1965 F250’s Rejuvenation

If you cut it to shape you can take it to any carpet place. Most of them have people who sew proper overlock edging on their off-cuts to create mats who will dress the edges you have cut out. Only costs a few dollars

Thanks for the suggestions.

Zuffen, had a look at it today but it’s not actually sewn in place. They have melted a seem into it somehow by the looks with the plastic foot piece and polyester carpet bonding to each other. I’ve got spare mats so it won’t be of concern. I like running mats to protect things from muddy feet and prickles anyway, kids are grubs. Haha.

Lang, I’ll look into the options there. As I don’t live in an area where I can just take it down and collect a couple days later that kind of stuff gets tricky to navigate. I really like the idea though and could probably do it by hand with thick thread to make lighter work of it. Thanks for throwing that in as an option.

Other than what I’ve reported being done of late I removed a few things from being in the way and slotted the carpet in a couple spots that were stopping it from getting into position. I think the shifter boot may be able to stay as is but will just slide it right down to the carpet and use a bead of silicone to hold it in place. For the handbrake and steering column I will simply slot a piece of flat rubber to suit and use the old tin surrounds to clamp it down. Just going to keep it simple. Have thrown some tie rod boots on as I was told they will be required for a roadworthy. Must be something that has come in since these tie rods were made. They weren’t overly accepting of boots due to a very narrow lip and tapered design making it hard to keep them in position. They were in good condition so have no intention to replace them.

Hey all.

Had a bit of work done on the steering box over the past few weeks. The sector shaft was built back up and ground to repair the wear points and a bit of pitting. Also had a new brass bush turned to replace the worn one for where the sector shaft leaves the box. An oil seal was installed to finish that off.



Installing it back in was an absolute mission. The clearances were so tight. I ended up having to use all the box adjustment to pull the sector shaft in as much as possible. Only took me a couple hours of cursing before thinking to do that. Anyway, that’s enough talk about my sector shaft.

Having the steering box sorted and back in the 250 lead to another milestone being reached. For the first time in 18 months the F250’s paws are back on the ground. The new tyres look good and cleaning up the rims has made quite a difference.



Tomorrow the windscreen should be getting replaced along with the rear window seal. The rear glass isn’t perfect but has no cracks so will do the job for now. Will be heading to the big smoke later in the week and will hopefully get some other smalls to tick a few more boxes off before the weekend. Only 22 more tasks to tick of my list then it’s off for a roadworthy. Haha, only if, the chances of that list not growing is slim to none.

Looking better all the time. It is a good feeling to see progress. Before you know it you be back on the road.

The steering boxes seamed to of been put in before anything else on a lot of vehicles made for LHD that got converted to RHD

The Mack has a leaking steering box and as much as it is a mess it looks very very tight to even look at getting it out

A one day job for me and mo doubt countless swear words

Paul

To get the steering box out of a Studebaker Lark, without removing the engine, requires complete dismantling of said steering box (or cutting a huge piece out of the inner guard to match the LHS). Not a fun job.

Jarrod.

Cheers cobbadog, certainly feels good to see measurable progress.

Sounds like it’s a common trend for difficult removal/install of these boxes. Certainly be easier with 2 people but no walk in the park.

Windscreen replacement was delayed by a day. Drove it up to the house to make it more accessible for them to get to. Will see how it goes once the tray is on the back but if I end up using it a bit that rear suspension is going to have to be softened up. Damn rigid it is. I was surprised with its get up and go. Not sure how that will translate on the open road though. The diff ratio is certainly helpful to get moving.

I replaced the oil and dropped in some Lucas as a couple of you suggested. It seems to have quietened it down a touch which is encouraging. Still blows more smoke then what’s acceptable. Will need to determine if it’s just stuck rings or something more sinister. I’ll do some compression tests with and without oil in the bore of the ones I know are problematic to see if that gives me any indication of what is happening.

Fingers crossed with the blue smoke. It doesn't happen to be a McDonald engine by any chance?

Paul, I can hlp you with the bad lingo, apparently I am very good at it and got a head start on it playing with the latest project today.

Urchy87, you are making good progress. Before you know it, you will be driving it everywhere.

What is the reference to Lucas when changing the oil? I have been back over several pages but cannot find a mention.

Cobbadog, it’s a Ford 240/300. Was told 300 but haven’t checked stroke the guy to confirm. Supposedly the head had the 300 chambers so I’ve just run with that. Are McDonalds notorious oil burners.

Morris, thanks for the encouragement. There was a lull in progress for a while but I’ve recently got back into it so the progress is pleasing. it developed a knock from what I can tell is at the front of the motor. A few mentioned that the Lucas additive would help to silence the beast a bit. I’m not planning to rebuild this motor as I have a 351 Cleveland to go in at some point. Just wanting to get it on the road and a few K’s on it before doing the conversion I’d like to limp it along if I can. Assisted brakes and seatbelts will be installed prior to the new motor then I will get it all mod plated at once.