What makes Brutus so special

Brutus is just about ready to hit the road.  He'll be running the roads by monday.  We still have alot of odds and ends to finish up with once he gets back on the road, but the condition of our daily driver leaves us no choice, but in the end, it will probably end up working out for the better.

We're not trying to make a show truck or anything like that, but we love this truck and this truck has been the absolute best vehicle either of us has ever owned.

So you guys are going to see alot of progress over the next few days.
Some of you already know a bit about Brutus, and i found the information that makes this truck special ( what made it a limited edition )

As some of you know, Nick bought Brutus brand new.  it was the first truck he drove, and not wanting to buy the first truck, he test drove many other F150's.  He said nothing could compare to this particular truck.  The way it drove, the ride and the sheer power and stability.

And as some of you know Brutus got his name by a friend of Nicks.  Just to name 1 thing.  he pulled a 80 foot yacht out of the water in First gear almost idleing right out of the water.  Both a heavy duty Dodge and Cheverolet 2500 series trucks with big blocks failed.  When Nick decided to give it a try, they sat and laughed at the 6 cylinder backing down into the water and hooking up.  They stopped laughing when they didn't even hear the truck strain as it walked it right up out of the water.  From then on it was given the name Brutus.   Some people around town still refer to the Bullnose with an I6 as a " Brutus Truck "

I know i have this in a bunch of different threads, but i wanted to start a new one with the story and what i found first, then the progress pics.

Nick paid $14,000 bucks for Brutus back in 1986, and it wasn't until later on that we found out where all that money really went.

There were 1,012 of these trucks produced.
Brutus is a Military truck in a civilian sport/luxury dress

The original color was Baby Blue and it had a complicated Z vector stripe scheme on both sides of the bed.  ( i wish i had pics , but i do have the blue prints for the stripes if we ever decide to put it back in its original form )
The front and rear bumper and the mirrors were black and only had chrome around the wheel wells.
It came from the factory with the running boards, the bed liner, and the door panel pockets are the 87 style.

It wasn't until about 5 years ago we found out that this was a limited edition truck
so here is what it is:

Ford F150 1986 1/2 Military/Industrial/High Demand
Equivelant duty - F250

XLT Lariat
All trucks include

F350 hydraulic preasure equivalant brake system
Forged iron i beam suspension
Reinforced frame
Front reinforced ram frame
23 gallon fuel tank
150 amp charging system
Power steering cooling
Industrial I6 - 298 cid , 154 hp @ 352 ftlb torque
Torque at rear wheels 325 ftlb
Horse power at rear wheels 180 @ 2000 rpm
Industrial balanced cam, high lift/low profile
Fluid filled drive shaft
Detroit locker rear end
C6 Military/Industrial/High demand transmission

AM/FM cassette with premium sound with 6 x 9 speakers
Tilt steering wheel
Speed control
Light group
Power windows
Power door locks
Digital clock with trip minder
Cargo light
Courtesy lamp delay
Auto headlamps with delayed exit
Headlamp auto on with wiper system

there is some other stuff on the papers that i cant make out, they are in pretty bad shape, but i was able to make out the most important stuff.

Brutus was repainted back in 1997 after someone hit us in New Orleans, Nick had it painted a different color blue and the guy tried to copy the z stripes with pin striping.  needless to say it just didn't look good,

Fast forward to April of this year.  Our daily driver, 95 crown vic is shivering its timbers and is no longer reliable and needs much work, but we like the truck better so we starting putting the time and effort to make Brutus a daily driver again.

Now the crown vic is really on its last leg so Brutus has to get back on the road asap.
to start off  i did a photo collage of what Brutus looked like when we started



Since then
All the body work and paint is done  ( have much touching up to do, but that is going to have to wait )
All the wire harness's have been completely custom made by Nick and every wire in the cab is brand new
All current draw devices: headlights, blower motor, power windows etc  are controlled via TTL and Relay logic
Remote keyless entry
Custom made audiophile grade audio system utilizing the chassis and faceplate of the original radio with hands free full frequency response bluetooth built in
Digital speedometer
New exhaust
new cooling system
New fuel system
New HVAC system
Brakes
seals
Power lumbar seat


So now we have to get this all put back together again.
Glad my boss gave me today off.

Have a great weekend and check back to see 2 backyard mechanics put a truck back together and road worthy in a weekend

Here's where we are at right now

Wow!  That is quite a list!  Some of those options I've never seen before, like the headlights on with wipers. Perhaps they are '87 options on an '86 truck?  

Gary, this truck gives so much trouble when trying to find parts and stuff like that.  you can tell some of the stuff was shoved in there.  the 6x9 speaker cut outs look like somebody did it with a can opener.  I think the auto lamp wiper on is from a lincoln if i'm not mistaken, but it does have some 1987 stuff.   We have the same problem with our 79 ranchero, its a half yar commerative edition.  They sent it out with a bang with a whole bunch of options that weren't available.  Its basically a Ranchero with Thunderbird Town Landau stuff.

what an interesting cluster set up you guys have and I like the aluminized bezels.

Can you elaborate on whats going on there?

Pretty!

Nick installed a digital speedometer from an 83 town car.  The instrument cluster he did himself he did in gray to match the bezels.  The bezels are original to the truck and have always been gray just a bit darker.  From when it was new, it never really did look right with the woodgrain steering wheel and the gray bezels. and if you notice the chrome around the door panel is painted the same color gray.  That with the flouresccent orange needles i think looks really good.

The inside is nearly done and just about ready for the seat to get bolted in

Looks great, George!  I hope Brutus is inside away from the elements.

TheScatch wrote

what an interesting cluster set up you guys have and I like the aluminized bezels.

They look good. I have a woodgrain set from an '86 that I was going to try and paint...not sure how that will turn out though.

The original bezels were gray, we repainted them.  The cluster itself Nick did.  The horn pad was woodgrain and is painted the same color.  He used Rustoleum wheel paint to do it.  

86 1/2 Brutus wrote

Nick installed a digital speedometer from an 83 town car.  The instrument cluster he did himself he did in gray to match the bezels.  The bezels are original to the truck and have always been gray just a bit darker.  From when it was new, it never really did look right with the woodgrain steering wheel and the gray bezels. and if you notice the chrome around the door panel is painted the same color gray.  That with the flouresccent orange needles i think looks really good.

George, if you ever wanted to do something different with the tachometer, look at this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1986-1988-Thunderbird-Cougar-NOS-REMAN-DIGITAL-TACHOMETER-MULTI-GAUGE-INDICATOR/154126774679?hash=item23e2abf197:g:nsoAAOSwxr1ffieA

That would probably work.  now you got me thinking here, but at the price they want,   I'm going to show it to nick and see what he says.

Just ordered the gas tank for  Brutus aka " ghost truck "  He came with a 23 gallon side mount fuel tank.  a few years ago the sending unit went out and spent countless hours trying to find one for a 23 gallon tank.  The 19 gallon side mount fits and we had to get it.  It works with the exception it dosent reach to the bottom of the tank quite naturally.   We thought about modifying it, but in the end decided to go ahead and buy a new fuel tank