The Spring Special

"This was a monthly dealer announcement that was never meant to be seen by the customer."


"The promotion itself wasn't a secret, but what was sensitive was the fact that the package was included at no charge.

The original sales invoice on my Special included the line "Special Promotion Package (N/C)" but I would be willing to bet that some dealers weren't so generous."

Editor's note: The image and text was provided by Jay L. I appreciate his contribution to this blog.

Thanks, Jay!

Choices! Decisions!

I knew from the very start that the project had to meet the certain criteria. These are listed in no specific order:

• It was not going to be restored to original status.
• The finished cost had to be kept under $20,000, including the initial cost of the vehicle.
• The bodywork and paint had to be kept to a cost of under $10,000 which would limit the restoration to somewhat less than "Trailer Queen" status. Bodywork entails many hours of labor if it is done properly. I have neither the skills nor equipment to handle the job.
• The vehicle was to be used and not kept in a garage waiting for sunny days.
• It had to be safe and reliable.
  
• It was not going to have a flashy nor trendy color.

The first concern that had to be addressed was finding a body shop that would take on the project. That was not as easy as I had imagined.

It seems that modern-day body shops don't have the time for projects that require bodywork other than panel replacement. Additionally, many body shop employees don't know how to use a hammer and dolly to repair dents. I made dozens of calls to local body shops that didn't pan out.

I finally contacted the Maaco shop in Albany, NY and the owner, Mike, was interested in the project but he wanted to see it in person before committing to the project. Since there was no running gear for me to drive it to him, he waited until he had other business in my area which is about an hour drive from his shop.

A week or so later, he saw the body and the work that had to be done and when I told him that there was no rush nor timetable to finish the project, he agreed to take it on. He arranged for a flatbed truck to have it delivered to his shop. Little did I realize at that time that it would be gone for three years!

After the body was taken away, I had many boxes of parts to store away until they could be restored. Other projects in the home and garden were more important at that time so I put the restoration on the back burner. I did, however, give some thought to the instrument cluster.

The instrument cluster was in pitiful shape. The black panel over the gauges and indicator lights was rusted and painted over. The silk-screened lettering was painted over and replaced by a previous owner with hand painted markings!




The gauges had faded pointers and the backgrounds looked horrible. Could I live with them in that condition? NO! A few choices were available:

• Find a better used cluster
• Restore the original cluster
• Replace the gauges with Stewart Warner gauges and fabricate a custom cluster

I chose to have the cluster professionally restored. After a bit of research and shopping around I decided to use APT Instruments International, Inc. for the restoration.

Included in the restoration was:

• Bead-blasting, sanding and painting the black bezel
• Silk-Screening new letters and markings using the original Ford font
• Refinishing the dials which included polishing and painting
• Repainting the pointers
• Cleaning, lubricating and calibration of the gauge mechanisms
• Fabricating new lenses for the turn signals, high beams and oil and temperature lights
• Refinishing the back panel
• Assembly of cluster and final testing

The total cost was about $525.

The Candidate

These photos were taken years before I had any intention of creating this blog so there are not that many photos which chronicle the process until years later.



This is the candidate for the restoration project, a 1965 Ford Econoline 5-Window Pickup. In this photo, you will see mounting holes along the body's side for chrome trim that was included in the "Econoline Pickup Special" package that was made available in May and June of 1965. That package is commonly referred to as the "Spring Special."



I acquired this truck in December 2002 in nearly rust-free condition. The tailgate had the usual rust at the lower corners but the rest of the truck was free of perforations except for a few pinholes in the cab's floor. There were many small dents on the body as would be expected for its age. The largest dent was next to the right headlight bezel.



The Vehicle Warranty Plate is affixed to the driver's side door. In the case of this truck the V.I.N. on the plate matches the V.I.N. on the floor of the vehicle. That is a good sign that the vehicle has the original driver's side door.

The COLOR "W" on the Warranty Plate signifies that the vehicle was originally Medium Blue. That color is clearly visible in the photos of the interior and also in the photo of the front of the vehicle where the headlights were removed.



Notice in this photo how the dashboard had been cut to accept an aftermarket radio. The stock radio was a manually-tuned AM radio with a removable faceplate which housed the dial and knobs. There were only three small round holes in the dashboard for the original radio installation.


The engine is not the original 170 CID engine but instead it is a 200 CID engine from a 1966 Ford Falcon. The head is from a 1967 Falcon.



Since this restoration is not going to be a "Concours" entrant, I am going to use this engine in the truck after it is rebuilt.


This photo shows the engine still on the crane just before it is mounted on the engine stand to be disassembled.


After the engine was removed and disassembled, the block, head and crankshaft were taken to a machine shop for total restoration. All of the small parts were packed in boxes and marked with the contents. The small fasteners, nuts, bolts and screws were put into zip-lock bags and marked with the contents.

"...Only the beginning. Only just the start"... Beginnings,The Chicago Transit Authority (Chicago), 1969

After restoring this
1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
to TROPHY-WINNING status,
I decided that it was time for a new project.




This is that project!

In the early 1960's, Ford introduced a new line of vans and pickup trucks known as Econolines.


These vehicles featured inline six-cylinder engines mounted between the seats and a very short wheelbase of only 90 inches which gave it great maneuverability.



The front seats were mounted over the front wheel housings and since the engine was mounted inside the cab the visibility was excellent through the 9.4 sq. ft. windshield.



The pickup variant has a bed that measures 7 feet long, 5 feet wide (49 inches between the wheel housings) and nearly 2 feet deep. With the available 240 cubic inch engine the truck was rated to carry 2,075 pounds of cargo.