Parts questions from a newbie.

Hi all, nice site.
I just bought a 1966 Econoline pickup, 240ci, 5 window with deluxe trim this last weekend. I am currently reading through the site to learn what more I can about these sweet trucks, but some of my searches aren't finding any results.

Specifically:

My vent window on the passenger door has the handle broken off. It is the kind with the push button lock. Are these available anywhere besides another Econoline? I was thinking maybe an old F-series pickup might interchange?

Also, my tailgate has nothing to support the gate when open. I was told it should be a folding piece of flat steel (like those on a F-100 tailgate) from the guy I bought it from but I can't find them or any description of them anywhere.

Last is my gauges, the dash was changed to use all gauges, and not the warning lights on the bottom, but the sending units were not changed. I ordered an oil pressure unit but am not sure about hooking up the charging gauge.

Thanks in advance,
Jake

Here are some pics.

Damn!!!.. that's one nice looking truck. Congrats on finding her.

that is a sweet epu!!!!
welcom to the forum. someone will had the info for you.

I know i have mentioned this to some others...your gauges, if original are 6 volt. There is a little box ( can't remember what it's called) that is a 12v/6v power to the gauges. 12 in 6 out to the gauges. If you have aftermarket guages then you may not have to worry about it...just sending that out cus a few of us have fried gauges...lol.

Macs auto parts has the vent window handles for 61-64,dont know if 66 is the same

Sweet EPU!! W, I believe that device is called a voltage limiter and is bolted to the back of the cluster. Welcome to VV.

Thanks BigW & 66TV, I will check the cluster to make sure the voltage limiter is in place before I try to connect anything.

61Econo, I have looked at Mac's, they do have the vent handle windows, but not with the push button. I was hoping to find one with the pushbutton, or I would have to change the driver side to match the no-button new one.

Hello Jake.

I'll try and give you some help. I don't believe the locking handle is being reproduced. That's usually not the problem anyway. The shaft that the handle fits on the vent window frame is bad about breaking off. The whole frame will need to be replaced. The frames are different between locking and non-locking.

The gauges are pretty easy to hook up. The Amp gauge has a loop on the back of it. Just run a wire from the altenator through the loop and it will read amperage. If it reads backwards just turn the wire around. The sending unit should fix the oil pressure gauge. The gauge cluster gets it's ground from the screws holding it into the dash. DO NOT!! power up the gauges while it's removed from the dash. It will burn up the gauges. If you have to power up add a temporary ground to the dash. The voltage regulator is mounted to the back of the cluster and cuts voltage in half for the gauges. Be sure it's hooked up.

The tailgate is held up by two 1/4 inch rods with a hinge in the middle that allows it to fold when the gate is closed. Kinda hard to find now-a-days. Someone was repoping them but I'll have to research it to see who. I've seen some made from bar stock that work great.

Duane in Tennessee.

Thanks Duane, I appreciate you taking the time to type that up.

The passenger vent window handle & shaft are broken off, and gone. I have been looking for a used window to replace.

I was wondering if anyone had been able to use a replacement piece from another old ford like this:
since they are riveted into the window frame. The handles are also available mostly for old pickups, but they look slightly different in shape and/or size.

Thanks again.

Duane is right. The topic on your gauges has been covered in a few places. Your ALT gauge is a shunt ammeter meaning it detects current flow, your alternator output needs to run through the dash before it goes to the battery in order for it to work correctly. They don't do it like that anymore, MFRs realized a volt meter is safer, more practical, and just as useful. Here is some more detailed info with diagrams:

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t22889-idiot-light-to-gauge

Another thing to note, they still sell the regulators however most of them are solid state now even though the case is the same. Someone locally with a Falcon just did a test on 3 of them ordered from different places (Falcon Parts, Carpenter, and eBay) and found that the internals are not the same as original. This is a good thing as the old technology produced a pulsing voltage that averaged 5-6v. The slow reaction of the gauge makes it unnoticeable.

I have a drawer FULL of the VOLTAGE REGULATORS for the gauges, they actually pulsate the voltage to the gauges and there are several different voltage ranges available. PM me with yours and I will send you one post office. Occasionally I do see new replacement vent lock handles, but think it would be just as easy to rob a used one, if you need one of those I can send you one also....
The support rods for the tail gate are supposedly made by someone as I recall,, but never kept tune with who it was???????? Personally,,, I would prefer and look at some late model ranger or S-10 setups that fold up nicely in the back.
Wishing I could post some pics, and BTW,,, that is one clean looking rig..
vic

I just saw that sell on ebay the other day on a buy it now? Nice truck, Welcome

Old Skool wrote:I have a drawer FULL of the VOLTAGE REGULATORS for the gauges, they actually pulsate the voltage to the gauges and there are several different voltage ranges available. PM me with yours and I will send you one post office. Occasionally I do see new replacement vent lock handles, but think it would be just as easy to rob a used one, if you need one of those I can send you one also....
 The support rods for the tail gate are supposedly made by someone as I recall,, but never kept tune with who it was????????  Personally,,, I would prefer and look at some late model ranger or S-10 setups that fold up nicely in the back.
 Wishing I could post some pics, and BTW,,, that is one clean looking rig..
vic

I will update the thread once I take a look at my cluster. The guy I bought the truck from said the gauges didn't work because they needed new sending units. It was a 540 mile round trip to get the truck, so we didn't stay and shoot the breeze for too long.

Ted Johns from the Yahoo Econoline group makes the rods, EconoUSAparts told me to get in touch with him, and I already have a set on order. They look nice from the pics.

I will take a picture in the next few days of my vent windows, I am interested in fixing the existing ones or replacing them. They are one of the few things that could use fixing soon on the truck.

Magic Bus wrote:I just saw that sell on ebay the other day on a buy it now?  Nice truck, Welcome

Yep, it went from $500 starting bid to $4800 within 6-8 hours & still had over 6 days left, so I used the buy it now.
I had been looking for 3 years or so for a decent one on this half of the country. I was actually surprised to find it in as good or better shape than the pictures.

It was a Florida truck, and has very solid body, only 3 patch panels in the whole truck, and they are pretty small and relatively well done. The 5 window option, body trim, 240 engine and 9 inch rear-end sold it for me.
As a bonus, I am the 3rd owner, and got a bunch of spare parts with it too.

Well if you looked that long then you know what the market demands for a good one, it seems that most of the rust free ones are west or southwest, and no they are not for sale any given day.. Your right, those are a lot of great options....You'll likely be happy with Ted Johns, I got a set of footwell/mat trim pieces from him and they were great.

I was thinking Ted was the one doing the tailgate rods but wasn't sure. I'd planned on researching it but just didn't have the time. I think the vent window pivot is welded to the frame and not removable. Have to replace the whole frame. It's been a while since I messed with one. Tim is a good guy and usually has the parts you need. Oldeconolines and Econosrus Yahoo Groups are both good places to find parts and help as well as right here.

Nice looking pickup. I saw the ebay ad when it was posted on here. It really stood out over most that I see. Of course it's painted my favorite color. LOL. Mine came from ebay as well but it was not as good as described. Still love it none the less. I've had so much fun with it and met so many great people because of it.

Just some info about your truck. Don't take it wrong as I'm not knocking it in any way. The white gauge cluster shows that it was ordered with special order paint. Stock colors got a matching gauge cluster. Custom colors got a Wimbledon white cluster. Your rear bumper is from a 65-67 van. All pickups used the stepped bumper like 61-64 vans if they came with a bumper. It was an opition on pickups. I always liked the cut out for the license plate in the rear pan on Econolines. I think it's a shame to hide it behind a bumper. LOL. Good rear bumpers are hard to find for Econolines. They were so thin it didn't take anything to bend them. Not at all heavy like the 65-67 style bumpers on your truck.

A good guy to get to know is Fred Carello in Warwick Rhode Island. He's a member here as well as both yahoo groups. He's a great souce of knowledge and parts for Econolines. He also sews a pretty good interior for Econolines. I also think he knows about every Econo in every junk yard on the east coast. LOL.

Duane in Tennessee.

econopoor wrote:I was thinking Ted was the one doing the tailgate rods but wasn't sure. I'd planned on researching it but just didn't have the time. I think the vent window pivot is welded to the frame and not removable. Have to replace the whole frame. It's been a while since I messed with one. Tim is a good guy and usually has the parts you need. Oldeconolines and Econosrus Yahoo Groups are both good places to find parts and help as well as right here.

Nice looking pickup. I saw the ebay ad when it was posted on here. It really stood out over most that I see. Of course it's painted my favorite color. LOL. Mine came from ebay as well but it was not as good as described. Still love it none the less. I've had so much fun with it and met so many great people because of it.

Just some info about your truck. Don't take it wrong as I'm not knocking it in any way. The white gauge cluster shows that it was ordered with special order paint. Stock colors got a matching gauge cluster. Custom colors got a Wimbledon white cluster. Your rear bumper is from a 65-67 van. All pickups used the stepped bumper like 61-64 vans if they came with a bumper. It was an opition on pickups. I always liked the cut out for the license plate in the rear pan on Econolines. I think it's a shame to hide it behind a bumper. LOL. Good rear bumpers are hard to find for Econolines. They were so thin it didn't take anything to bend them. Not at all heavy like the 65-67 style bumpers on your truck.

A good guy to get to know is Fred Carello in Warwick Rhode Island. He's a member here as well as both yahoo groups. He's a great souce of knowledge and parts for Econolines. He also sews a pretty good interior for Econolines. I also think he knows about every Econo in every junk yard on the east coast. LOL.

Duane in Tennessee.

Thanks for the info, I am deciphering the little things that have been done to my truck here and there. I am pretty sure the orange paint was a conversion when it was restored, I think the original paint was dark blue.
The roll pan has the license plate recess, but I kind of like the bumpers. Even though they aren't original, they look like they belong on the old thing...
I am 100% sure the gauge cluster has been changed, because the dummy lights are still hanging down behind the cluster, and the gauges don't work (yet).
From the VIN, I only know that it was an original 240, 3 speed, and had the heavy axle (9 inch), other than that, I am only putting together the puzzle. I am starting a new thread to chronicle the different things I am working on to get it back in fighting condition.
Either way, I am very happy with it, and am excited to go out every time I get to drive it. I will document my cooling system upgrades (mostly stock style parts) in the thread I might get to start tonight.

Also, the vent window frames are similar to the Broncos & F-series pickups of the era, they have a formed frame, but the locking handle is attached to a smaller handle that is riveted into the frame. My frames are rusty, so I haven't decided whether to replace or repair, but some parts are available for the F-100 & similar, so I was hoping to get input from someone that found an interchangeable part somewhere.....

OK, I installed the tailgate support rods, but it looks like there are some small retaining plates that should be attached to the tailgate to cover 1/2 of the slotted hole? Does anyone have these on their Epup, and can you please take a picture for me so I know what I need to fabricate?

Here's my 67's tailgate. HTH's

Duane in Tennessee

Thanks Duane, that's kind of what I figured they would be. I have some aluminum stock laying around that i might use for mine if its not too thick.

VIN for decode:

Door Tag:
E10AH859672
090 E100 087 C 11
0 3800 129 4000 246959

Engine Tag:
240 66 5
6-E 120-T

Axle Tag:
CR-R1
3.50 6EA 782

In the second line of the door tag, see if the 087 is really a D87.

The first line of the axle code should have a W at the beginning to make it WCR-R1.  That appears to be the original axle, if you were interested.

Here is a link to your VIN decode, assuming the changes I offered.

http://www.econolineid.com/vehicle.php?v=1819

Barnabas wrote:In the second line of the door tag, see if the 087 is really a D87.

The first line of the axle code should have a W at the beginning to make it WCR-R1.  That appears to be the original axle, if you were interested.

Here is a link to your VIN decode, assuming the changes I offered.

http://www.econolineid.com/vehicle.php?v=1819

Awesome, thanks for the decode. I am sure the changes you offered are correct, i had to scrape the crust off the axle tag to even get what I posted.

I ran your numbers by Jay Long over at Econosrus and here's his reply.

E10 = Econoline pickup series
A = 240 engine
H = Lorain Ohio assembly plant
859672 = May 1966 serial number - 1966 model
090 = wheelbase
(-) = blank paint code = special order color
E100 = Econoline pickup model, 1/2 ton
0 = probably D = beige custom interior (custom equipment package)
87 = pickup body style
C = 3 speed transmission
11 = 3.50:1 heavy duty axle (9 inch)
3800 = 1/2 ton GVW rating
129 at 4000 = certified net HP at RPM
24 = Jacksonville sales district
6959 = special order number

The engine tag book is packed away at the moment, but the "66" and "240" say it's probably the original engine for the truck

The axle tag also says that piece is original, and of the correct (3.50) ratio. The letters on the first line should say "WCR-R1", which is the model code for the axle.

I'll post the decodes on the rest of the engine and axle tag codes when I can get to the book.

Duane in Tennessee