Rembrant

Oh, I didn't know that when I replaced mine. With my truck being a summer cruiser now, the battery tray will last forever, but hanging down there in the salt the originals didn't last very long.

Ya, wife and I just finished season two of the Mexican one, and it is FULL of Bullnoses. It's like it's the only truck in Mexico...lol.

So are these being made by somebody now? Mine were in pretty good condition, but still, be good to know if they are available.

Jesse, you need a new battery tray! I had to replace mine a couple years ago...what a terrible design they were, with the tray mounted UNDER the fender liner. Those things rusted and fell apart here so fast I've never seen one still intact to this day. Anyway...they are available as are the hold down rods and top brackets, etc.

So Mrs Rembrant has me looking at RV's again. We've been looking at them for a few years now, on and off. We don't really have any intentions of going all that far, but we do have some friends with lots of property to use. Good friends of ours have an unused lake lot, and another friend of mine has 40 acres on the ocean with lots of space we are welcome to use. Anyway, current budget prices pretty much put us between the late 80's and the late 90's. Most of the ones we've been looking at have 460's. In these E350 cutaways, when did the 460 get EFI, and what EFI did it get? We've looked at a few with the V10's...later 90's and 2000-2001. Some of them are in really nice condition, and very well kept and maintained. The early EFI systems are a real boogie man for me, so I'm curious what if any fuel systems should be steered clear of.

I haven't used them very much so I can't really give you a very good review, but back on Christmas day I took the truck for a drive while the driver's side vent was removed and I darn near froze my feet off...lol. So...I was getting very good air flow that day, but it was cold out, so it probably seemed like more than it was. You'll have to have a window open a little bit for them to work I think.

That seems pretty cheap. But local pickup only...

I have them in my truck, and they do seal well. Like Jon says, they have a good foam seal, and the door is pretty tight anyway. The one on the driver's side is a pain to remove due to the park brake mechanism being in the way, but it's not impossible. I had to remove mine to repair/replace my door switch mechanism and to run wires to the door. I haven't done the passenger side yet but will take some pictures when I do.

Excellent, thanks Gary. I just recently ordered some 1" plugs for the holes in the bottoms of my cab corners, and I was thinking I should order one for my speedo cable since I will be replacing it. Mine has some goo or seam sealer spread on it so I didn't want to rip it out just to check it.

Would any of you happen to know the size of the hole in the firewall where the speedo cable passes through?

According to the cert label, it is 9M which was a white specific to 1986, and there is a digit under tape...but can't really tell what it is. Does it look like the top of a 7? Body code looks like it could be DK4, which would make sense...Chesnut Knit & Vinyl...

I love this truck!! I thought the Freewheeling packages stopped back in 1981 or 1982 no? If this thing is a copy or clone of some sort (or a dealer package), it's still cool. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193361570457

Dave, I went from my 1984 3spd manual to a 1991 M5OD-R2, and the output slip yoke from the 3spd fit fine. I guess my point is, I assumed they were all the same. I measured it...teeth were the same, OD was the same, and it fit fine. Been running it even since.

There sure are a lot of options on there... I wonder what blue I would select?...there's only about 10 different shades...lol.

Nice! These trucks in Norcal or southern Oregon just kill me...lol. That truck would be double the price here and would be rusted all to pieces.

The first one is actually the last part number on the list E3TZ-17255-F as it has the million kilometer odometer (6 digit) and no trip odometer. This is the same one that is in my truck. Interesting to see when the changeover was though. I knew the Canadian trucks started out with a 5 digit odometer, but then later switched to a 6 digit, but I didn't know when that change was. All I knew was that it was before 1984. The other thing to note is that with 517 km already registered on it, it's technically not NOS, but almost NOS. I'd say somebody swapped out their speedo w/o trip odometer for one that did have a trip odometer, and threw this one back in the box. So while they gained a trip odometer, they more than likely lost a digit on the main odometer in this swap. I'd like to have it, but I already have a couple spares and speedos are relatively easy to come by.

So what happens to all of the indicator lights if you install one of these dashes? I guess you have to install new ones?

I have them in my truck too and agree.

Not a bad truck at all. I want one of those padded steering wheels. They stick out like a sore thumb to me...lol.

Ha...after I read your comment I realized that you were probably talking about what sender works between 1980-1996?...there are probably several different versions eh? I wonder if it has a calibration of some sort?... I actually put a little thought into making an adapter back when the Dakota Digital gauge cluster came out. It would involve sacrificing an old Bullnose cluster to make the socket, but I think it would be possible for those of us that wanted an aftermarket dash but wanted to retain factory wiring. Still...as much as I like these gauges, they're a very mild want and so far down my priority list I'd likely never get to them anyway. And besides...my factory gauges not only look good, they work good too, ha! (Seems somebody around here did a really nice write up on painting needles...and for $2 bucks worth of Testors orange, my gauges look like a million bucks!)

It says that it works with the stock fuel sender.

Cool. I just got the new LMC catalog too and didn't see these in it. I usually work from the catalog and only visit the website to place my order(s). Looks like a decent kit...I wish they had an adapter plug to connect to the original cluster harness, but I know these clusters are for trucks that are probably getting a full rehab with all new wiring...restomod stuff.

frothbeast, Good eye. I believe they are the wrong CD's as you've noted. My bad...I only glanced at them and thought they were specifically for the Econolines. They appear to be just the regular "Light Truck" 5 Volume sets, which DO include some info on the Econolines, but the EVTM in them is specific to the F150-F350 trucks. If you want wiring info for the vans that is the same as what Gary has here on the website (the EVTM's), then you'll want the EVTM specific to the 1986 Econolines... This looks like one here on Ebay, maybe somebody else can confirm...that should have what you're looking for... https://www.ebay.com/itm/1986-FORD-ECONOLINE-ELECTRICAL-WIRING-SERVICE-MANUAL-FM415/172941046215?hash=item284416f1c7:g:SFwAAOSwOA1Z7Qmz

I'm pretty sure the small blocks all had the E7TE heads as standard from the late 1980's until the end in 1997. Starting in or around 1987. However, I'm no 351W expert...I've only read up on the 302, but I thought they had the same heads with the small exception that when fitted to a 351W they had the larger bolt holes. I've bought and sold a couple sets of them, and they seem to go for between $60-$100 a set used. They are a decent upgrade over the D8 heads and will bump the compression up some. I don't mean a high HP upgrade in stock form...but if you had an 80's small block with 8.3:1 compression and wanted to get it up to 8.9:1 compression, the E7 heads would help with that. If you get them ported they are an excellent head...but that gets into a whole other discussion.

The problem is that there is often a wild difference between what a vehicle is actually worth, and what the seller thinks it is worth. So I guess you have to decide what it's worth to you and start throwing some offers at the guy. Unfortunately, a 2wd Bullnose Flareside sitting in a barn with no floor in the bed is not worth a lot of money. Good example below: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/188390769221328/ Unfortunately for all of us, these trucks still do not have a huge resale value unless they're showroom clean. I guess it really depends on the overall condition. The rotten wood floor in the bed is nothing...that happens to all of them. How much rust is there? The Freewheeling package doesn't add crazy value either, again, unless the thing is absolutely mint. I've seen a few of them sell in the past couple years...2wd Flaresides with one of the Freewheeling packages, and they went for around $5000. These were running and driving trucks, with original paint, but well worn and definitely needing work. But, I see them like the one on Facebook above all the time. $2500 is a ballpark figure for a 2wd Flareside that's worth rebuilding. If it runs and drives and is currently on the road...$4000-$5000 maybe. If it's really nice, original paint, and maybe just needing a few minor things...maybe $7500. It is possible for them to get up into the $15,000 range but that would be a fully restored specimen. I'm talking 2wd mind you, not 4x4. Four wheel drive goes up in value again... You can go on to the Hagerty website and sign up for a free account, and download a vehicle report that shows the value of the truck. I just switched to Hagerty myself so they sent me a report, but interestingly enough, the 2wd Flaresides show a spike in value in or around 2019. They are Canadian values, but would be nothing more than direct exchange conversions from USD. I overpaid for my 1984 Flareside, and by quite a bit too...but it was somewhat local (250 miles away), it was mostly all original, and it was exactly what I wanted. I had been looking for a couple years for the right one, so when it finally showed up, I had to pay for it. Personally, I wouldn't waste a lot of time trying to pull on the guy's heart strings. I'd just roll in there with a wad of cash in my hand, and start negotiating. If he's too high, he's too high, and you'll have to walk. In any case, good luck with it!