1963 Ford F100 Stepside Longbox 292 V8 from North America

Summary:

Old, Slow, and Neat looking

Faults:

Brakes spongy.

No shocks.

Very noisy engine, low oil pressure.

Carburetor.

Misc. electrical troubles.

Kingpin bearings shot.

Lower alternator bracket broke.

Rusty.

General Comments:

This is my 7th and oldest Ford pickup. It has a few problems which I have all ignored except for fixing the carburetor.

The kingpin bushings in the front are worn out to the point where every bump is enough to veer the truck one way or the other.

The brakes absolutely suck. However I have never looked at them. My friend has a 66 Ford and it stops on a dime so I am inclined to think something needs to be replaced.

If there is anything I don't like about the truck it has to be the engine. Mechanical tappets and a poorly designed lubrication system make for a very noisy engine. It seems like the valves require constant adjusting to get the truck to run the best. I have heard from others that the Y-block in general was a noisy engine with so-so oil pressure. I plan on replacing it with the 300 six out of my 77 ford pickup. In my opinion the 300 is the best motor Ford ever made, much better than the ancient Y-block that inhabits the engine bay. Mileage is poor, about 12-14 mpg. I consistently got over 20 mpg with the 300 six in my other truck. The only good thing I can say about the engine is that it uses nothing for oil.

The truck is pretty rusty in the cab area, someone did some body work a few years back and repainted the truck. They didn't touch anything that you couldn't see, hence the rustiness seen in so many hodge podge hillbilly restorations.

I plan on doing some serious body work this spring. With some work I think this truck could be real neat and with the future addition of the 300 I think this truck will be pretty much bullet proof.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th March, 2008

13th Apr 2008, 03:59

I loved the way you tell the tale-keep on truckin. Very well written and honest in assessment of a 63!