good radiator support on the shelve and welding in new battery trays is absolutely no problem.

thats it for the first days. Tomorrow a paint guy will take a look at the truck and give me some advice what to do...

hope my english was not to bad, I´ll try to keep this thread updated.

Cheers from germany
Chris

[sargentrs]

Congratulations! She looks great. You got really lucky with the condition of the cab.

[yellercat]

Looks really good Chris! Working on a 69' myself in the States.
Look forward to seeing some of your progress as you go along!
Keep us all updated with a flow of pics!
yellerc@

[390FE1972]

You don't see to many cabs in that good condition, wish my cab was in that shape! Looks like you're off to a great start.

Regards

[cash667]

thanks guys!

first question on the power steering topic:
since I´m converting from bendix to Ford/saginaw style gearbox I need to shorten my steering column components...OR...following thought:
what about putting a column from a 68/69 Mustang in? Since I got a floor shifter I dont need any column shift parts.
I did a rough measurement on my 68 cougar column and the outer housing has about the right length. And here´s the trick: this column has a collapsible shaft wich is easy to shorten, you dont have to cut anything. just relocating the little holes for the plastic retainers.

the diameter of the main housing is the same than the truck columns. Just the upper part were the turn signal switch is mounted is slightly bigger on the mustang column, but thats no issue in my mind. There is no bracket welded on the column as it is on the truck´s. but you can use the loose mounting bracket from the mustang to fix the column to the dash, it has the same bolt spacing.

Did I made a mistake in my thoughts? Does anyone know if this swap was done before? The reason is that it is much easier to get a mustang column in germany than a ps truck column from the right year. Also the collapsible shaft is a safety upgrade

best
Chris

[sargentrs]

If you do that column swap be sure and let us know if it works out! If a column shift is not a necessity the only thing that matters is that the column is secured to the dash and firewall, it reaches the steering box and you can comfortably use the steering wheel.

[Nickabocker]

With the power steering change, yes you would have to shorten your power steering shaft but since you have a 4 speed t18 your column itself should already be the correct length. I know in my case i got the power steering shaft and steering box from the same truck, to the shaft out and will just be putting it in my manual column. The 4 speed difference is mentioned at the bottom of this article.

https://www.fordification.com/tech/steering-column.htm

[yellercat]

x2 on that column change, on the fence here about changing over to PS and hungry for the information and experience from your build!

[cash667]

With the power steering change, yes you would have to shorten your power steering shaft but since you have a 4 speed t18 your column itself should already be the correct length. I know in my case i got the power steering shaft and steering box from the same truck, to the shaft out and will just be putting it in my manual column. The 4 speed difference is mentioned at the bottom of this article.

https://www.fordification.com/tech/steering-column.htm

it´s originally an automatic truck and so there is the auto powersteering (bendix) column left.
I dont wanna cut and weld things in my steering system together, so I´m currently looking for a mustang column and give this swap a try. I will let you know if this was a good idea or not

Chris

[hfdco4]

Look at "IDIT" they have columns for the 1967 to 72 trucks.

[cash667]

little update:

I started to strip down the front end and removing trim and mouldings.
No Rust at all under the trim pieces! very happy once again



next step was removing all interior, heater Box etc. as you can see...no rust





Hopefully I can remove the box the next days. After that is done the truck will hopefully fit in my little workshop.

By the end of the week I will have the new steering gear and the 69 cougar column. I will test this swap bevor removing the cab and of course I´ll take pictures of it.

Cheers
Chris

[sargentrs]

Very clean truck! Congratulations!

[cash667]

little update on steering column topic:
today I removed the original auto column (bendix PS) and took pictures of the measurements an differences to the cougar column:
Cougar column:
normal shaft length



collapsed to right length:



Housing:



_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Truck column:





Both:




As you can see, the cougar column is shorter and because it has a collapsible shaft, it is adjustable to the needed length without cutting and welding.
Note: this swap works only if you have a floor shiftet vehicle!!! I do not now if there are column shiftet mustang/cougar columns which will fit in a truck.

I mounted the cougar column to the truck and it looks very good! Pictures are taken with the old bendix PS gear, I´m still waiting for the saginaw gear to make everything fit.

Truck Column:


Cougar Column:


Gearbox view:



I think this swap could work very well. I´ll confirm when I have the saginaw box installed with the cougar column.
What you need to change:
- build a new mounting bracket (column to dash)
- steering wheel with mustang/cougar hub. The upper part of the truck column has a little smaller diameter than the cougar column has.
- turn signal switch mustang/cougar. You need to rewire the truck connectors. contact´s are the same.
- refering to the fordification tech articles, you need to change the outer firewall mounting plate for this conversion or you need to make one by yourselfs

I will keep you guys updated if this finally works out!

the general progress in pictures:






cheers from germany
Chris

Ps: sorry for metric measurements

[sargentrs]

Thanks for posting about the column swap and good progress!

[cash667]

Next update on steering column swap:
the saginaw style gearbox bolted in with no issues!

Refering to the fordification article https://www.fordification.com/tech/str- ... ations.htm
I thought that it´s not possible to swap the pitman arm from the bendix gear to the saginaw gear, but it was! Can anyone tell me why this shouldn´t work?


As mentioned in the tech articles, the saginaw gearbox is slightly higher an so your coulmn will end up not aligned when you use your old mounting bracket.


But you don´t need to find a matching bracket from a newer truck, you can modify youre old bracket to fit saginaw AND bendix applications.
You just need to grind down about 4mm on the top to make it fit under the brake booster and relocate the mounting holes.
Yes - the column has a veeeeery little different angle now, but as it is mounted with rubber under the clamp, this will absolutely not make a difference.


And now, everything aligns perfectly!


I also made a new inner firewall bracket to hold the new rubber sealing in place. The old inner bracket will not fit due to the higher position of the column.


After everything was mounted and aligned to the gearbox, the column ended up just 10mm more into the cabin compared to the orignal truck column! (measured on top end of collar)


I´m using a Grant steering wheel from a mustang - not only because of the swap - I really like those steering wheels. It´s smaller than the original steering wheel, but it still looks ok I think. Gives you a bit more room on your legs when youre kind of a big guy


To verify that this swap works, I hooked up the complete power steering system and started the engine to check if everything is working properly. After a few turns end to end you have all the air gone from the pressure system. Refilled the reservoir and power steering worked as it is supposed to! I turned the wheels (245/75/R16) fully left and right with the smaller diameter steering wheel and the force to do that is absolutely ok! Very happy at this point. The endpoints on the steering gear are also matching to the stops on the brake spindles. 4 turns end to end, 2 turns end to middle position.

I do not drove the truck since it is nearly all disassambled, but I think there should be no issues. the gear has very little play and the force to turn the steering wheel will be much less as it is normal when you drive a car.

At this point, I think this swap is worth trying it! As I said - in germany it´s much easier to get a used mustang column than the right truck column. Of course only if your planing to have a floor shifted vehicle. And to make it clear at the end: I did not cut a single thing on the mustang column! I just collapsed the steering shaft about 2inches and thats it! Relocate the mounting holes in the outer firewall bracket, make a new inner bracket and bend a little piece of 4mm metal to make a new upper column to dash mounting bracket. Done!

If anyone has questions about details, feel free to ask! As well as I missed something or did something wrong, please let me know!

Cheers
Chris