1965 F100 pickup

[Q5XX29]

About once a year I like to take on a car project. Last year it was my '67 GTX with 572 cross-ram hemi. The year before that, it was a 1968 Charger (father-son project/gift for him). This year's project was my 1965 F100 pickup, which just finished a frame-off restoration. This pickup was a gift from my father-in-law. It was purchased around 1969 or so by his brother, who died many years ago, and then the pickup went to my father-in-law. They drove it around their family farms for years, and then my FIL started to restore it in the early 1990s, but then lost interest or something, and then it was parked in a field for a couple of decades. Anyway, he decided that if somebody didn't fix it up soon, it wasn't going to be worth fixing up before long. So, he gave it to me, knowing how I love to make foolish financial decisions with vehicles.

The shop that did all of the work was Muscle Car Creations, in Tea, SD. They did a fantastic job! The only problem is it is almost too nice to drive now. Almost!

Out of respect for my wife's family, I didn't want to go too crazy with mods. I wanted a truck that looked almost completely original, at least to the casual observer. Of course, I couldn't resist adding a few stealthy touches to increase the performance, so the original 352 (largest engine available for this pickup in 1965) received the crank and heads from a 428 (so now it is a 410 cubic inch engine), and a four-barrel intake manifold/period correct carburetor. I love the way the engine builder machined the original oil-bath air cleaner to house a new-style gauze filter and 4-bbl carb, so I don't have to mess around with the oil-bath, and it still looks original. Now I wish we went with a bit bigger cam, but even so, it now dynos at 325 hp/ 425 tq (a respectable jump from the 208 factory hp). I made a few other concessions- dual-reservoir master cylinder for safety, dual exhaust, and power steering. Pretty fun to drive now, with the old three-on-the-tree transmission.

[Q5XX29]

A "before" picture, with two of my sons. As you can see, it was a pretty solid pickup to begin with:

[stripedelete]

That's beautiful! 

[TruckDriver]

Looks GREAT!!! 

[68X426]

Clint, right?  You are killing me Clint!  Stop this shit right now!  I mean it!

Awesome finished project. Congrats. 

[440]

There's not much to these old fords. Simple and bulletproof. Looks fun to drive.

[Q5XX29]

Clint, right?  You are killing me Clint!  Stop this shit right now!  I mean it!

Awesome finished project. Congrats.  

  Yes, it is Clint. Thank you!

Thanks, everybody

[Charger_Fan]

Wow, that's a great looking truck! Musclecar Creations really did a killer job on it.
I've got a pair of '66 Fords myself, and one of these days, they are going to look as nice as yours!

[Q5XX29]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody.

Charger_Fan: very cool pair of '66s. I was sure wishing that mine was a '66 when it came to looking for grille replacement options. Nobody makes a '65. Although it looks like yours are in excellent shape, anyway.

[Dino]

That is one clean looking truck!  Very respectable numbers on that engine as well, should be a blast to drive with the three on the tree. 

I'd drive the wheels off that truck.   

[tan top]

 

[Charger_Fan]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody.

Charger_Fan: very cool pair of '66s. I was sure wishing that mine was a '66 when it came to looking for grille replacement options. Nobody makes a '65. Although it looks like yours are in excellent shape, anyway.

That's true, it's pretty tough to find '65 grilles in good shape. I keep expecting one of the repop companies to make them, but so far nada. Thanks again for showing off your great looking truck!

[69wannabe]

My first toy was a 69 F100 short bed ranger truck. It was a 360 three on the tree and I swapped the rotating assembly for 390 internals and bored it 60 over with a mild cam, headers, eddy intake and carb. Love the old FE engines and always wanted to build a 428 but nothing to put it in now since I sold the truck several years ago to do more work on the charger. Maybe one day I may fix me up another Ford truck if I run across a good deal on one....

[redmist]

I have that exact truck sitting out back of our shop. It was my first ever vehicle, and the wife and I dated in it way back in High School.

I hope some day to afford to restore it.

[Charger_Fan]

It was my first ever vehicle, and the wife and I dated in it way back in High School...

Dude! Same story here... No really, bring on the pics! I still have my '66 F100 (since 1982) but the wife bailed on me a while back. Two weeks ago she texted me "do you remember the exhaust growl from that truck?"...like yesterday, I replied...and I do. Gonna make it live again before I croak, believe you me.  

I named it "The Heap" back in 1983, because as a young kid (17 at the time), I really beat on it...and as such, I was constantly breaking parts...so it became a heap of parts, or in short, "The Heap". The Heap never really held that title against me (I assume), because with each part broken, I replaced that part with something stronger. Of course, that only focused attention to the next-weakest-link. BOOM! After a while, the Heap was really strong...no, I mean TOUGH!
The Heap & I took on anyone back then...lost some (a buncha stories on those), but won more (a ton more stories) than we lost! One of my favorite memories was chasing a dork in a Porche 928 up Big Cottonwood Canyon one night. This is a canyon with lots of twisties, and few straights. I lost that guy in the twisties, but caught him in all the straights...(like my headlights lighting up the whole interior), all the way to the top. I rode his azz the final two miles to the top. This was about 2am. Then we stopped for a minute in the dead-end parking lot at the top, where he said "I never expected you to be here (on my azz)". Then he blasted off down the canyon...I gave him a (I think) 2 minute lead, then I went after him...I caught him about 1/4 mile before the bottom & chased him into the city for a few minutes.  The sun was starting to light the atmosphere & I thought I should peel off & get some winks before work at 8am.
If I recall, I was late to work that day.  

This is me on the left in April '84, washing The Heap,with my younger brother playing pocket pool off to the right. And yes, the 501's were split intentionally at the bottom (right from the store), back then.


Oh, and neither one of us has most of that hair anymore...I miss my hair, dammit.

This is me in October of '84...and yes, at this point the left fender is blue. (Another story)


A pic taken by my brother a few weeks earlier that year...

I was worried about rust, so I parked it for the winter (and every winter since then) and drove a Pinto (for 2 years) that I snagged for $150.00. Talk about a vehicle that brings you to reality in a heartbeat! However, I did discover that a Pinto with good winter digger tires does really well in the white crap!
This was THAT Pinto. When I bought it, it had two front fenders...then I let my brother drive it for a month. and I still hammer him to this day about that missing fender fiasco.

[Charger_Fan]

Oh, and with the Pinto thing, by 10/1986 I had sold Pinto #1 and had bought (winter beater) Pinto #2...the same year I (we) bought the Charger. This was taken the morning after we brought the Charger home.


I used that Pinto for three winters & eventually sold it for double the $250 I paid for it. It still retained both front fenders at the time of sale.

[Q5XX29]

Very cool, guys. Love the photos ! Redmist, would love to see some from you, also.

[lloyd3]

It isn't just the 1950s Fords anymore that are becoming appreciated. What a lovely truck!  You know.....I hate to say it.....but I even liked the six cylinder versions of those trucks.  Easy on gas and virtually indestructible. Not a bad thing in this day and age.

[ACUDANUT]

That's a nice truck.    in Fords, I like the mid 70's high boy pickups myself.
But as a Mopar guy, I'll stick with my 76 W200 4x4 Power Wagon.