Rembrant

Excellent news! I'm so glad that there are 3 on the tree Bullnoses still on the road and in use. Warms my heart;).

Ya, it looks like mine, but without the top plastic cover (it just snaps in place through square holes). The step/tow bar bolts to the bottom and is a separate piece. Looks like this guy left it off to clear the receiver hitch I guess?

The email came through...8 times...lol. I will reply to your email also. May need to confirm exactly what this switch is, but I think that it is a factory clutch switch. I bought it years ago for my 1984 Bullnose when I was going to install an aftermarket cruise control. My memory is getting kinda fuzzy on the topic...this thing has been on my shelf for quite a while. Sorry guys...it is not the clutch switch, it is a cruise control interrupt switch...my bad... https://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Cruise-Control-Interrupt-Switches-No-Longer-Available-as-of-7-29-19-tp29006.html https://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Cruise-control-clutch-switch-E3TZ-9F645-B-tp15141.html

The email came through...8 times...lol. I will reply to your email also. May need to confirm exactly what this switch is, but I think that it is a factory clutch switch. I bought it years ago for my 1984 Bullnose when I was going to install an aftermarket cruise control. My memory is getting kinda fuzzy on the topic...this thing has been on my shelf for quite a while.

Dave, I think you're right, that $9k is a bit pricey for this truck. That rear bumper appears to be from a 1992-1996 Flareside. The top plastic cover is missing, and so is the step (it's a separate piece that bolts to the bottom of the bumper).

Hey BigBrother, Do you need a clutch switch? I happen to have a brand new one, still in the Ford box;). I can send it to you if you want it. Free to a good home as it were;)

This truck showed up in my FB news feed and caught my eye because of the rear tank: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/115544311630968/ Quite unique...but Dave knows all about them;).

No sir, that kit does not fit. I don't think anybody makes a kit for the Bullnose era trucks. JBG sells the upper bearing, or at least they used to, that's where I bought mine. All of the plastic parts I found on Ebay (individually, not in a kit). The one big lower bushing I actually got at the dealer...oddly they were still available.

The 1979 manual column shift collars will indeed work...I have done it myself as have others. The 1980-1986 manual column shift collars are no longer available....some say they were obsolete and NLA as early as the the early 1990's. They do pop up on Ebay from time to time or you can find them on junkyard trucks (and they are inevitably worn out or cracked also). Below is a picture of my old 1984 steering column with a 1973-1979 shift collar installed. I did it quite a few years ago. I believe you need to trim about 10mm (3/8") from the top of the collar, and then you have to trim some off the plastic column piece that sits below the shift collar. Mechanically, the 1973-1979 collars are identical to the 1980-1986 collars. The difference is in the outside shell, or casing as it were. The Bullnose collar bottom end is taper and fits inside the plastic trim piece. The 1979 and older collar is not tapered at the bottom so you'll have to trim the plastic like I did to make it fit. Other than that, you just need to trim about 3/8" from the top of the collar where it meetings the ignition housing. Note: There are a bunch of other wear parts in there that need to be replaced also...springs and plastic bushings, etc. They are much easier to find...if you do replace the collar, search out those other wear parts and replace at the same time.

That appears to be an 8-lug specific issue...?? I just went and looked back at my previous Bullnose certification labels, and the 1994 F150 currently in my garage, and a bunch of others I had on file, and the total number was always MUCH higher than the front capacity number...but they're ALL half tons, from 1980-1994. Interesting. Technically, the total number should always be higher than the front by itself...so why your 8-lug trucks are not labelled as such...who knows. Maybe they're typos. Be curious to see a certification label from a Chassis Cab truck. Tried to add these in my previous post but Nabble clearly does not like decimals in picture names lol. My bad. Try this again...

That appears to be an 8-lug specific issue...?? I just went and looked back at my previous Bullnose certification labels, and the 1994 F150 currently in my garage, and a bunch of others I had on file, and the total number was always MUCH higher than the front capacity number...but they're ALL half tons, from 1980-1994. Interesting. Technically, the total number should always be higher than the front by itself...so why your 8-lug trucks are not labelled as such...who knows. Maybe they're typos. Be curious to see a certification label from a Chassis Cab truck.

Ya, that front crossmember...if you can even call it that, is surprisingly flimsy. It's hard to even find a Bullnose with one of these crossmembers that isn't bent lol.

Dave, If you have an iPhone you can get these little adapters at Wal-Mart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Apple-Lightning-to-3-5-mm-Headphone-Jack-Adapter/54738078 Should be $5 or less for the Non-Apple branded stuff. I have a couple of them for using older earphones.

Haha, well, I guess that depends on which angle you're listening from;). One of the comedians said years ago that music went downhill when musicians started to become famous for being good looking! In a proper old school rock n roll band, they were all ugly haha. Speaking of 60's music, do you ever play this one when the wife is around? Haha. It's in our playlist, and it always makes us laugh when it comes on. You have to listen to the lyrics though! PS: Current Flareside situation at my place. It's a sad state of affairs, I tell ya.

60's tunes on a sound system in the garage sounds great! The first 60's tune that popped in my head was this one:nabble_smiley_whistling: Love the guitar. When it comes to garage music, I'm hopelessly stuck in the 80's and 90's, or as the young kids are calling it these days..."back in the late 1900's" haha. Enjoy your upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday folks!

Great stuff Gary, in your documentation you like the thread below, and it shows some great pics comparing the bed strips: https://www.garysgaragemahal.com/#nabble-td17364|a17444 I did have a couple good samples around here of each style, but I don't know where they are now...possibly gone;( Hope all is well Gary! I haven't been around much lately. Things are pretty quiet in my garage these days.

I'd have to go look it up, but I believe the bed floor change was late in the 1982 model year, like July 1982. The 1987 Flareside bed was identical to the 1980-1986 bed. It was a one year only offering, and the only thing that was different was the fiberglass fenders had a slightly different wheel opening to match the Bricknose front fenders. Otherwise, the beds were 100% the same. No Flaresides from 1988-1991. The Flareside came back out in 1992, and it does have a steel bed, but has fiberglass bed sides that bolt on to the steel sides. I have a 1994 Flareside now, and while I do like the truck, they don't have the same curb appeal as the Bullnose trucks in my option. I have always wanted the one year wonder 1987 Flareside. A 4x4 with a 300 and stick would be really nice. If I ever come across a nice one I'll have to think hard on it;).

I think if you do dig into the topic a little deeper that you'll find that no matter which vendor you buy the bed strips from, they're all coming from Mar-K in Oklahoma anyway. One of the reasons there are variations out there is that the aftermarket companies, or Mar-K in particular, have been making these bed strips for decades, and even their bed strips have changed over the years. I was trying to match some up a few years ago, and Mar-K told me that their bed strips were different depending on when they were made. The machines changed and get replaced, they change the forming dies, and then there's material changes on top of that. They're available in steel and stainless steel, and one Flareside bed I bought even had a set of aluminum bed strips. I ended up re-using those ones on my 1984 F150. No idea who made them...I searched but never did find out. So, not much out there for options these days. Heya Jim, I had the pleasure of spending this past week with a lovely gal from Connecticut! She works for one of the companies we rep, and they're in New Haven. I kinda miss my Bullnose Flaresides these days. I like my 1994 Flareside OK, but it's not the same. Ford did indeed use different bed strips, and I do believe the later 1983-1987 strips were wider, but nobody is reproducing those...they were kind of weird anyway. They sat flush on top of the wood, and not down into channels like the 1982-older bed strips. They were made to sit on top of the plywood, or MDO or whatever it was back then, and nobody ever refinishes the floors with that stuff...well, except Reamer and I lol. Even if you could get the later style/wider strips, they wouldn't work with the boards/plank style flooring anyway. Wish I had better news, but I think the 1.5" wide strips are all that is available these days, and there's a good chance that many, if not all of them, are originating from Mar-K.

I have a 1994 F150 with 302 and MAF if you need any pictures.

Hiya Gary, The 1987-1991 steering shafts will swap right into a Bullnose. They're definitely better than the 1980-1986 steering shafts with the proper "dry" u-joint at the top, and the bonded rubber rag joint at the bottom. I installed one in my 1984 F150. I mainly did it because my bullnose upper joint rubber was ripped (like they all do eventually). Of course a Borgeson shaft is probably the best option, but it's expensive. The Bricknose steering shaft is a good upgrade piece imho. PS: I got a used southern shaft from Steve83 that used to be on here. I think it was $15. Unfortunately, the spring in the slip joint was broken in about 3 pieces, and no matter how hard I tried I could not find a proper piece of metal to replace it with. I ended up welding a couple nuts on the sides of the shaft and put some set screws in to remove the slop.

Gary, You may remember that I installed a Redhead box in my 1984 Flareside and I was quite happy with it. If you haven't done so already, it's a great time to up grade the steering shaft when changing out the steering box. The 1987-1991 steering shaft is a bit of an upgrade over the 1980-1986 shaft. It has a "dry" knuckle at the top, and a heavy bonded rubber joint at the bottom (where the Bullnose "rag joint" is). I guess simply put, it is a tighter and sturdier piece. You could also do the Boregson shaft...and I'm sure they are wonderful, but they're expensive;).

I did not know that! I'll give it a try, but she's coming down pretty quickly now so not a big deal. It seemed like it was really too long though before the new O2 sensor.

Ahh yes, OK, understood. That makes perfect sense and explains why the high idle is a bit different. The change was subtle, but a change regardless. The high idle doesn't go quite as high as previous and it comes down much quicker. I found a cracked spark plug boot tonight so I just ordered a new set of plugs and wires. I was going to do it over the winter, but might as well do it now while I can still road test the truck. I also noticed that it has Motorcraft Platinum plugs in it...not sure if that's good or bad, but I ordered a set of SP450 copper core plugs to replacement with. The emissions decal under the hood calls for ASF-42C as the correct originals, but I understand that the SP450's are direct replacements for them. It has ASF-42P's in it now. I was going to get Autolite 25's, but there were only 3 available on RockAuto. I don't know if the cracked plug boot makes much difference or not, but I do get some vibration sometimes. Somebody threw away all the plug wire separators and they're all intertwined with each other, so I ordered a couple packs of Dorman separators so I can get everything routed properly. Thanks again for all the help folks. She'll be running perfectly before winter at this rate;).

I've had good luck with LMC, and I like their catalogs;).

Thank you gentlemen! I had it my head that MAP was with speed density, and MAF with SEFI. It was kind of funny, because I went to check it on the distributor (I was actually looking to see if the module was grey or black...I found several threads where people were saying to ONLY buy the black ones...whatever that means. Is it something like the Duraspark II modules with the different color grommets for the wire harness??). Anyway...when it wasn't there, I started looking around because I had to have an ignition module somewhere! Kinda neat learning these things...thanks again guys. Rough running issues aside, the truck seems to be running even better than it was previously. I can't imagine an O2 sensor making that big a difference, but it could be in my head too;). When the engine is first started, are these EFI systems running on closed loop or open during warm up/high idle. The high idle seems different...its not going quite as high and not staying high as long as it was previously...but again, maybe it's all in my head;).