Gary Lewis

I'm late to the party (again) and trying to catch up a little. One thing to maybe keep in mind is that a lot of organized runs don't allow welded recovery points. They need you to have recovery points that are bolted to the frame. Yes, welded points can be strong, but they can also be weak but look strong. Getting it welded by a licensed welder should minimize that risk, but the organizers of the run don't need to accept that. On my Bronco I got around that by welding my bumper to my recovery points. The plates that bolt to the frame come through holes in the bumpers, so the clevis is attached to a piece that is directly bolted to the frame. And then the recovery points end up being the bumper mounts as well. And on the Bronco spare tire carrier, it seems to me that I've seen a lot of pickups with floppy bed sides. Hanging all of that weight with that much leverage seems risky in that area. (Unless the latch carries much of the weight.) And speaking of latches, I wish I had a picture, but on the CJ5 I used to have I built a swing-away tire carrier mounted to the rear bumper. For the latch I used an over-center toggle latch like this that pulled the free side of the carrier into sort of a "V" notch. It was pretty quick and easy to work (although it did frequently take one hand to hold the "loop" in position while working the handle with the other hand), and it held the carrier pretty securely. Just another "what if" to throw in the hopper. That's good info. I wasn't aware of the issue with events and tow eyes, but that makes sense. Do you remember what ones you used? I'll look around, but if you had a recommendation that might help. Taking a quick look at Big Blue, I can see how the eye bracets could bolt on and the stem of the eyes pass through the bumper, thereby attaching the bumper to the frame. I think I like that approach. And, if the bumper also bolted to the hitch mounts then it would be extremely solid. As for the swing mount, I'd wondered about the strength of the bed side. I really like the idea of having the mount attach to the bumper as that way it can be very stout as well as leave no holes in the bed. And, I like that latch. Lift the swing arm a bit to get it into the V, and then clamp it down with the latch. Won't go fore/aft nor up/down. Thanks!

You can decode the certification label, that should be on the driver's door post, here: Specifications/Certification Label. And from that you should be able to determine the gear ratio. But, there isn't a "stock" gear ratio as these trucks came with a range of ratios. And you still didn't say if it is an '85 or '86, nor if auto or manual, and that makes a difference in what gears Ford might have put in it. If you look at the Towing information you can see that an '85 with a manual tranny would have come with a ratio from 3.00 to 3.73, while an '85 w/an auto tranny would have a range from 3.50 to 4.11. But back to the original question: For daily driving and light trailer towing I would stay with the stock throttle body size.

Question on the factory delay wiper switch/modules: What about the vans? or Bronco II and Rangers? Did they by chance use the same delay wiper parts? I know this is probably a dumb question, but how exactly do they operate? I now have two wiper speeds...slow and fast. With the delay wiper switch, does it just add a 3rd position, with a slower/delayed wiper speed? The delayed part is a fixed speed in itself? In reverse: The function is that the wipers have a variable delay between low-speed sweeps. The third position on the switch, which is to the left of off, is to a resistor and the farther left you go the longer the "off" interval is between low-speed sweeps. As for the parts from different vehicles, I can't actually answer the question. All I can say is that the vans and little Broncos and Rangers have a different part number. But I can't tell if they will work - although I doubt it or they would not have different parts.

I saw this truck on Facebook with a link to ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/332825305744. I think I've seen it on here before, but just in case......

Welcome to the Bullnose Forum! I think you may have missed the part of my email that asked you to go to the New Members Start Here folder and read the guidelines. Part of the guidelines say: But you didn't state anything about your truck, nor put the information in a signature, which is another option. So we can only assume that you have an '85 302 with EFI, but it is possible that you have a different engine with EFI. And, your gear ratio and use of the truck makes a big difference. Could you help us understand what you have and how you use it?

It is still expensive. But, in reality a fog lamp bezel by itself is an appreciable portion of that.

Here's another thought on which I'd like your opinions. I can make the EVTM a pdf document and the whole thing would come up like the 1986 Towing Guide, meaning in one window where you can scroll and search to your heart's content. (Yes, you could search within the doc as I'd OCR it and all the words would be actual words, not pictures of words like they are presently.) It would be easier for me to do that, which would give me time to make the index entries hyperlinks. And, then I could make references to another page go directly to that page, or maybe even a closeup of the item in question. With the current approach I can create links to a section, but not a page. So on pages that are buried deep within a section if you follow a link you'll still have to do a lot of scrolling. But, when it is all in one pdf doc it'll take you directly to the page, and if I have that page zoomed in when creating the link it'll take you there zoomed in. Thoughts? Want to see an example?

That's good (or bad?) to know. Thanks for that tip.

I see an update to the Bullnose Facts coming..... It currently says: How can that be improved?

Bill - Follow one of the links in my first post that go to the '85 EVTM. There's no new section for EVTM's, but I haven't made the '85 show up in the menu because I'm still working on it. However, you can get to it via the links and I have the Prev/Next Section buttons on the first 4 pages or so. As for the links from one page to another, I'm thinking about that one. I haven't come up with an easy way to do it, but will see if I can find one.

Thanks. Not sure what you envisioned, but this was fairly easily done - although tedious. Ok, I'll continue with this format for the "index" and for the prev/next buttons. And I hope to get the '85 EVTM done tomorrow.

Good to know. I had someone put a new windshield in an '82 and later was selling it. They couldn't read the VIN so I had to pull the dashpad and they read it that way. But many (most?) DMV personnel wouldn't be that flexible.

Ok, guys. Thanks. I will use the existing format and not worry about creating lots of hyperlinks. Bill - I think you are suggesting that where it says "See Page 62", for instance, that I put a link there that takes you to Page 62. That's not easily done, but I'll see what I can do. Also, no one commented on the Previous/Next Section buttons. You don't like them? You didn't see them?

Yes, that info has been there a long time. And, lots more as well. Pulling the dash pad isn't hard and makes reading the VIN easier. But if you decide to replace the windshield, make sure that the replacement is correct for a Bullnose truck. Not long after '86 the position of the VIN changed and many windshields are masked for the new location. But you can't read our VIN through them. So make sure you get the right windshield.

I’ve heard that he who dies with the most Bullnose parts wins. Ask the guys - you need to buy a lot of them to beat me. 😎

I'm pretty sure that the radiators changed shapes/sizes at the same time. Notice on the radiator page that there are 1980 - 84 radiators and 1985 - 86 radiators. So you also need to get the radiator if you want it to fit right in. I don't know what it would take to fit an earlier radiator to a late support or vice versa.

I need some help, please. With a lot of effort I have the 1985 EVTM almost done and need your input on the following. (Note that you will not find this EVTM in the menu yet as there are several things I want to do to it before I pronounce it ready. So use the link above.) Index: Heretofore I've created sort of an index by listing the sections and their contents on the first page of the EVTM and then providing links to them. However, there is another way, and that would be to create hyperlinks on the actual Index Page, either in lieu of or in addition to the normal page I create. For an example of how that would look, go to the first page of the TSB Index and see the entry for Dash Panel. But, creating the hyperlinks would be time-consuming for me. So, I need to know which way(s) are best as I could use the time saved to add other documents. Would it be better to have the page I've created, a hyperlinked Index Page, or both? Previous/Next Section Buttons: I've added buttons to the top and bottom of the first several sections. Please check them out and see what you think. Steve83 - is this what you had in mind? Bad Pages: I already know that I need to re-scan pages 127; 135; 139; & 143. But please let me know if you find others. But, just being a bit angled isn't really cause for re-scanning Again, please help!

Depending on how rusty it is and if everything works, I think $2500 is a good buy. I sold Rusty for that about 18 months ago, and everything but the A/C worked on it. Questions I'd want to get answered include: - Is it a 351 HO, meaning it has the 4bbl Holley 4180C carb? If so, it has less emissions "stuff", like no computer. - Is it rusty? Way too many vehicles up there are in really bad shape. Perhaps that one hasn't been out in the salt? So look it over closely, especially the frame, the cab corners, and right above the rear wheels. - I think this one's been for sale for some time. Or, was sold and is now for sale, quickly. What's the story?

If you are looking for concurrence, YES you need a backup truck!

Yup. I was surprised. I still kick myself for not getting big blackie though. Man, that was a buy!

For $1500 is sure does. Man this stuff just kills me. I'd pay $1500 for that thing in a heartbeat. I wonder if it would make the journey across the continent?...lol. That's worth more than $1500 around here.

Today was a record day - we have 5 new members! They are: sidponcho; 4Fordguy; zuuric; ocalalabs; & 80ranger. Some have already posted, but I'm sure the others will soon. Welcome, all! That brings us to 221 users. But at the rate they are coming in that number is going right on up.

I'd never thought of that. In fact, I'd never really stopped and thought how similar the pickups and Broncos are back there. Here's a shot of Espy sporting that carrier, and it looks like it would fit quite well. Interesting. I'm not sure I like it as I don't think I want to drill the body on Big Blue. But, it is certainly an option that I should consider. Thanks!

The chrome trim on the wheel openings of the fenders, in several pics. That looks to be smaller than the factory trim. Dad's truck has the factory trim, and I'm pretty sure it is bigger than that. But, that stuff looks good on that truck.

First, Ron's comment about 7 psi is spot-on. Eddies don't like more than 6 psi, so a regulator is sometimes necessary to ensure you don't overpower them. What will happen is that at idle the pressure on the needle will cause the float level to raise enough to make the idle mix rich. Or even cause the carb to flood. I've not had it happen, but then I've run a regulator on my Fords. Back in my Chevy days the fuel pumps didn't put out too much pressure, but the Ford pumps can. As for the secondary air valve adjustment, you want it to open at the earliest possible time that the engine can use the extra CFM. So you experiment. Do a full-throttle run from a rolling start in 1st and see if the secondaries open w/o bogging the engine. Then loosen the tension on the air valve's spring by maybe 1/4 turn and go again. Keep doing that until at some point the secondaries open too early and the engine bogs, meaning that its acceleration hesitates. At that point you have gone too far, so tighten it back down 1/8 turn and try again. You want to find a spot where it never bogs but opens as early as possible.