I had a little shorty '66 Econoline window van. I always liked the look of the front ends on those and for $100, I had a mobile vehicle to keep some of my other parts in that wouldn't be an eyesore to my neighbors. It had a three on the tree with that spindly linkage and I was lucky to live in a harbor town Toledo, OR. with shops that'd stock odd bearings, bossed flanges and so forth, so was able to firm up the shift considerably after tracking down a correct sized bushing.
Another detractor of this old '66 besides being a window van was the P.O. had painted it with traffic yellow, so bright that I got a call from the ISS that they wanted to use it as a land based beacon. No losing THAT van in a parking lot.
The real concern was a terrible constant knocking in the bottom end. The motor would be turn key start up, rev up fine and run out to 60 mph, but I used it mainly for storage. I later saved up enough kazooks to get a 170 out of a '70's Maverick, whose shape matched the externals of the 140 residing in this '66.
Had a friend 70 miles distant that had a barn to do the transplant, so I motored out to Tangent OR. clattering all the way, a sound that I had become accustomed to. He wasn't home when I arrived so parked it in front of the barn doors until the following weekend when I could have at it.
Returning the next weekend, with my friend to unlock the barn, I fired up the van and started backing into the shop area when all of a sudden the motor knock ceased.
The motor was still running as I was backing, so brought 'er in and shut 'er down.
Peering out the windshield, I noticed a part laying in a puddle of oil, witha thin trail of oil running towards the front of the van. I walked out and picked up the part and saw that it was THREE LOBES OF THE CAMSHAFT that had broken loose, two intakes and an exhaust lobe! had found its way down the engine to the crankcase. Looking at my oil pan it looked like the old Ball Park franks televison commercial, "plumps when ya cook 'em" the pan had several golf ball sized dents along its length, save for the gash that a counter balance lobe of the crank finally defeated the oil pan.
Returning to the van and turning the key, she fired right up again, with what residual oil was left in the bearings.
After all was said and done I considered getting one of those vanity plates ~ "TIMEX"
Another detractor of this old '66 besides being a window van was the P.O. had painted it with traffic yellow, so bright that I got a call from the ISS that they wanted to use it as a land based beacon. No losing THAT van in a parking lot.
The real concern was a terrible constant knocking in the bottom end. The motor would be turn key start up, rev up fine and run out to 60 mph, but I used it mainly for storage. I later saved up enough kazooks to get a 170 out of a '70's Maverick, whose shape matched the externals of the 140 residing in this '66.
Had a friend 70 miles distant that had a barn to do the transplant, so I motored out to Tangent OR. clattering all the way, a sound that I had become accustomed to. He wasn't home when I arrived so parked it in front of the barn doors until the following weekend when I could have at it.
Returning the next weekend, with my friend to unlock the barn, I fired up the van and started backing into the shop area when all of a sudden the motor knock ceased.
The motor was still running as I was backing, so brought 'er in and shut 'er down.
Peering out the windshield, I noticed a part laying in a puddle of oil, witha thin trail of oil running towards the front of the van. I walked out and picked up the part and saw that it was THREE LOBES OF THE CAMSHAFT that had broken loose, two intakes and an exhaust lobe! had found its way down the engine to the crankcase. Looking at my oil pan it looked like the old Ball Park franks televison commercial, "plumps when ya cook 'em" the pan had several golf ball sized dents along its length, save for the gash that a counter balance lobe of the crank finally defeated the oil pan.
Returning to the van and turning the key, she fired right up again, with what residual oil was left in the bearings.
After all was said and done I considered getting one of those vanity plates ~ "TIMEX"
That's a great story and congrats on not getting stranded out on the road half way from nowhere! 
I also have a story about one of my favorite trucks a 1965 F350. I had done a budget rebuild to a used 300 six and its was running great along the 5 freeway was just at the bottom of the grapevine heading towards Bakersfield. I was coming back after hauling a big load of parts into L.A. cruising along at 62 mph I was thinking to myself how great that engine sounded when just then it exploded 
kicking a Rod out the side of the block and sending a big chunk of the camshaft from the right lane all the way across into the center divider lucky there was no one beside me. It was done so I put the trans in neutral and coasted off the next exit and right into the truck stop. :nod
