Gary Lewis

Wow, that one's gone! But thanks for trying.

Hey Gary, Been meaning to come back and reply here. What have you been reading about the RedHead box issues? I'm hoping to order one this fall...just waiting for the next sale...maybe Thanksgiving or at Christmas...whenever. Brandon/Bruno2 is the one that told me about reading of problems at RedHead. So I really don't know for sure that there is a problem, or that they haven't corrected it if there is one. In reality, there are always a number of people who find fault with anything. So when I read negative reviews I try to ignore a certain percentage of complaints. Perhaps that's what this is/was. I don't really know.

Nice truck for $2800. I sold Rusty for $2500, but his A/C didn’t work and the tires weren’t new. Plus he has lots of patina, meaning thin paint with rust showing through, that this truck doesn’t have. Oddly enough, in the dark interior shot it looks like Rosewood trim instead of the burled wood trim an ‘85 should have.

You are now, literally, on the map.

Welcome! Where's home? Want to be on our Member's Map?

Chris - I probably have the wheelwell trim.

Well, in the defense of the people that DO call them Step Sides, I wouldn't necessarily call it sloppy, I'd just say they are like I always was, and simply did not know the correct manufacturer's term. In my case, I was only calling them what the general population was because I didn't know any better. Now that I know that they're actually called a "Flareside", I do my best to go by the correct term, at least when I'm among the purists...lol. When people talk to me about my truck, I'd say 1 in 5 call it a Flareside, and that's usually because they're Ford guys that have had some exposure to these trucks in the past. A general "car guy", that isn't specifically a Ford guy will almost always call them a Step Side. Even the aftermarket magazines all call the model a Stepside...lol. (LMC, NPD, etc). I have a Mar-K catalog here, and they sometimes mention the term Flareside but will put in brackets next to it (Flareside same thing as Stepside)...lol. I guess my point is, a lot of people are wrong, but at the same time it's hard to blame them;). There, I'll leave you alone now...lol. OK, I guess that makes me a purist. (But I'm well aware of that. I seriously dislike being wrong, so go out of my way to pick up on the correct way of saying things, the right use of words, the correct spelling, etc. I think it stems from a fear of being "different", and somehow that makes me different. )

That's my rule-of-thumb exactly - it is worth half what you have invested, not counting the time. I've seen that rule hold time and time again, whether at the $1000 level or the $20,000 level. So you'd better either build it the way you want to drive it, or buy something someone else has built - for half the price.

Haha...Gary, I think I'd have to argue this point, at least a little bit;). I'd say that the truck, at least the "style" of the truck is that it IS a "Step Side", but it is not a "Stepside". I'd never heard of these trucks being called Flaresides until I joined FTE and your forum, and even today, all these years later, it seems the vast majority of folks still call them Step Side trucks. I know that Stepside is a GM term, but still...it seems to have become the defacto standard term to describe these trucks. After all, regardless of the brand, they all do have a step on the side. PS: I only just recently came across the Dodge term by accident while looking at other stuff, and it looks like they called them "Utililine" beds. It bugs me when people use the wrong terminology. Not that I'm perfect. In fact, I'm far from it. But I like to learn and when I read that Ford's pickups with a step on the side are called Flaresides then I add that to my vocabulary and try to adjust my speach/typing. Reminds me of the discussion most of us probably had with our mother. She said "If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you?" Obviously not. So, just because other people are sloppy and call a Ford by a Chevy name doesn't mean that I should. I'll be quiet and not say anything more. (But, I'll be thinking it! )

That certainly is BIG money. Especially for one with an instrument panel and console done that way. Otherwise it looks good, save for the yellow coil under the hood and what appear to be fake AN hoses.

The more customization the fewer people will like it. And that one is seriously customized, so the interested audience will be quite small.

Haha, yeah, it's not my current tastes at all, but back in the day it was a real conversation piece...lol. It was already on the truck when I bought it in about 1993, so I had no idea where it came from. Back then of course...you ordered parts from a magazine... I still see the Lund front visors popping up for sale, and I betcha a good 30% of Bullnoses still have them. They were never really my thing, but I know they're loved by many. I don't think I've ever seen one, and didn't find one in the 1981 Accessories catalog.

Isn't it amazing how much better they drive with a good steering box? Huge difference on the ones I've done. On the vent, you could put the charcoal canister back. Or, put a small fuel filter there to keep the bugs and dirt out.

Got the email and responded. My request was poorly worded. I meant the trim in the rear of the cab, like where the seat belts come through. Thanks!

The plastic A-pillar trim would be a help for me. And good rear plastic trim as well since it frequently is dead from all the UV. But, in Tejas you get more UV than we do, so..... And the horn cruise pad on Big Blue recently fell apart. It is the burled wood that is 85/86 specific, but black or Rosewood would do. Thanks!

Wow! Lotsa work! But looking good. I like the pics. And that G/flex adhesive isn't gonna let go like some I've used. That's good stuff. Can't wait to see the truck.

Glad he's selling it - he needs to go back to the dark side. IT ISN"T A STEP SIDE!

Yes. As you can see here (Interior/Instrument and Radio Bezels) there were different bezels for with and w/o integral A/C. But that only does the driver's side. There was also a different dash or dash panel for the passenger's side, and although I don't have a page for that, here's a snippet from the catalog:

Sure would have been better to drill the black part.

Those do look good. Most of the burl wood has turned purple by now, but yours haven't.

Gary, I believe I have a better copy of these odometer reset instructions and will bring with me to The 2018 Garagemahal Ford Truck Show, so you can scan, if you so desire.

I haven't done anything like this, but have considered it. And I think there might be another option - put a rear tank in, maybe the 38 gallon one, and put a filler in the inside of the bed rather than on the outside. But that would obviously limit access to it when the bed was full, so might not be a good option if you haul frequently. On the idea of using the front filler to get to a rear tank, you should be able to use marine filler hose. But most of it that I've seen is rather inflexible so you'll need to shop around to find some that will take the bends. And, you'll need to extend the vent that runs inside the filler hose. But you may want to consider using the later style arrangement, which puts the fuel through the smaller hose in the center and the air up the outside. That's supposed to allow you to fill faster, which can easily be a problem with the earlier tanks, and might be a serious problem with a much longer hose. As for the transfer idea, I thought through that one and decided not to go that way as it got complex.

Nice! And I'll bet they could be adapted to the push bar for the Bullnose trucks. The price looks good - doesn't it?

You can click "More" and then "Edit Post" to fix the pics in the earlier post. And then I can edit mine to remove them. If you want.

With the base heater you wouldn't have the vents in the dash.