1982 F100 Flareside ... AKA: Old Blue

Hello All,

My name is Chase and I'm from Mulvane, KS. My Bullnose story starts way back when I was a 15 year old kid looking for his first car. I had saved up money for years from mowing lawns and I found an 82 F100 Flareside that was in my budget. It was something to look at! It had an "okay" MAACO paintjob in metallic blue, rally bars running down the sides, and best of all it had beautifully stained oak boards in the bed. It also had a 351w, which I loved, but the economy at the time did not. When gas peaked at about $4 a gallon around 2008, I had to make the hard choice of selling it to afford something with better gas mileage. I traded it, and no lie, I did shed a tear or two driving away from the dealership. It has long haunted me as one of my most silly mistakes..

However...

The reason I chose to buy that bullnose came from a more personal reason. My great grandfather had purchased an 82 flareside brand new the year it came out. It was the last car he would ever buy and it served him well as he worked on the family farm over the next two decades. In 2000, he passed away and left his truck, "Old Blue," to my grandma. I always loved that piece of crap farm truck. I thought it looked so cool even though the wood bed was rotting and it was covered in rust. So backtracking to high school, 15 year old me found a truck for sale that was the exact year, color, and model as my great grandpa's truck!

Over the years since selling my first truck, I was able to convince my grandma to pass "Old Blue" along to me one day. While back from college one summer she randomly showed up at our house and asked me to give her a dollar. A pretty odd question coming from a grandma, i know. I gave her a buck and she handed me the title to "Old Blue."

Now "Old Blue" has been in my name for a few years now, but I am an elementary teacher without much to spend on a complete restoration, which is what it needed. Early last summer (2018), I finally decided to bite the bullet and get to work on her. I towed her over to my house and my dad and I started tearing her apart and fixing her piece by piece. We have a long road ahead of us, but this truck is by far my prized possession.

I am happy to say that I have ordered a new engine and it arrived TODAY. I have a local mechanic who is going to help me with the install, but the best part is that OLD BLUE LIVES AGAIN!

I have attached a picture of "Old Blue" on the day we decided to pull her over to my house and get to work. I even was able to dig up one of me with my high school truck while I was in the 16 year-old-with-sideburns phase.

Chase - Welcome to the forum!!!  

And, as a grandfather, I love that story.  I hope my grandkids like the vehicles I'm going to pass down to them, and would be thrilled if they would take the kind of interest in them you are in your grandfather's truck.  

For the rest of you since Chase and I've conversed in the background, his town is ~40 miles from my home town of Ark City, Kansas.  And, it is on "the way" to get to Wichita, the big city where all the shopping was.  And, where Janey and I lived for 6 years.  So we traveled that road many, many times and know Mulvane well.

And, hopefully Chase can make it down to our show/swap meet this fall so we can meet him in person.

Welcome! Very cool background to this truck!

Great story! The "new" truck has nice bones! Welcome!

Thanks for the warm welcome! I've already spoken to my dad and the September show is going to be a goal for us. Hopefully we can keep working hard and have it ready to make it down there.

Also, here are a few pictures of Blue and what we have done so far...







And the one thing about the truck that I may be most excited about... the wood bed! I bought this from MAR-K in Oklahoma City. Wonderfully crafted and great quality!

Yippee!  Love to meet you, your father, and Old Blue in September!  

But, don't be afraid to bring him on a trailer if you have to do so.  Dad's truck should be there this year, albeit on a trailer as it should have the engine and tranny in, but no wiring, interior, etc.

And, that bed looks awesome!  Plus, I like the wheels - the same ones as will be on Dad's truck.  My brother, which I'd mentioned lives in AC, found a set in OKC and bought them for me.  I've since polished them and put a clear powder coat on them.

Gary Lewis wrote

Plus, I like the wheels - the same ones as will be on Dad's truck.  My brother, which I'd mentioned lives in AC, found a set in OKC and bought them for me.  I've since polished them and put a clear powder coat on them.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1026017-refinishing-aluminum-wheels-3.html

Yep, that's when I did them.  

Great story Old Blue, and nice project you've got there.

I'm a big fan of the Bullnose Flaresides. My current machine is an 84 Flareside that I call the "Blue Mule". Full disclosure, I stole the name from the cabover Ford from the movie White Line Fever (1975).



When I was a kid, I couldn't get enough of that stuff...Smokey & The Bandit, Convoy, etc. My father was crazy about that stuff, and as a kid I was too...lol. The truck in White Line Fever was the star of that movie, and the name stuck with me all these years. I had a dark blue 1980 F100 Flareside back in the early 1990's, and even back then, that truck was affectionately named the Blue Mule.

Keep us posted on your build. You're surrounded by Bullnose fanatics on this forum;).

Who's a fanatic?????  

(Let's see, I only have two Bullnose trucks, as well as a part or two.  And a website.  And a forum.  Fanatic?  )

Gary Lewis wrote

Who's a fanatic?????  

Hi, my name is Gary, and I have a Bullnose problem...

Welcome Chase!

I look forward to following your build. It's tough with no real budget, but it can be done. Hang in there. Thanks for sharing the back story.

Rembrant wrote

Great story Old Blue, and nice project you've got there.

I'm a big fan of the Bullnose Flaresides. My current machine is an 84 Flareside that I call the "Blue Mule". Full disclosure, I stole the name from the cabover Ford from the movie White Line Fever (1975).



When I was a kid, I couldn't get enough of that stuff...Smokey & The Bandit, Convoy, etc. My father was crazy about that stuff, and as a kid I was too...lol. The truck in White Line Fever was the star of that movie, and the name stuck with me all these years. I had a dark blue 1980 F100 Flareside back in the early 1990's, and even back then, that truck was affectionately named the Blue Mule.

Keep us posted on your build. You're surrounded by Bullnose fanatics on this forum;).

That's funny! I always think of that when I hear or read the Blue Mule somewhere! I really liked those shows too. Great picture!

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your truck’s history, that is a neat story. And I love the truck! If you can make it to the show and get together in September you won’t be disappointed 😁

Hmmm... is it just me or does the guy in front of the Blue Mule remind anyone else of Chris Tubutis?

LOL!  No, I hadn't noticed that.  But, now that I look again.....  Maybe a short Chris?

Perhaps Chris will comment?