Very clean, unmolested and rebuilt Ford Unibody truck with rare 262 i6.

This is a 1963 Ford F-100 “Unibody”. The Unibody has an integrated cab and bed with no gap between them. These were produced in 1961-1963 and are fairly rare these days. The F100s of these years came standard with the 223 “mileage maker” inline 6 cylinder engine, but this truck has the 223’s big brother, the heavy duty 262 inline 6 engine. This was a dealer special order and is a VERY rare option for this truck. The 262 i6 was standard on the C350 and larger trucks of the era. It has a forged crankshaft and pistons and other heavy duty components. This particular motor is unmolested and in fact, I don’t believe it has ever been rebuilt! It doesn’t smoke but uses a little oil as you might expect from a 54 year old engine. I’m guessing it’s not as strong as it once was but it is very reliable, runs like a top and has pulled my 24 foot travel trailer many times.

I’ve owned this truck since November of 2011 and have done extensive work on it. I bought it with 97,300 miles on the odometer and it currently has 104,600 miles. So as you can tell it is not a daily driver and has been garage kept. Prior to my purchase it was located in New Mexico which probably explains the lack of rust.

The truck was repainted by the previous owner with the factory original color of Sandshell Beige It’s not the greatest paint job but looks good as you can see from the pics. There are some scratches in the paint, mostly as a result of careless bumps in my crowded garage. The bed is lined with spray bed liner matching the Sandshell beige.

Here is a list of what I’ve done to the truck since I purchased it in 2011:

-New Aluminum radiator.

-Replaced the generator with an alternator. (I have the original Generator)

-Completely rebuilt the brakes and replaced one rusty brake line.

-Replaced the tiny single-cylinder brake master cylinder with a new power boosted 2-cylinder master cylinder. This power brake upgrade is a huge improvement over the factory non-power brakes.

-Rebuilt the original 3 speed manual transmission. The “3 on the tree” shifter was relocated so it’s a floor shifter now.

-Installed spin-on oil filter adapter. This is much better and more convenient than the leaky original canister oil filter setup. I have the canister setup.

-New Clutch.

-Rebuilt the rear end (differential). This is the original 9” with 3.89 gearing.

-New u-joints.

-Replaced the points in the ignition with an electronic ignition module. This is considered a more reliable setup but it can very easily be converted back to the original points setup.

-New high-output coil.

-Rebuild carburetor and other tune-up items including plugs and wires.

-New electric fuel pump.

-Recent new battery (Fall 2017).

-Front end rebuild.

-Steering box re-lube and adjustment.

-New cab mounts (old ones had some rust).

-New driver side floor board, repaired a small rust patch in passenger floor board.

-Added 3-point seat belts for driver and passenger. Middle of seat has a lap belt.

-Rust patches in bed corner repaired.

-Bed has been sprayed with color-matching bed liner.

-Repainted dash.

-New original style headliner.

-Rebuilt original tube AM radio. Works okay but not great. There is a modern stereo/CD/Bluetooth unit with remote control in the glove box and external speakers under the seats.

-New drivers side door weatherstripping. I have the passenger side weatherstripping but the original is in decent shape so I haven't changed it.

-New beige carpet.

-Original seat is beige cloth recovered.

-Aftermarket gauges for voltmeter and oil pressure.

-Trailer receiver hitch installed with wiring for trailer lights.

-Electric brake controller installed

-New drivers side hood hinge. I have a new passenger side hood hinge but it’s not installed since the original hinge is working fine.

This truck starts reliably and runs and drives great. It is fine on the highway and stops better than original, due to the power brakes upgrade. I have used it as a hobby and fun classic vehicle as well as a utility vehicle to pull my travel trailer to a local bluegrass festival and other local (less than 75 miles) camping trips 2-3 times a year. It’s quite happy pulling my 24 ft travel trailer all day long at 55-60mph. The alternator upgrade, power brakes, trailer hitch/wiring and electric brake controller make it a capable trailer puller indeed. The tires are fair but still have some life left on them. I took care of all the rust when I bought it (Cab mounts, corner sections in the bed, floorboards) so its nearly rust-free. The only spot I should mention is on the drivers side running board which has a small spot. The passenger side running board is rust-free. The truck is very simple to work on- you can practically do anything on it using a 5-piece wrench set! I now have a new truck and I have no need for two trucks as we are buying a new house soon. My loss is your gain. I have invested close to $10,000 in this truck over the past few years.

These old Ford Unibody trucks are quite rare and you will likely never see another with the dealer special ordered 262 inline 6 engine. Note that you can get aftermarket parts for this engine including headers and dual or even triple carburetor intake manifolds. I’ve been waiting on the engine to show its age and my plan has been to rebuild it with period original headers and dual carbs and repaint the engine compartment. But, this old motor is a true workhorse and just doesn’t seem to ever want to die or even have a problem. It’s common to butcher these trucks by installing a v8 engine but it would be a shame to do that to this one! This is not not a show truck as such, but it’s a practically rust-free unmolested thing of beauty, and a real head turner!

Pickup in Wichita, KS. Feel free to message me and I will be happy to give you my cell # so we can talk if you are interested.