Parts truck

I picked up a 1985 f150 300 inline 6 4spd yesterday for only $300. It’s  extremely rusty and has been off the road since 2017. The engine is extremely locked up and won’t budge. I plan on swapping the a/c and cruise into my truck. Is it factory for a manual truck to have a automatic column so it has cruise? Also was the double wheel well trim an  option?

Big6John wrote

Is it factory for a manual truck to have a automatic column so it has cruise?

Not sure to understand your question.  Even the standard (manual) transmission trucks can have cruise.

Right, manuals with manual columns can have speed control, aka cruise.  Big Blue does.

As for the A/C, did the truck you are installing it on come with A/C?  If not you in for a lot of work as the firewalls are different.

I believe your parts truck is really multiple parts trucks

Maybe someone changed the column at on time. Is there quite a difference in the firewall? Has anyone converted a non a/c truck to have a/c?

Big6John wrote

Has anyone converted a non a/c truck to have a/c?

Not me, but I considered so.  Don't forget all the air ducts and the dash air outputs.  And some supplemental holes through the firewall.

Pretty sure that someone here did this swap, but looks to not be easy job.

Dave/Fuzzface2 has put A/C in a non-A/C truck.  You might want to read how he did it here.

I have one that is a stalled project. too many other things come up. but I did have a parts truck being stripped so I could make a template to mount on my non ac truck and then make changes. I already had a factory ac setup waiting and a complete dash restored and crated. (still) hopefully I can get back to body working the cab soon. in my case I was removing a dealer air install and going factory. so, I needed to weld back steel where cuts had been made for the refrigerant hoses. the heater only box does have a different footprint than the ac. blower/ heater core are both under the hood where the ac has the evaporator under the hood with a mating duct mounted inside containing the heater core. this is best done with the whole dash removed but I won't go as far as to say it cannot be done otherwise. but consider this. the factory ac dash is different. sure, you can cut holes like the dealer did but personally I would source the dash also. and I have done this many times.

Sorry late to the party.
As Mat said it looks like that truck is made up from a few different ones.
Is the rest of the speed control under the hood of the truck?
If not then I would say something happened to the steering column and that one with the shifter was swapped in.

As for the AC, yes I added factory AC to a non-factory truck but not everyone or is that anyone?
Would do what I did and take half the AC firewall from an AC truck and graph it in to a non-AC truck.
They say you can cut the 3rd large hole, a few bolt holes and the heater hose hose to fit the AC box to the non-AC firewall.

Also as said the AC dash has the vents and the duct work needed to get air from the HVAC box on the firewall into the cab. The full dash / duct work will swap without issues.

There is a AC harness that plugs into the non-AC trucks harness.
You unplug a "loop" and plug in this AC harness that then plugs into the AC fan switch and blower motor.
You will also need the HVAC control but if you swap over the AC dash you will have the HVAC control, AC fan switch and duct work.

When I did my AC swap I also took the parts truck full wiring harness thinking the AC harness was built into it and then found it was a add on.
But it did work in my favor as the dual fuel tank is built into the trucks main harness and I added duel tanks to my flare side.

So in short the AC HVAC box on the firewall, dash with vents and duct work and the AC jumper harness.
Dave ----

Oh if you have all the under hood parts for AC on a 300, compressor brackets, compressor or manifolds bolted to it, hoses and pulleys / water pump and think crank.
Even if you dont use them you can sell them as they are getting hard to find for a 300 motor, V8's not so hard.
Dave ----

Thanks everyone for the info. I’m stripping the truck all the way down and keeping anything I might need to get my truck going. I all ready have all the brackets off a newer inline 6 with a/c so I’ll convert mine to the serp system. I’m keeping the engine for a later project with all the hardware and brackets. Last night I pulled the dash frame and all the interior pieces so today I’m going to pull the wire harness. I think I’m going to swap the harness into mine because the one in the parts truck has the a/c harness and the cruise control harness. Unless the cruise is another harness that will clip into the one I got. When I’m all done I’ll cut the firewall out. Is there much of a market for factory 4x4 front axels?

Is the cruise control harness separate or part of the main harness. And will intermittent wiper attach to a regular harness with out the intermittent wipers?

Dave Grant has cut the firewall of his Flareside to install factory AC.
It's documented here and on FTE.

The cruise wheel with wood trim is the same as a van.
If you decode the door sticker you'll know if it was an automatic truck swapped to gearbox pedals or a manual truck with a shift collar column swapped in.

Intermittent wipers, the knob turns to the left (counterclockwise)
Stealing the knob and wiper speed governor from a Bronco is a popular upgrade.
It fits any truck....

Speed control has an insert harness.  It goes between the two halves of C305, the curved connector near the steering column.  You just unplug them and plug this harness into them.  You can see that on our page at Documentation/Electrical/Speed Control.

And as Jim said the intermittent wipers are a popular addition to our trucks.  You can see the ones that work and how to do it on our page at Documentation/Electrical/Windshield Wipers.  You just unplug the existing harness from the existing switch, pull that switch and replace it with the delay switch, and plug the harness into the black plug on the delay module's harness.  Then plug the red plug from the delay module into the switch, put the ground wire under a screw that provides a good ground, and you are almost done.....  

Almost done because you need to mount the delay module.  However, note what it says on it - DO NOT DROP.  Actually, what it should say is DO NOT JAR.  The reason is that repeated jarring causes the solder joints inside it to crack and the unit to quit working.  See the "Fix Your Delay Module" tab if yours has quit working.  As for mounting, the best way is to wrap it in foam rubber and suspend it with a zip tie.  That's because releasing the park brake sends shock waves through the dash, and is known to damage the module.  So don't fasten it tightly to the dash, but do give it some padding.

Its a factory 4 SPD. I thinks the column was swapped because he wanted tilt.

Thanks everyone!! I think I got it pretty much figured out now.

I don't see many tilt wheels in manual trucks.

Mine had one, from the factory, but it's the only one I've seen.

Hen's teeth, or unicorn???