Gary Lewis

Here's what the part numbers are. Note that it says 1988 & '89. Not '87. But that's at odds with the illustration that says '87 on.

Cool! 5 grand ain't too shabby. Let's make that easier to view:

Well done, Jim!

I don't know what this is for. Like the seller said, there is no E4TZ 17A958-B in the catalog. But there is an E0TZ 17A958-B, which is for 1980/86 Broncos w/a step bumper.

Wow! That's a good price!

LOL! Milo Minderbinder.

Jim - Does this help?

I understand. I'm so forgetful I have to use my real name.

How does it work? What did you have to do to make it work?

EOTZ 9275-G Use with 19 gallon midship steel fuel tank-incl. COAF 9276-A gasket 80/84 F100/350 - - 133" W/B 80/84 F150/350 (Super Cab) - - 155",168" W/B 80/84 F350(81) — (Regular Cab) 136.8", 160.8" W/B

I skimmed through it. It looks to be consistent with what I've read before: the U code springs for the (lighter) gas version of the (heavier) SuperDuty work well on the (lighter) '80 - '97 trucks with the (heavier) diesel. You have the lighter 460, but a heavier bumper and winch. I'd guess that puts you a little heavier than a diesel with stock bumper and no winch, so you are sort of in a no-man's land. But I don't thik you're that far out of the norm (stock '80 - '97 with a diesel being the high end of what I'm calling the norm). Which is why I was thinking I'd start with U code springs if I were in your position. And for what it's worth, "Bradbuilt" from that forum is "Diesel_Brad" on FTE. Same guy, different screen name. I thought "Bradbuilt" wrote in a familiar way, so had wondered that. In fact, I scrolled back up to see who had written the post, expecting to see "Diesel Brad". Good to know as I know what to think of what he says. Anyway, I don't want a lot of lift, so am happy to have the springs bend a bit and drop the front. As you pointed out, any load I carry will mostly be on the rear. In fact, if I ever get that bumper and move the spare to it that'll actually take some weight off the front. Ok, I'm back to planning to try the U-codes. I can't get hurt as I can swap them and I already have them.

ATT/Dish keeps wanting to sell us satellite internet service. NO WAY, JOSE! I don't like our internet service provider, but their service continues to work through most of the storms we have while the satellite TV, and presumably the satellite internet, fails. And, since our storm shelter is in the shop and I stream TV to the shop to watch the weather when it looks bad, there's no way I will go satellite for my internet. Plus, having retired from IT, with a lot of networking experience, I know all about the delay. (I once had the #2 guy in Conoco, UK ask me, in church, to fix the delay problem. He was an engineer so I scribbled the equation for the distance and the speed of light and showed him that it can't be "fixed".) And since we do a lot of Facetime with our grandkids there's no way I want that delay inserted in those conversations.

Bob - It is depressing that in the 40ish years they've been experimenting with auto hubs they haven't gotten it right yet. Your stories plus what I've seen and heard indicate to me that even by 2015 they weren't bullet-proof. Not when two out of two of mine failed in the early days. But, speaking of hubs, my "new" ones are manual. (Note the 3 screw holes that are apparently different than all others. ) And, here's the socket I bought, which worked perfectly to get the spindle nut off. But, that's about all I'll get done today as we are running errands. However, no one commented on my table, above, on spring parameters. Note the ever-so-slight difference in the thickness of the U and V-code springs. I don't know how Brent will be able to tell the difference if the springs are off the truck. Looks like I need to add a column and include the arch, although he can't tell that w/o pulling the springs. Speaking of springs, I've been doing some reading and I'm not as convinced now that I need V-Code springs. Would some of y'all read through this thread on Powerstroke Nation, please? They seem to really like the U-codes, even with the diesel engine.

Yes, Frank was right about men and limitations. Which is why I'm farming out a lot of what I do as well.

Cool! Can't wait to see the pics! Are you going to do the stitching? Can you show us how it's done?

I think I've seen this movie before! Wait! I starred in this movie. And now I have an attic FULL of Bullnose parts.

I don't know, but you can find the starting point to your answer by going to the 1983 Dealer Facts Book (Literature/1983 Literature/Dealer Facts Book), going to the Vehicles tab, then the F-Series 4x4 tab, and scrolling down to Page 18. There you'll see the Curb Weight table with front and rear axle callouts. HOWEVER, that is for a base vehicle. You then need to add the weights for every single option, and it is amazing how many there are and how much they add up. Engine, transmission, tires, radio, A/C, etc, etc. And I don't seem to have that info loaded. So, I'd take it to the scales and have it weighed front & rear.

You are now on the map. As for the suspension, my F250 currently has ~3/4" of space between the spring and the bump stop. Doing the math, that might translate to 1 1/2" of travel at the wheel before hitting the stop, which explains the harsh ride. I'm going with an F350 Dana 60, SuperDuty springs, and a reverse shackle kit, and that combo is supposed to give significantly better ride and wheel travel. We shall see. But, it is an expensive approach.

Yes, it does look good! Have you had it on the road? What do you think of the brakes? How does the ebrake work? That was a neat solution.

Nice truck - especially for $1.

That's good to see! Is this the right Palco: http://www.dashtop.com/categories/full-sized-pickup-f-series-1980-1986.

Should have an exhaust system soon!

But that's the auto hubs from a SuperDuty. (my '02 F-350 had them) In '95 the options were manual with two options: Lock and Free and auto with two options: working and broken Jim - I got a 2 3/4" socket today for $15 that fits perfectly. Thanks anyway. And that video is of a very different lockout than mine. I'll look tomorrow and see what it says on it. But I think it is Lock and Free. And there's no place for a connection of any kind to these axles. Bob - That's funny! And, I agree. My 2015 has the vacuum-operated "integrated wheel ends" and they broke very early on. I do not like the auto stuff, except that Blue does have an auto 4wd position and that's great for wet or slippery conditions - assuming the IWE's work. So, I'm happy Big Blue is manual.

Shaun - One thing I read said that the lockouts held on with three screws are the auto style. But mine are held on by three screws and clearly have a knob. Is that a conversion?