1966 Ford Falcon Travel Wagon

Well today she finally went up on the lift for the first time for a thorough inspection. Much of the issues I knew before going in however there were a few surprises. The transmission specialist said the seal is shot where the linkage connects to the trans (picture 4 and 5). Also the seal where the driveshaft connects to the trans is shot (picture 6). I knew these seals were shot. The specialist said $150 should take care of it. I'm happy with that since its leaking pretty bad and its not something I want to get into. The BAD NEWS is the suspension is a mess! The bushings, king pins etc are all shot. I knew the rubbers were shot and would need some attention. Now just gotta see what the damage is. The drag link is also bent because it appears someone jacked it up there! Thankfully I have a few parts vans I can pull one out of. There are a few minor things I was already aware of that will need to be addressed as well:

Horn not working
No reverse lights
Defrosters not working?
One defroster hose is missing
Seats missing bolts
No wiper reservoir
Front bumper missing

Several of these items I have in the garage I've already pulled from parts vans.. Just gotta get them installed.
   

You're doing it right...safety first then enjoy it to the Max!!!

Why do you think the drag link is bent? It looks good in the picture from what I can see. They had a bend in them from the factory.

Duane.

Duane perhaps i'm not calling it the right thing. Its the tubular part behind the straight axle and is about the same length. I'm pretty sure this shouldn't be bent and can only assume the way it is bent someone jacked it there. Will get yah a pic after work today.

OK. That's a tie rod. A drag link goes between the steering box and the steering knuckle. Those are easy to get bent. About half of the van's I've had came with a bent tie rod. Wrap a chain around them or in your case a jack and there they go. Just straighten it. It's tubular steel so you don't want to crush it but some time in a press with a couple of V blocks and you can get it pretty straight. New ones aren't available. I think some of the larger big truck shops and 4X4 off road shops can get one custom made if you really need a new one.

Duane.

congrats on the awesome finds! I cant wait to put my travelwagon roof in my van.

Today we began to remove the top off the parts van. In my opinion it is in excellent condition. When we removed the inside trim it appeared there had been mice calling it home.. Nothing the shop vac can't handle! The top itself is ready to be removed, just need to get a few extra hands. I'm thinking its going to be a 4 person job due to its awkwardness and weight. Here is an interior picture of the top with the trim removed. Once off it'll be tucked away in storage until my 66 Travel Wagon is soda blast, primed and paint. I will probably also have the top blast right away to give it a nice shine!  

Wow, that camper top looks to be in Great Shape!!!

Yes = WILL take @ least 3 to remove it -its not light!!

With the help of a few friends we got the top off. It ended up taking 4 of us but thankfully it went smoothly. We stuck 2x4 wall studs under each end that I had laying around from my kitchen remodel and walked it right off. I knew I saved them for a reason! Once the parts van and the Super Van are out of here the serious work will begin on the Travel Wagon. I really can't wait to get started. The goal is for a Spring 2016 completion date. The makeover will be my 50th birthday gift to the old girl since she's a 1966..

Got ambitious last weekend and cleaned up my wheels. I plan on getting the entire van blasted in the coming months but in the meantime this will do. This certainly isn't rocket science but just thought i'd share since its something simple that'll make your van/truck look better..

- Pressure washed and scrubbed ALL dirt off, allow to dry well.
- Wire brushed and hand sanded.
- Blow off and wipe down to get ALL residual dirt and dust off.
- Use 3X5 index cards as pictured around edges between wheels and tires.
- 3 coats of Rustoleum Gloss Black, 3 coats of Rustoleum Clear Gloss coat.
- Repeat on rear of wheel.

I allowed the wheels to sit until Monday afternoon when I came home from work to mount them. In my opinion they look much better then what I started with..

Great idea and a DIY for sure. Those look nice.

QCT!!= Just like a ="Honeymoon""!! Get her =DONE!!!!!!

QCT wrote:Got ambitious last weekend and cleaned up my wheels. I plan on getting the entire van blasted in the coming months but in the meantime this will do. This certainly isn't rocket science but just thought i'd share since its something simple that'll make your van/truck look better..

- Pressure washed and scrubbed ALL dirt off, allow to dry well.
- Wire brushed and hand sanded.
- Blow off and wipe down to get ALL residual dirt and dust off.
- Use 3X5 index cards as pictured around edges between wheels and tires.
- 3 coats of Rustoleum Gloss Black, 3 coats of Rustoleum Clear Gloss coat.
- Repeat on rear of wheel.

I allowed the wheels to sit until Monday afternoon when I came home from work to mount them. In my opinion they look much better then what I started with..

Simple but effective...Looks GREAT!!! Just please don't forget the lug nuts!!!

Haven't post here is a while.. Work has consumed me the last several months so not much has been accomplished with the van. She sat for about a month and a half so I had a dead battery. Battery was all charged up but still couldn't get her started. A little fuel in the carb made her fire up for a few seconds then shut down. Being pretty sure it was a fuel issue I began to investigate. My van has 2 fuel tanks.. The factory tank and then a secondary tank up front. Still not sure if this was done as part of the conversion by Travel Equipment Corp or some other time. The guy who I bought the van from didn't seem to know the tank situation either. When the van was delivered I put a few gallons in each tank. Drove the van for a while. Then shortly before parking the van while fueling up, the factory tank leaked everywhere! At that time I didn't put any fuel in the front tank. Then she sat.. When I remembered I didn't put fuel in the front tank the last time, I got out the gas can and put 2 gallons in. She fired right up! So apparently for some reason its only running off the front tank. There are 2 switches on the steering column brace however before adding fuel I tried them.. Nothing. So for now just gotta keep the front tank fueled. I let her idle and warm up, then drove her around the neighborhood. All seemed ok..

With the winter weather coming in the next month or so I wanted to see if the van would fit in the garage with the pop top. She ended up clearing the opening by just 1.5 inches.. What a relief! Now I won't need to rent a larger garage over the winter to get my work done. After taking the measurements I opened the door to back her outside.. It was like a scene right out of Cheech and Chong! The entire inside was smoky and there was a hissing noise coming from inside. Turns out it was steam.. I couldn't even see out the windows it was that bad. I open the dog house, all looked ok. Then I saw there was anti freeze gushing all over the passenger side floor. After cleaning up the mess there was a small leak from the one rubber hose line. Anyone ever replace these? Looks like a fairly easy fix. Here are a few pics..          

 

I'm curious about your 2 tanks system. I too have a travel wagon with a dual tank system and I'm not sure either if it was a travelwagon install or by one of the previous owners (my guess...).

Do you have pictures of the switch and the tank from your van? I haven't tried if mine works or not (I'm currently using the stock tank) but I need to make sure the front one is clean inside first. My filler location is different than yours, lower and further back.

My van is pretty much stock so would be nice to find out about that dual tank system!

Cheers
Mr. D

Left the travel wagon out over night and it ended up storming. I think based on what I found in the morning I will need some new seals! Abitibi the first pic has the fuel tank switches. They don't seem to work as it still only draws fuel from the front (non-factory) tank. Now that the super van and others I've had are gone its time to get to work on the travel wagon. I plan on disassembling the entire van, including top and take it for soda blasting in the next few weeks..

Wow, that tray is pretty good at catching water! Big project ahead for you, fun time!
So those two switches on the tray are the one for your tanks? I only have one switch (if I recall right) and it's in a different location (dash on the left).




Good luck with your rebuild!
David

I was able to trace a green wire from the switch on the left to the auxiliary tank. I haven't been able to figure out what the switch on the right is yet. Its the same exact switch so its possible it has something to do with the fuel system. Once I start stripping everything I'm sure i'll get it figured out.. And yes its a bit of a project but this van is solid with original undercoating still in tact. Yours is certainly the exception, but mine is much less of a project then probably 99% of the vans out there since it came out of California.

Switches and wires involving fuel...argggg...I say cut the Blue wire, or is it the green...lol. Keep them pics coming.

I had 3 fuel tanks in one of my ford pick ups...
The electrical switch only switched the sending units...
There was an actual 3 position valve on the floor of the truck under my seat that I would switch to route the fuel itself...
Is this a possibility on your units???

Since the weather is getting better here in the northeast it's back to working on this Van..

Whalemstr, the two switches I have are just on and off..

Yea - my pickup had a 3 position electrical switch that when I switched tanks, I would flip the switch to whichever tank I was using. But, to actually switch the fuel line itself, there was a mechanical valve under the seat that I would flip to switch the actually fuel line to whichever tank I wanted to use.

I was just curious if that was a possibility...

Unfortunately the travel wagon project has taken a back seat to business and other projects around the house. A while back I ordered several replacement parts and yesterday finally replaced them. Heater core and radiator hoses, coil, plugs/wires/cap/points/rotor, water pump, thermostat, etc. I also put in some Prestone radiator flush and plan on running it the next few days since the van hasn't been run much. When I flushed the radiator it seemed like just water! It did come from California so not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I'm more of the weekend warrior type so no judging my mechanic skills. Any friendly advice is always welcome! Here are a few pics I took along the way..

Looks a LOT nicer than the one it replaced!