1969 Ford F600 Ridealong

The dump truck had to go in for its yearly NYS inspection, so we made a ridealong video. Editing is a little choppy where I cut out the 3 minutes of warming the truck up -- first time using avidemux under Linux.
The truck is rated for 23,000# GVW, runs 8.25x20 rubber on original split rims, no power steering (by design!), Ford FT 391 gasoline V8, 4-speed transmission (unsynchronized first) with 2-speed electric shift rear end, and vacuum boosted hydraulic drum brakes. The parking brake is a driveshaft type drum, and does still work, though it won't keep you from moving in 1L or 2L.
And yes, we did pass inspection!

[@Bkrites]

this truck has the most aggressive turn signal flasher ever.....

[@IsaacSchuler]

Mine does the same thing lol

[@vertonmccaulou5]

Mine too 68 f600

[@hoss73ford]

thanks for the memories. I learned to drive truck in one of these , a '68 and a couple older ones.

[@IsaacSchuler]

A 68 F800 is what I'm learning to drive a stick in now :)

[@hoss73ford]

+Isaac Schuler How neat. Always have a place in my heart for the bigger trucks.

[@maurauder6762]

Back in 69 when I was 7 I would ride in my dad's work garbage truck every Saturday on his half day route, was so cool watching him run through the gears great memories, I miss you dad.

[@8LLRoadranger]

That Truck is Great... I would love to have it!

[@richdiscoveries]

Awesome truck, thanks for sharing. I love the way it did not care about that hill at all

[@glitchwrks]

Plenty of power for an old gasser! If you're ever in Troy, NY, you will likely encounter Hoosic Street, which is quite steep. I'd made many trips up Hoosic Street loaded with around 5 tons of dirt and gravel, you definitely wanted the gear splitter but it was no problem to pull it.

[@glitchwrks]

It turns out NAPA does carry the blades that fit it -- as you suggested, look for the blades that fit another F-series of the same year. The "old guy" at our local NAPA was able to come out and identify which blades we needed almost instantly.

[@oilmaninpowell]

I had a 69' F500 with a 330CID. One of my favorite vehicles.

[@DB_1967]

whats your mpg in one of these?

[@headfirst6227]

I love these old trucks. You can almost hear it galloping. It is a dump truck and not a hay truck, but it will die if you don't feed it.

[@josephwschmidt7464]

You and her jump in back then Passover

[@Bayan1905]

It's like my Ford, let it warm up for a while and she's good.

[@Boatyarddog]

This video gets more interesting with every click, click, click of that turn signal

[@GearheadExplorer85]

@glitchwrks Nice truck man! When I was growing up, these gas v8 trucks were still pretty common. There was something about the sound of these big v8's that always caught my attention. What kind of work do you do with your trucks? Or is this a project/hobby for you?

[@glitchwrks]

Crockett85 We picked up the F600 for our house renovation project. The house is from the first half of the 19th century, so it has plaster and lath walls. Unfortunately, it was abandoned for some time and the roof went. We've removed probably 50-75 tons of plaster! It was cheaper to buy a dump truck than to keep paying for dumpster rentals. Plus, I enjoy working on them!

[@brentbell9543]

No need to split the gears if you’re not loaded. I just make split at the end if I need to.

[@tomadkins2866]

I'm really late to this party. Haha, That's about what it's like driving my 73 F-600 dump, only with a little less acceleration. She's only a 330 FT with an Allison 4 Speed and 6 old, square bias ply tires for the moment. 50 mph is the end of the world and it takes quite a bit to get there if you can keep your teeth in . Tubeless radial tires are high on the To Do list. LOL.

[@thetickfarm160]

Like them old Fords.

[@dustyrhodes9422]

never put any of mine in low on rear end. dont need to. i m at 24,500 with gravel and truck and high on rear end never any issue

[@geronimotudor3386]

Hey! I KNOW YOU! You fixed my Macintosh Computers a while ago!!! Small world! Albany.

[@glitchwrks]

Quite probably :)

[@EM6285]

Get the blades and wiper arm from an F150-F350 of the same year as they use the same CAB as your F-600 truck

[@scrappydogfinance8434]

The turn signal Flasher is loud as hell

[@glitchwrks]

Sure is! Extra heavy duty flasher modules for driving trailer wiring. The previous owner had pulled a pintle hook trailer with it.

[@tyleregan9927]

Can you share the shift pattern? Trying to figure out gears and shifting issues on my 69 F600.

[@glitchwrks]

If it's the same 4-speed as I had in this truck, first is all the way left and very up -- feels like you're going to hit the dash. Then it's regular H pattern, with reverse all the way right and down. First is unsynchronized on that transmission, so you'll grind going down into it if you don't double-clutch. You probably also have a two-speed rear end, which should be electric in a '69 model. Button down should be low range, but probably a quarter of the old trucks I've driven had it reversed due to hack wiring! The green truck in some of my other videos was reversed like that when I got it, such that button down was high range. The trick to the two-speed rear end is to wind it up to the top of the gear you're in, lift the button while you're still on the gas, give it a second or two to load up the rear end shift spring, and then let off the gas. You don't need to hit the clutch usually. If you have a vacuum shift rear end, it'll take longer to load up. Beware that there were options in that year, and besides you may have something weird/nonstandard/random swapped in!

[@MarkAvery-uy7pg]

Great Vid and engine sounds great. Just picked an f600 up. Got a question for you. Does your ride have a valve to switch from tank behind seat to the rear gas tank? If so, which direction does the switch/valve go? Thank you

[@glitchwrks]

The '71 (green truck in the other videos) had dual tanks, the cab tank and a small saddle tank on the driver's side. The tank and valve were aftermarket. I never used the cab tank, but the valve pointed toward the rear for the saddle tank, or toward the passenger side for the cab tank.

[@MarkAvery-uy7pg]

Thank you!

[@hoss73ford]

+glitchwrks Friend of mine in the late '80s bought a 1970 Ford F700 cab and chassis (originally had 18 foot bed) and he built a camper on the back and was able to register it as an RV after an inspection. By 1970 they had decent rear axle ratios and were able to do highway speeds without the engine screaming.

[@MichaelTJD60]

My uncle has an old '61 F-600 cab and chassis project truck. I was wondering, do you have to have a CDL to drive that truck? I'm in New Jersey and you're in New York but I would think the requirements, etc would be the same. Maybe I could drive the '61 if we ever get it running.

[@glitchwrks]

The CDL requirement is based on registered weight and, in some states, air brakes. As long as your F-600 doesn't have air brakes, and you aren't placarded for hazmat, a CDL isn't required if you stay under 26,000 lbs GVW. My F-600's cab plate says 23,000 GVW max, so it shouldn't be a problem. Do note that if you register above 18,000 GVW you will need a DOT number on the side and you'll probably have to pay Highway Use Tax and get a heavy vehicle inspection.

[@hoss73ford]

+glitchwrks Always put "Not for Hire" on it. Depending on what state one lives in, they may have to stop at weigh stations anyways.

[@Bret4207]

@@hoss73ford "Not for Hire" means nothing. In fact it's a "STOP ME!!!" sign to many LEO's. It's all about whether or not you are in "commerce" and the vehicles GVWR. Trust me, retired DOT cop.

[@wkualum3194]

Do these require a cdl?

[@glitchwrks]

Nope, under 26,000 LBS and not hauling hazmat or a liquid tank. In NY you do require a NY CDL over 18,000 LBS, but that particular truck was registered under 18K.

[@glitchwrks]

I wish -- I can't find anyone locally that sells the right blade! Any suggestions on where to buy setscrew type wiper blades?

[@erikbreaman9124]

but can you drive it without using the brakes?

[@tomadkins2866]

I drove mine home about 45 miles with NO brakes. If that helps.

[@JANIGHTENGALE]

Is like driving a super 10

[@12vblowingblacksmoke]

what kind of mileage do you get?

[@glitchwrks]

Around 15 MPG empty/highway, 5 MPG loaded.

[@patr10t762]

I have been jonesing for a deuce and a half but they are at the top of my price range. If one thing fails it could financially destroy me. So now Im looking at this era and class of truck. Oh btw put pure gas in her ethanol will destroy plastic and rubber in the fuel system half and half pure and regular (5%) is better than 10% ethanol. ADD moment. Parts are more available and affordable and a simple carbourated engine. My fear is a diesel injection pump fail in a deuce $1000. A carb $300. And I can teach my girls to operate it and instuctions wont begin with "install this battery cable" and" wait for air pressure annoying buzzer to stop".

[@glitchwrks]

These old trucks are easy to learn to drive/work on and just keep going. Drove out of the foot of snow we got over the weekend no problem, cranked over twice and started at 10 degrees. You can get a deuce cheaply if you hunt around, my brother picked one up with no bed and no brakes for $500. You can also get them with hydraulic brakes -- just air for trailer brakes. The most expensive part of any multifuel/diesel is going to be the injection pump, even for our old diesel VW Rabbits it's a $600 rebuild. On the other hand, one of our pumps leaks like crazy and still starts in the cold/gets 50+ MPG.