Rembrant

Chris, I hear ya buddy! The front rotors on my VW are gettin' all rusty because I've been driving the old Bull steady while I've been off on vacation...lol. As for the gas prices...the Bullnose isn't as big of a worry as the gas guzzlin 460 in the RV. I was hoping to get some miles on it this summer while the gas was cheap! Either way, I'm going to drive the old Bull as much as I can this summer since I barely got to drive it at all last season. It just sucks that all the car shows and car nights have been cancelled. Just my luck.

Shaun, you'd probably find it a little cool up here when it's a blistering 75F out near the water in the middle of the summer...lol. Actually, it gets much warmer inland, but it's always cooler out along the water. Makes for a nice summer drive. So after my running around and taking pictures this morning, the day's project was to get working on the interior. I've been neglecting this for a while for various reasons, but I really want to get this finished up so I can move on to other things. I bought two cans of SEM paint. One Shadow Blue, and one BLueMist. It's hard to tell in the pics below, the the Shadow blue was very close in color to the ColorBond blue from LMC...it's just that the LMC version was a matte finish, and the SEM was more glossy. The Bluemist, which got very good comments from those that used it was much lighter than my '84 blue. Door panel below is LMC ColorBond blue, and the left kick panel is SEM shadow blow, and the right hand kick panel is SEM Bluemist. Below you will see that neither one comes close to the blue of my dash of footwell vents. I'm aware that the correct SEM color for 1984 is the 3042 Dark Harbor Blue, but I'd have to order it out of the US, and with the current border situation, they would likely cost me $50 per can, if not more. So, I consulted with Mrs. Rembrant. Her advice was to go with the darker Shadow Blue, so that is what I did. The sun was shining in, so not a great pic, but you can see how it compares to the color of the dash. At this point, I'm kinda tired of screwin' around with it, so this is how it will stay at least for the remainder of 2020. I covered all of the door openings with 3/16" high density foam. It's not pretty, but functional. I hope it helps. I even put some pieces on the back side of the door panel itself. I figured why not, every little bit will help quiet things down. I just have to finish up the passenger door tomorrow. This evening I installed the passenger door speaker, and ran the wires into the cab. I might even get the stereo installed tomorrow so I can finally move this old truck out of the dark ages!

Shaun, you'd probably find it a little cool up here when it's a blistering 75F out near the water in the middle of the summer...lol. Actually, it gets much warmer inland, but it's always cooler out along the water. Makes for a nice summer drive.

I don't think I've seen a Bullnose before with the Donk treatment, so I thought I'd share this one: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/302075577060384/?ref=messenger_share But the wheels are not the most interesting part. Check out the interior? Notice anything funny about that?...lol. I assume it is a picture from a different truck all together.

Gary, a friend of mine that is/was into photography once told me that anybody can be a photographer if they have something nice to take a picture of. He mentioned a percentage at the time, but I forget what it was now...something about 20% skill, and 80% being something nice to take a picture of. Well Jim, here you go...I went for a scoot out the road from my place while I was sippin' on my second coffee. Nothing too special, just some grainy iPhone pics from the cab of the old Bull. I live in Whites Lake, and the pic below is about all you can see of it. This is at the bottom of the hill about a half a mile from my house. PS: While I was pulled over here, a guy in a dump truck slowed down and gave the old Bullnose a thumbs up! Some nice twisty roads out this way. Very popular with the motorcycle crowd. The province keeps the roads in pretty nice condition because of the tourist traffic. The downside is that it is often very busy in the summer, so if you really want to clean off your chicken strips, you have to go early in the morning;). This is why I always joke about the big rocks and stubby trees! It's gets more and more barren as you get closer to the water. Rolling into Peggy's Cove here. You wouldn't think that you'd have to warn people, but you do. Somebody gets killed here every year or two, and I can assure you it's never a local. Here are some pics from the Swiss Air memorial. You can see the lobster boats out pulling their traps. That's it! I finished my coffee here, and had to start working my way back home. I had some precious weekend cargo, fresh Timbits for the dogs, and they wait anxiously by the door for me to get back;). There you go. A few pics from the coast of rocks and stubby trees! (And a few shots of the old Bullnose to keep it on topic!)

Ha! Well, I'm just about to pour my second cup, so maybe I'll take the old Bull on the scenic route when I leave the house and snap some pictures for ya. Lots of stubby trees and big rocks! Our weather is nothing like the upper Midwest or the Canadian prairie provinces. There are some benefits to being at sea level;). I always joke that we get Boston's weather a day later. For us it kinda depends on which direction the weather is coming from. If it's coming east from upstate NY, then we're getting piles of snow. If it's coming up the coast with the Gulf stream, wind and rain. It was 80F and clear yesterday, just about perfect. I think we'll be lucky to hit 60F today, but there's no rain in the forecast for another week. If it was up to me, it would be 75F all year long with just enough of a breeze to keep the flies at bay;).

Gary, Didn't you say that you wanted a Bronco? This one is almost in your backyard. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/696783387403374/

If I had the money, I'd buy every one of them;). Kills me to see them so cheap. They rarely ever show up for sale around here, and if they do they are either rusted to pieces, or have 5 gallons of body fill in them.

It's not a bad place to live if you don't mind the weather;). Black flies just arrived a few days ago, so that's something to complain about now that it's nice and warm...lol. Cape Breton Island is especially nice, with the Cabot Trail being our premier tourist attraction. We're hoping to get around a bit with the RV this summer and see some of the local scenery ourselves...you know the stuff you kind of ignore because you live here...lol. I had to check out Tracy and Martina...I hadn't heard of them...lol. Definitely from the Sydney area. It's like a whole other country up there. They have their own culture, accent, etc. The Flareside, and step side trucks in general have always been a huge interest to me. We all have different tastes interests, and that's a good thing. I have always been a big fan of the Bullnose body lines. Funny thing is, now that this truck is starting to feel like it's almost finished, I'm having urges to do it all over again...lol. I guess that same old saying applies, that it's the journey and not the destination?...I dunno.

Well done gentlemen. The world is a whole lot smaller than it used to be.

Thanks Dave! I'm getting more and more used to the 5spd and 3.08 gears. It's not bad. Really, for all intents and purposes, I drive the truck like a 4spd, and only use OD on the highway or on level ground where there is no real load on the engine. The MPG means a lot to me...a few months ago, gas was $5 per gallon here, so that can quickly put a damper on how much I get to drive the truck. As of today, the truck now has 69,360 kms on it, or about 43,000 miles. I have now put about 8k miles on it since buying it in 2017. However, just about everything has been replaced now...so the only items that are still original to the truck are the starter, the 1G alternator, the clutch fan, and the 8.8 rear end. I think everything else has been replaced by now. Hoping to have the door panels all painted and reinstalled this weekend so they're not kicking around the garage anymore.

The Blue Mule and I had a sensual Meguiars session last night before going out for a drive. As much as I love my Flaresides, they're a little more of a pain to clean compared to a truck with a Styleside bed! In any case, I thought I'd let you guys know that my doors are already a little easier to close, especially the driver's door that obviously gets used 100x more than the passenger side. One thing that is a big help is to roll the window down before closing it. Once I do that, it closes pretty well now. Filled up again this morning an got 16.7 mpg on this recent tank. That's a half a dozen tanks now all within 0.5 mpg of each other, so that's nice and consistent. Going to pick up my cans of SEM Color-Coat in a little while, so I'm pretty excited about that. Going to try and get my door panels all RE-installed this weekend.

Ha! I've grown to dislike it more and more over the years, but I actually don't mind the upside down part, or the egress part. What I really REALLY hate is in order to pass the course, you have to at least once put the breathing apparatus in while you're strapped in upside down under water, expel the water in it, and take two full breaths before egress. Man to I hate that. I don't mind holding my breath under water and doing it that way, but putting that thing in your mouth and getting the water out of it, and taking a breath is unnerving. Be easy stuff for a diver, but the average Joe like me not so much...lol.

Funny story: That offshore trip when the waves were 16m, I flew out there for a couple days worth of work, and ended up staying for 8 days...lol. Once the weather turns bad, they cancel the choppers, and then as the flights get delayed/backed up, contractors like me fall to the bottom of the priority list. Crew always take priority, so they'll let a guy like me sit around for days waiting for an opening. It's not a big deal and I can laugh about it in hindsight, but being stuck out there in the winter is not my idea of fun at all...lol. When I went last year, I went out and back on a supply vessel. The fog was too thick for the choppers. I have a lot of respect for the men that work at sea, and I know a lot of them. Waves aside, working in oil and gas would be a luxury compared to some. The fishing vessels ride those same waves up here, working 12 hr days for a month straight. The big clam trawlers are large enough when they come in after a month they have 400 ton of cargo, packaged, boxed, and already frozen. Being on the vessels when they're tied up is enough for me...lol. I was actually scheduled to renew my offshore safety training next week but just cancelled it yesterday. Part of the training they strap you in the "dunker" chopper simulator, drop it in the water and roll it upside down. You have to do it 5 times in a row from different seating positions, and with and without breathing apparatus. This place is just a couple miles from my work.

I have to go offshore with my work every now and then, and I've seen 40' waves, and bigger in the North Atlantic. I was once on an FPSO about 200 miles from shore, and that vessel at almost 1000' long, sure was rockin' and rollin'. They were measuring the waves near the rig with a wave rider, and they were hitting 16m (trough to crest). The week prior to my arrival they were hitting 21m, and even the hardened regulars were nervous and strapping everything down...lol. I've also been out there when the seas were pretty calm and peaceful. The spookiest thing for me was watching the supply boat in that particular storm. At 275' long, that thing was bobbing around like an empty beer can...lol. Those guys are pretty tough. They do 30 days at a time, and in the winter the north Atlantic can be rough for days or weeks on end. Here's a video from the same FPSO that I was on. I've spent my whole life next to the ocean, and I honestly have very little interest in spending any amount of time on it other than when my employment requires me to...lol.

I had the same issue with the Terrapin brace by the way. The pic below shows how well it fit my firewall out of the box. The bracket was well made, and I'm sure fit some trucks just fine, but not mine. I took a little different approach and rather than make the firewall fit the brace, I modified the brace to fit my firewall. I basically cut the right angle piece off the side, and then trimmed both pieces until they fit snugly into place. I bolted both of them in, tacked them together, and then removed it again to finish welding. By the time I was done with grinding and paint, you couldn't even tell that the brace was ever touched. I didn't take many pictures unfortunately, but I do have this one after welding. It seems like a lot of work compared to a couple well placed blows with a hammer, but it wasn't so bad. Another thing to note is I also had to shim the upper right angled piece that bolts into the trough under the cowl panel. All bolted in place on my truck, that part of the brace was a good 1/8"-3/16" short of touching the cab. I just used flat washers for the shims, and maybe didn't even need to, but this rusty junk is pretty fragile around here and I didn't want to risk bending the trough floor down (instead of the bracket up). A little OCD perhaps...lol, but whatever. Just throwing it out there is all.

Dave, About the pictures, one thing I am always so envious of about the south is how green everything is. Bright green lawns, trees, hills, etc. Everything always looks so nice. Everything is pretty dreary here until the leaves come back. I absolutely love North Carolina, but I've spent the majority of my visits there in the mountains at the western end, or for training in Charlotte. The only part of NC that I've seen east of Charlotte is I-95 when I blew through on the way home from Florida about 15 years ago. I'm still rocking the original black rubber or vinyl floor that the truck came with new. It stops just behind the front legs of the bench seat. Past that is just bare metal. I've removed the white insulation that was on the passenger side over the exhaust, but the grey stuff is still stuck to the back of the rubber. The floor is fine, and actually looks OK...but it doesn't fit the 5spd hump all that well, and I'd like to cover the whole floor for sound deadening purposes. I'm really pleased with the 17mpg. Of course that has a lot to do with the 5spd and 3.08 gears. The truck cruises nicely on the highway at 1900-2000 RPM in 5th, and it even cruises nicely at 1500 RPM in 5th on the backroads, but it certainly doesn't have any power at 1500 RPM...so if I'm cruising at that RPM, it's flat ground and low load. I'll be taking it in for another alignment soon, but that'll be in for MPG improvements. I don't think there's much more I can do with it now. The trucks seems to run the best when it's hotter outside...the warmer the temps, the better is runs.

Hey Darin, what's going on down under? I wasn't aware of the holes until you asked, but they are indeed there. Something else I didn't notice until I looked closer at my scrap piece is that the seal part actually is a rubber coated foam (I read this elsewhere). I think it is just the nature of the beast that they are difficult to close for a while (or forever). However, I have read of Bullnosers that did have good luck with them and the seals did relax and form after a while. I think even now only a couple days later, mine are a little better than they were.

Gary, I am absolutely loving it. I had people waving at me today, giving me a thumbs up, asking what year it was, etc. It's nice to run around with it, using it as a daily driver, and getting compliments on it while I do. It doesn't leak or drip a single drop of anything. Bone dry underneath. Doesn't rattle or squeak. The fluid levels never change. I'm confident enough in the truck now I'd drive it across the country without hesitation. I now need to work on creature comforts that will enhance the experience. As much as I love the bare bones feel of the truck, I do need to get the stereo installed, and the delay wiper module, a 12v socket for charging cell phones, cup holders, and cruise control, etc.

I am off on vacation this week and I'm supposed to be working on my truck finishing up some little tasks and projects, but all I have been doing is driving it! lol. I couldn't wait to drive out to the junkyard this morning and then run some errands. The wife gave me a list and I took off and ran like a thief. I've put 1200+ miles on it in the past month, and another fill up this morning and mileage was an even 17 mpg. I've been running my gauge down pretty hard on Empty, and it has been taking about 14 gallons to fill, so that is not so bad. I probably still have a little reserve in there. With a range of about 250 miles, I'm fine with the little 16 gallon tank for all that I do with the truck. Even if I do get the opportunity to take it on a trip sometime, I'll need breaks at least every 250 miles if not sooner;). Going to finish wiring in my new Kenwood and speakers this week, and hopefully get the inner door panels back on this weekend after my SEM paint(s) arrive (hopefully on Friday). I got the new door seals in last night, so I guess I accomplished that much. After that, I think I'll order a new carpet...once the old mule is quieted down a bit inside it will be an even bigger treat to drive.

Oh wow. Mine were actually about 8" too long, I had to cut them to fit. They're actually a little better today. I'm going to give them a little time to see if they settle in better.

I was going to say the exact same thing Jim. Two things probably happened at the same time. JBG started making the braces, but the demand probably decreased during the same time. I think the braces were only for 1984-1991 right? That's a pretty small window of trucks (still on the road today) in the grand scheme of things.

Yes sir. You just reminded me of something. Another comment that somebody made was that the original door seals were some kind of rubber coated foam? This is why they complied much easier...obviously this issue didn't exist on the assembly line, right? So, one thing somebody suggested was to go buy new OEM door seals from a current model vehicle, and that they'll work much better (and of course be much more expensive). I don't think the heat was meant to change the shape of the rubber per se, but to help it find it's shape when compressed by the door. If the door seals never change shape, then there will be no choice but to cut and trim them. Going by some reports of the replacement seals never complying, then that may be the only solution.

Sounds like JBG's supplier might have been in the Wuhan area in China? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it is a major manufacturing hub and has caused supply interruptions for a lot of companies. I know we've seen some supply hiccups for this reason...mostly for American products (cast or forged in China, but machined/finished in USA). I'm pretty sure JBG was undercutting Terrapin by a fair amount? Aren't the braces like $75 from JBG? (Or they were). Terrapin had them for $100 or $110? Jason mentioned that once JBG started selling them, he was down to making only 30-40 per year, and at that number is must not have been worth the trouble. If somebody wanted to contact him directly, I'm pretty sure he said the other day that he thought he still had one left, and also that drawings were not a problem? I may have misunderstood that. I have the Terrapin brace in my truck, but I had to modify it to get it to fit properly. Still, they were well made parts.

Hey Rob and Ray, do you remember where you bought your door seals? Just curious what brand they were (and if they were the same as mine). I did some reading last night, and one thing I found to try was to brush/rub baby power on to the seals and the door. That guy said it had more to do with traction than compression. I believe it's both, but he reported good results with that. Another guy that restores cars said that he cuts them (or trims them) in the tight areas, or cuts a slit in the rubber bubble part. This is what I had in my head as my biggest issue is that the gap/space is really inconsistent, especially on the driver's side with that aftermarket door I have installed. Other's recommended leaving the truck outside on a hot day to soften up the gaskets. I suppose that might work a little closer to the equator...lol, I'm not sure about here...maybe in August. I might try a little dual action, with the heat gun and baby powder...that is, if they don't soften up on their own.