Florida man buys 1985 F-150, joins Bullnose Forum

Hello all,

My name is Tyler from Gainesville, FL

I bought a 1985 F-150, 300 straight six, manual RWD back in March of 2021, and have been enjoying every minute of it. I have been lurking the web page and forum since then, finding it very useful in getting the truck back in decent shape.

Since it is a Florida/Georgia truck, it is in fairly good shape mechanically and on the body. It is the two tone Dark Charcoal Metallic / Light Charcoal Metallic, long bed with dual tanks. I was lucky to find one with power locks and power windows, as well as A/C since I'm down here in what we call The Swamp.

I have done some cleaning up of parts, having replaced bulbs almost all around, as well as the faded bulb housings for the turn signals, side markers, and tail lights, and chased down some interior pieces to replace the faded burl wood dash. Mechanically I have sorted out a vacuum leak at the plenum gasket, replaced the master cylinder for the brakes, and the 3port fuel selector switch. Otherwise, the truck has been in good condition, with the exception of cracked vinyl flooring, and a hole in the bench seat vinyl.  

As far as plans for the truck, I would like to address the body work and repair what specs of rust there are. One night in September I had an unlicensed, uninsured, and heavily impaired guy back into me in a parking lot causing a small dent below the side of my tail light, but other than that I can't complain.

Welcome, Tyler!  Glad you joined.  

Would you like to be on our map?  (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu.)

Nice truck!  Bummer on the dent, but apparently it wasn't too bad.

Sure thing,
Zip Code 32653 just outside of Gainesville, FL

You are now on the map.  

Welcome!

Really nice looking rig and nice color package.
Bummer about what that unlicensed driver did.

Welcome Aboard!

The straight-six is nice because there is a lot more room in the engine compartment, and, they seem to have fewer, plus easier to fix, problems. I like that.

Welcome aboard Tyler! You get an internet high five for the title of this thread lol. It was an eye catcher.

I've been to Florida a bunch of times for business and pleasure, but I don't know if I've ever been to Gainesville. On one of my work trips, I had to drive north up to Atlanta and with a little time to spare I drove up through the middle of the state and did some rural roads. I remember seeing farms, and stopping at these little roadside fruit stands...picked up some fresh honey too. I remember it being really nice through there. As a tourist, you kinda always think of Orlando and Tampa, etc...and forget that there are some really nice areas off the beaten path.

Nice Bullnose, and welcome aboard!

Thank you

Seems about right for Florida if you aren't in a specific city. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, but just outside of town, you can really get that old Florida feeling. I grew up in Miami, so Gainesville was definitely a change of pace. After 11 years here, I enjoy the laidback feel, and would put it somewhere between a small city and college town. Driving a Bullnose around town, and around campus, turns a few heads. I used to be a Honda Civic guy at one point, but instead of 16yo's trying to race me at every stoplight, now I have knucklehead freshmen trying to roll coal past me in their 2019 squatting trucks that daddy bought them.

The best part of my day are the guys who chase me down in the parking lot or at the gas station and ask me what engine I have, and how they used to have one of these trucks back in the day. When I tell them straight six, they smile and say "that thing will last forever". Since we have the nicer climate down here, there are a ton of 87+ Fords still on the road, but no one has a Bullnose anymore. With the blue FL antique tag, everyone treats it like spotting the rare bird. In the past year that I've owned it, I've only seen a handful of Bullnoses in town. Only when you get out in the sticks, you'll see one every now and then, parked beside a barn full of other trucks.

Given that I live in Florida, I decided a "Florida man" title was worth posting. From The Keys to the Panhandle, something sure is different down here. At least we don't have to worry about emissions testing down here... for now.

Welcome to the group. That is definitely a good looking truck! We actually have a Florida Man emoji after Gary Lewis bought a 1985 F250 that Larry, Moe and Curly must have worked on. Poor guy that owned it had put a ton of money in it and couldn't even drive it.

I have owned my Bullnose since April 1994, so they are habit forming, just be warned. They don't have all the amenities of newer trucks, don't always ride as nicely nor handle quite as well.

The 300 six, only issues with them were the original emission systems used pre-EFI (1988 up). If everything is there it runs great and gets tolerable gas mileage, weak spot is the ignition module located on the side of the distributor, heat will kill it periodically. Your reference to no emission testing makes suspect your truck has it removed and if it was done right, essentially turns it into a late 70s style (I had a 1977 F150 with the 300).

Gary and I have the opposite extreme on gas engines, 460s in both our trucks that are now far from the way they left the factories. Both have been converted to EFI, his has a ZF 5 speed and mine an E4OD automatic, neither of which were available in the Bullnose models.

Our son and family live in Palm Beach Gardens and we've driven down I75 through your area a few times.  Glad you found a laid back feeling 'cause PBG sure doesn't have it.  

Here in Okiehoma we have a few Bulls running around, and even a few Dents and Bumps.  But they do get noticed.  People I talk to say "I've seen that truck around."

Welcome Tyler, I grew up in Lake City, just north of Gainesville and worked at UF Housing until retirement in 13. But I’m still a FSU fan.
Driving around campus you would see anything from a truck jacked up so high you could almost walk under, to the low riders that would drag the speed bumps. But it was the 70s and 80s trucks that would catch the eye, there is something about the design.
I have both a 84 and an 86, the 84 4 wheel drive, manual transmission, carburetor, the 86 XLT 2 wheel drive, automatic, EFI.
Most of the system on both are, repairable by me, with lots of help from the guys on here. Someday, with Bill and Gary’s continued help,  I may even understand how to tune a carburetor

David