Nice Flareside near Indy - $4500

That's a much better look.  

We watched the made-for-TV movie about the Branch Davidians, and there was a Bullnose with a later bed in it.  Saw it several times - and didn't like it.

Rembrant wrote

Yeah, you can see that the Bullnose rear wheel openings match the front. I think the wheel openings on the 1987 Flareside are probably the same as on the 1987-up Styleside beds?

Yes, that looks much much better!!!

Are you specifically looking for a Flareside?

I saw this one below the other day and thought it was a nice little truck for the money (assuming it is as rust free as claimed); Looks great in the pics.

https://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1986-f150-4x4/6687465229.html

That is a pretty good looker.

For some reason I just really like the look of the flaresides, and broncos. I like these bullnose trucks to sit up a little too. A lot of the trucks that have the original nose dive stance look smaller. But when you stick that nose up in the air a little it makes the truck look tougher. IMHO

So, Big Blue needs the nose higher?

Big blue already sits up pretty high. I guess I should clarify. A regular F150 2wd with the nose dive stance looks off to me. You know a regular truck that has the normal ride height. I like them to have a level stance. Any angle down in the front just doesn't look right to me. It's just my opinion though.

You remember that white truck I had? Its stance bothered me. When I put that front sway bar in the suspension lifted naturally and gave it a much better stance.

Ray Cecil wrote

Big blue already sits up pretty high. I guess I should clarify. A regular F150 2wd with the nose dive stance looks off to me. You know a regular truck that has the normal ride height. I like them to have a level stance. Any angle down in the front just doesn't look right to me. It's just my opinion though.

You remember that white truck I had? Its stance bothered me. When I put that front sway bar in the suspension lifted naturally and gave it a much better stance.

I actually prefer the factory ride height, with the front slightly lower. However, I know I'm probably in the minority these days as leveling kits are quite common (as are lowering and lift kits). My 84 is lower in the front, but I like it that way.

Interesting on the natural lift of the sway bar....

I have front and rear sway bars I'm waiting to install in my 84. Should I expect the front end to lift a little bit as a result?...and if so, how much?

Rembrant wrote

I have front and rear sway bars I'm waiting to install in my 84. Should I expect the front end to lift a little bit as a result?...and if so, how much?

I saw about 3/4" to 1-1/4" rise. The sway bar tied the two control arms together and if I remember correctly, the bracket for the sway bar went under the spring? I could be wrong. But yeah there was at least 3/4" rise. Connecting the control arms together helps them work together better and created the lift. Your Mileage may vary. The increase in handling was drastic!

The sway bar itself does not lift the vehicle.  It adds weight, which will lower it slightly (probably imperceptibly).  But if you add spacers under the springs to connect the sway bars, those spacers might affect ride height enough to notice.

Steve83 wrote

The sway bar itself does not lift the vehicle.  It adds weight, which will lower it slightly (probably imperceptibly).  But if you add spacers under the springs to connect the sway bars, those spacers might affect ride height enough to notice.

Bracket 5486 in the diagram is what I remember placing under the springs. The action of the sway bar once braced to the two main frame rails along with the links on the control arms had a net effect of lifting my truck. There is no debating, the front end of my truck went up. I had to realign the tie-rods and take the eccentric upper bushings all the way out to compensate chamber for the lift. It was border line needing to have the H beams bent to get the proper chamber. I used all new Poly bushings when installing the bar. Maybe rubber would have a lesser lifting effect.

Steve83 wrote

The sway bar itself does not lift the vehicle.  It adds weight, which will lower it slightly (probably imperceptibly).  But if you add spacers under the springs to connect the sway bars, those spacers might affect ride height enough to notice.

I guess I'll have to just install what I have and see how it sits. I'm installing the coil spring mounts with the sway-bar link attachment points, but I'll be removing my factory non-sway-bar mounts. My concern is that the swaybar mounts I have are a little shorter than my factory mounts, so it will alter my ride height, at least a little bit. I was going to add flat spacers to correct the difference, but if there's any "lift" caused by the swaybar install, then I guess I won't need the spacers.

Rembrant wrote

Steve83 wrote

The sway bar itself does not lift the vehicle.  It adds weight, which will lower it slightly (probably imperceptibly).  But if you add spacers under the springs to connect the sway bars, those spacers might affect ride height enough to notice.

I guess I'll have to just install what I have and see how it sits. I'm installing the coil spring mounts with the sway-bar link attachment points, but I'll be removing my factory non-sway-bar mounts. My concern is that the swaybar mounts I have are a little shorter than my factory mounts, so it will alter my ride height, at least a little bit. I was going to add flat spacers to correct the difference, but if there's any "lift" caused by the swaybar install, then I guess I won't need the spacers.

You will certainly see some lift. Don't look at it from a dimensional "stack up" of the springs/brackets. The lift comes from the additional forces created between the sway bar links and the frame rail mount bushings. If you are concerned with the lift, I would use rubber, as it would probably lift less, and it would allow more "give" in the sway bar bushings. I used poly, and those are hard, and no doubt added more lift than the rubber would have.

Ray Cecil wrote

Bracket 5486 in the diagram is what I remember placing under the springs.

That's the only thing that would affect ride height.  The sway bar does not, in any way other than slightly weighing the truck down, regardless of the type of bushings.

Rembrant wrote

My concern is that the swaybar mounts I have are a little shorter than my factory mounts, so it will alter my ride height, at least a little bit.

I assume Ford would have designed the 2WD non-sway-bar & 2WD with-sway-bar spacers to be the same height.  But I know that the 2WD spacer is marked as such, and the 4WD spacer is slightly taller.

In any case, just measure before & after.  This explains how to measure ride height:

Steve83 wrote

I assume Ford would have designed the 2WD non-sway-bar & 2WD with-sway-bar spacers to be the same height.  But I know that the 2WD spacer is marked as such, and the 4WD spacer is slightly taller.

There are a lot of variations of those spacers...oh my. I've found many different ones. The sway-bar units I have are from a 4x4 truck, and they are actually shorter than the factory 2wd ones in my truck. There are short ones, and tall ones...I've seen both. I have no idea what dictated the differences, but they seem to vary a lot from truck to truck. (and they vary in height from left to right as well).

In any case, my plan is to measure it all and try to return everything to the existing ride height. If I have to add additional spacers to achieve that, I will. Alternatively, if I happen to find a set of the sway-bar spacers the exact same height as mine in the meantime, I will grab them.

Well, not so seem like an a-hole here, but have you ever did the swap yourself? I bought a parts truck 81 f100 that had the 2wd sway bar setup. I did the swap and the ride height was affected. I know you aren't calling me a liar, but dimensional stack-up from the spring pocket in the frame down to the spring mount on the control arm is NOT the only thing that affects ride height.

I am not sure exactly how to explain the geometry in words, but I could show you with a diagram how an upward  force on the frame can be applied by the sway bar once attaching it to the control arms.

I'm not just some crazy person. Although I look like one in the avatar...

Ray Cecil wrote

...have you ever did the swap yourself?

Yes, several times, in both directions (adding & removing sway bars), on my truck and many others like it.

Ray Cecil wrote

I know you aren't calling me a liar...

No, but the TIB/TTB suspension is difficult for most people to understand.  Even for many of the pros I've worked with.

Ray Cecil wrote

..dimensional stack-up from the spring pocket in the frame down to the spring mount on the control arm is NOT the only thing that affects ride height.

Right.  Weight (like the weight of the front sway bar) on the spring also affects it.  And within the context of the stock TIB/TTB suspension, those are the only 2 things that affect ride height (measured between the frame & suspension).  Of course, tires affect overall ride height, and extreme rim offset can, too (due to the change in leverage against the springs).

Ray Cecil wrote

I'm not just some crazy person.

Me either.  I've done most of these swaps a few times each on my truck; several more times on other people's vehicles; and I was an ASE pro for several years at several dealerships & independent shops.

Here's a quick easy test: measure your truck's ride height as that previous diagram shows (which stipulates flat ground).  Then pull the front sway bar end link bolts, and measure again.  It will be the same.  The proof is that there's no vertical load on those bolts when you try to pull them out and the bar doesn't move away from the bolt hole, so the bar isn't holding the truck up at all.  Also, the fact that the sway bar & end link mounts don't support any torque (they pivot with the suspension) proves they can't support any weight.  The sway bar will swing down just from gravity when you unbolt the 2nd end link (assuming its bushings are lubed properly).  Then try to lift the truck by pushing up on the sway bar bolts where the end links attach - it's impossible, until the bar is in a position not possible when it's attached.  So the end links can't raise the truck, either.

The only thing an anti-sway bar does is resist a difference in ride height from side-to-side (aka: sway).

Well, I guess my 86 just jumped up for no reason, and it happened to correspond to me installing a sway bar....I don't know.