Rembrant

That upper block is not a factory F150 piece...that's a lift spacer, home made or aftermarket.

Very neat! It shows a Bullnose dash on the box too, doesn't it?

Oh...I didn't know you were looking for an aftermarket column that was plug-n-play. That certainly doesn't exist for the Bullnose. An aftermarket column could certainly be made to work...but not without some fabrication of mounting brackets, etc. I'd do it, but only as a last resort. I've not disassembled a Bullnose factory tilt column, but I've had several regular auto and manual (3-on-the-tree) columns stripped down, and they're really very easy to overhaul if you can find all the parts you need. If you do repair one, just FYI there is a company that makes a replacement lower end bearing housings assembly that's much heavier/stronger than the original. https://drbfab.com/collections/ford/products/all-metal-lower-steering-column-bearing

That or the AODE-W (4R70W). I had one in the late 90's as well, a 1995 4x4 with 300/6 and auto. I really tried to like that truck but it didn't stick, and I sold it. I'm the same in that I like the 1980-1991 trucks much more than the 1992-1996.

I got my battery mount back in place yesterday and I'm now trying to figure out the best way to run all of my heavy duty wiring. My Painless wiring harness came with a roll of red 6ga cable, and a nice little fuse block for the alternator (with a 150 fuse). I also have the original 3G harness from the 1996 F150. The 3G wiring seems pretty simple...there's only two wires in the original harness...the large one that goes to the battery or starter solenoid and one for 12v switched? Anyway, the starter solenoid is on the firewall, and I was going to leave it there, but in looking at the picture maybe I'd be better off mounting it over on the inner fender between the alternator and battery. I'm trying to think of the best way to do this. Cable #1 from ALT to fuse holder. Cable #2 from fuse holder should go to battery positive, or to Solenoid input side? Cable #3 from input side of solenoid to PMGR starter? I may run a cable from the ALT to the pos side post of the battery, and then from the top post of the battery to the solenoid, and then another to the starter. I'm trying to come up with the cleanest and simplest way to do this. Oh, and what size wire do I need for the trigger wire to the PMGR starter? I seem to recall that it only draws 4amps?

Nice press! I like the shape(s) of the plates that came with it too. That's better than the old rectangular blocks that they used to be.

I struggled with the novelty of it as well. I think they're really neat and they are a great conversation piece, at least if there's anybody around that was born before 1980 lol. For that truck, there was no benefit in keeping it all original, and I was modifying it anyway, so when the novelty wore off I decided to get rid of it. I should also add that the cast transmission case was also cracked...the two lower bolt ears that attach to the bell housing, so to keep that transmission in place was going to take a lot of effort on my part even after rebuilding the steering column and shifter. I kept the column and just gutted all of the usable parts out of it, and then cut the shifter handle nub off. I filled the hole, smoothed it down and painted it. All of the usable spare parts for the 3-on-the-tree I listed for sale on one of the Bullnose FB groups and it sold in about 10 minutes to a guy that had a 3spd truck. I think the columns are worth good money to the right people, but they're awkward and expensive to ship. Anybody that has a column 3spd would be crazy to not buy a spare column/spare parts...minimum they should be worth several hundred dollars in my opinion. I think I sold all of my spare parts for $200, and that was probably 5 years ago.

Lookin' good! Clean and simple.

Ya, the 4.2L V6 was certainly not the workhorse that the 300 inline 6 was, but it was still a popular engine, especially in the "Jellybean" Ford trucks from 1997-2002. Call them City trucks or whatever you want, they did the job OK, and I don't think they were too bad on fuel either. Oh, by the way...on the 3-on-the-tree column. When I first got mine, I drove it for a while like that, but I really disliked how sloppy the shifting was, and the gear spread is awful if you're in a hilly area. Maybe because it was paired with a 302 instead of a 300 with it's low end torque, but I didn't like it. I pulled the column and I probably spent several months and a good $500 sourcing obsolete parts from all over the US to rebuild it, and in the end had basically a brand new steering column top to bottom. If I had to guess, after the rebuild, the shifting improved by about 3% LOL. I was kind of disgusted with it at that point and decided to rip it all out and swap in the 5spd. I really think they were just a poor design by the time the 80's rolled around, and the 3 on the tree probably should have been retired at the end of the 1979 model year, in my opinion at least. At this point and time, they're just a nostalgic thing.

These ones are from a 1984 2wd. I didn't get them mixed up, but it has happened before when guys rip the whole front end apart and then forget which one goes where lol. Later in the 80's when they added the integrated swaybar mounts to the spring seats, the spring seats got shorter.

Another oddity of the era was the 200 inline 6. Friend of mine had one in a Mustang...a 1981 or 1982. I was almost killed in that car in the early 90's lol. The Essex V6 made a bit of a comeback when it replaced the 300 inline 6 in the F150 pickups in 1997. It was a stroked 3.8 V6, which became a 4.2L. They were quite common here in Canada as the base engine in the pickups. Several of my friends had them. Ford ran them for quite a few years...until 2008 or 2009 at least. As for the three-on-the-tree, I can tell you that the M5OD 5spd is a very easy swap. The M5OD is only about 3/8" longer, so the 3-on-the-tree driveshaft can be re-used without modification, and the original speedo cable will even plug right in if it's an older (88-91) M5OD. Trans output splines are the same. I did this swap in my '84 and was quite happy with it. The beauty of that swap was that the truck already had a factory hydraulic clutch, so that made it even easier. The 3-on-the-tree was much more common with the earlier Bullnose trucks between 1980-1983. By the time 1984 rolled around, they were getting rare and by 1986 almost unheard of. I use the hydro clutch as the dividing line....you'll rarely see that transmission without a mechanical clutch.

I just checked Ebay out of curiosity, and holy smokes...rebuilt columns used to be only $750 a couple years ago...lol. https://www.ebay.com/itm/385352972330?fits=Year%3A1986%7CModel%3AF-150%7CMake%3AFord&hash=item59b8d3b82a:g:AAEAAOSwg5Rjm8JN&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAsHtE8VjFtLrYQBld1JgelaYCfkV2GUvUhOjCUrnQR9Y%2B%2FpI%2BvSQQZ%2FVD5bqaHAhDLtfvksq5zPsKax6o2VPZ6eq8DOpbvg965Dv3HSphd7sUylgyz4jEZdKoe4QAULEp17VA3aieVEzPaayNL3WFvjscjTb99g0NJOzFp%2F4TLi%2FAkz3WhMbVFJ10UpIKtca4gsEVjHM1xtFo4%2Bf7Izd2z1%2BoACGfxfPQn%2BUPCXN2s9y3%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8agyYXHYQ

I remember going through this a couple years ago. Have a look at the thread linked below...there's a bunch of information in there on the different 300 fuel pumps: https://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/300-Inline-6-Cyl-Fuel-Pump-Differences-Changes-tp83520.html

Here's an alignment report from my 1984 F150 2wd. Keep in mind it had ball joints and not kingpins, but should be the same overall more or less. At the time of this alignment, the truck had all new ball joints and factory original concentric 0 degree bushings.

Welcome aboard. The three on the tree column shifter is a real weak point unfortunately, and by all accounts parts for them were already obsolete by the mid 1990's. You can modify the 1979-older style shift collar to work on your 1983 without too much trouble. Lots have done it, including myself. I ended up swapping my 3-on-the-tree out for an M5OD 5spd, but I did spend a lot of time and money trying to make that 3spd work better;).

Very close, it's a 1955. The '56 F-series was a one year body style and you can spot them quickly as they have vertical A-pillars and a wrap around windshield. 1953-1955 were all the same with only grill changes each year, and the '56 was the oddball with the different glass/a-pillar, etc. While I'm not a big fan of yellow, I do really like this truck. I like the black wheels and stock ride height. I really dislike the current trend of lowering trucks to the ground and installing huge gaudy wheels on them, but to each their own. We can't all like the same thing. It is a lovely truck though, thanks for sharing.

The truck is a 1983 or 1984. It's definitely not an '80 or '81. It does not have the so-called "Swiss Cheese" frame, and it has the big forged front I-beams with ball joints. It doesn't just have newer interior door panels...it has full 1992-1996 doors on it. Looks like a factory DSII ignition truck to me, the module is on the fender and looks like it's been there a while. Looks like an aluminum driveshaft on it too. It has an 80-84 style radiator, so it's not an '85 or '86. It has the later style valve cover on it, which showed up in 1984, so my guess is that the truck is an '84. In any case, I don't like his videos either but I wouldn't burn any calories disliking the guy. It's far easier to just ignore his videos. I do like the forensics of trying to find out what year a truck is LOL. At this point in time, now 40 years later, A LOT has been changed on a lot of trucks.

Exactly! I'm not keen on lwb Flaresides, but I'll give it a nod for being unique;).

Interesting Bullnose here! Ha! https://www.facebook.com/groups/372896560755855/permalink/939237967455042/?sale_post_id=939237967455042

I can't answer your question, but why not switch the engine over to the truck sump, pan, and dipstick?

Yes sir! Being a 3-on-the-tree truck it was definitely a bare bones stripper. It was optioned up to the 302, and it had oil and alt gauges, but was otherwise option-less! Not sure if the base bones instrument cluster was still available in 1984 or not.

My 1984 F150 was a factory radio delete truck. They look shockingly blank in the interior with the radio delete bezels. This was my 2nd 1984 Ford that had no radio. I had a 1984 Ranger many years ago that was also a radio delete truck. Radio delete's are one of those things that are much more common on the earlier Bullnoses. They were fairly uncommon by 1985-1986. A common misconception is that if a truck was delivered with no radio, that all of the wiring and everything was there and all you had to do install a radio. Not true. A radio delete truck also had no speakers, no antenna, and no wiring for the radio or speakers. In fact, the cab and doors were not even drilled for the rubber boot to run the wires to the doors. Oh...and the ground strap that goes from the firewall to the hood, that also was not present on radio delete trucks. Later on in the 80's, 1987-up, if you bought a truck with no radio they had a little blank cover that fit over the antenna hole. In the Bullnose years, the cowl panels were specific to antenna or non antenna trucks. I'm sure they figured out later on that it was easier to just have one cowl panel for all models and just cap the holes in the radio delete trucks. Not long after that, radios became standard equipment anyway, even if it was just a basic am unit.

I have the 500CFM version on my newly built 302, but it's not running yet. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-m08500vs I've been intrigued with this carb based on some of the stuff I've read about Rick's comments over the years. My 302 is very mild, and it'll just be a cruiser so I thought the little 500CFM carb would be a nice fit. I can't wait to get it fired up and running...hopefully in another month or so. I just installed a Holley TPS on it recently to signal my Quick4 transmission controller. Here it is with the hard supply line removed and TPS installed.

You could also lift the engine with a floor jack and put blocks between the engine mounts and the frame. You'd have to cut slots in the blocks to go around the studs, but it should also work depending on how high you need to lift.

Who was looking for one recently? Was it Jonathan? I had one I removed from a bad 300 one time and it was in like-new condition. I sent it to Ray Cecil but it likely went with his old Bullnose. Had I known at the time they'd be so hard to find I would have had a few made while I had it to measure/duplicate. They'd be expensive to make here...but they could stamp 'em out for a few bucks each in China.