My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

[Rembrant]

Looking good, Cory!

On today's to-do list!! Operation remove-sloppiness! I just removed the old steering gear, and man that's a heavy chunk of iron to lower out of there with a bum shoulder.

This thing has been sitting on my bench all wrapped up in the original box since November, or whenever that last sale was...Thanksgiving I believe, or maybe Christmas.

[Gary Lewis]

On today's to-do list!! Operation remove-sloppiness! I just removed the old steering gear, and man that's a heavy chunk of iron to lower out of there with a bum shoulder.

This thing has been sitting on my bench all wrapped up in the original box since November, or whenever that last sale was...Thanksgiving I believe, or maybe Christmas.

I hope your box is a tight as the RedHead I put on Dad's truck. There is absolutely NO slop in it.

Have fun! And, while you have the box off, check the frame for cracking.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I hope your box is a tight as the RedHead I put on Dad's truck. There is absolutely NO slop in it.

Have fun! And, while you have the box off, check the frame for cracking.

Maybe consider bedding it to the frame liner?

[LARIAT 85]

Corey! That is a FINE LOOKER! You are going to be so proud when finished! Thanks for the inspiration! Mine has a long way to go to get to that point.

Ha! Thanks Ray...it's really still in the "Beater with a heater" category, but I'm dying to drive it again! Rolling down the driveway and back to the garage doesn't give one the "fix" he needs...lol.

I finally filled the thing with brake fluid yesterday, and I didn't do as good a job as I thought I had...lol. I had several leaks. I was able to fix them just by tightening the fittings, but I have one small nagging leak right at the master cylinder that is going to need a new flare or a new line, whatever. I HATE working on brake lines...lol.

I installed a later 90's master cylinder (plastic one) as recommended by Steve83, so at least the darn thing wont rust on me. The wiring that used to go to the proportioning valve now goes to the low level switch on the master, and that is working fine.

I'm going to tighten down the bed bolts this morning and I might even take it for a drive.

The cab still needs paint, but thats coming, soon-ish...

Your truck looks fantastic! Great job!

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

Your truck looks fantastic! Great job!

I know front and rear are reversed, so you need to move the lines around.

Have also heard, anecdotally, that thread pitch changed to metric.

[Rembrant]

Your truck looks fantastic! Great job!

I am interested in the later brake booster with the plastic master cylinder from a 1990s truck you put on your truck. I still have the stock-style cast iron version, and it is rusty and a pain to check the fluid level.

Is this a direct bolt-on?

Thanks Rick. It's coming along, slow but sure.

Yes sir, I understand about the master cylinder. I installed the later one solely to get away from the rusty cast iron original.

It is pretty much a direct bolt-on. I was running all new brake lines anyway, so that part wasn't really an issue for me, but as noted above, the ports are reversed from the original Bullnose master cyl. As for the year, I believe I asked for a 1991 master cylinder.

I did have to adjust the pushrod in the new booster slightly, but I don't think that had anything to do with the master cylinder swap.

Couple small things to note: I also did away with the original Bullnose proportioning valve mounted on the frame, and therefore needed one of the integrated valves that attaches directly to the master cylinder. I went to the junkyard for this, and I actually grabbed two of them...one to use and one for a spare. I think they were only a couple bucks each. I also grabbed a couple plugs/pigtails from the later master cylinders. So, I cut the plug off that was on the original proportioning valve and connected the wires to the new master cylinder. With this my Brake warning light will light up if my brake fluid level gets too low.

PS: Now that I think of it...you DO need the proportioning valve for the later master cylinder as without it the port will not be correct for a brake line fitting. I also went with the later style front left brake flex line, which causes the front hard lines to be routed differently.

Overall I'm very happy with the swap. I have to give credit to Steve83 on this one since it was him that suggested it to me in the first place.

I'm pointing at the proportioning valve here...in case anybody goes to the junkyard looking for one. They do not come with new replacement masters.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

the ports are reversed from the original Bullnose master cyl. As for the year, I believe I asked for a 1991 master cylinder.

Couple small things to note: I also did away with the original Bullnose proportioning valve mounted on the frame, and therefore needed one of the integrated valves that attaches directly to the master cylinder.

1) my truck is '87 and has this.

Any Bricknose should work.

2) That is the residual pressure check valve. This keeps the springs from fully retracting the rear shoes.

 

[Steve83]

They do not come with new replacement masters.

Some rebuilders include the RPV; others don't.

This keeps the springs from fully retracting the rear shoes.

No, the RPV isn't nearly strong enough for that. When everything is working right, the shoes will always return to rest against the anchor pin. The RPV simply "preloads" the rear brake line with a tiny bit of pressure to bias the brakes slightly back to the rear - probably to make the ABS work better, but it doesn't hurt non-ABS since that's how ABS behaves 99.9% of the time.

[Rembrant]

Some rebuilders include the RPV; others don't.

OK, good to know. I only came across new ones both locally and online, and none of them came with the RPV.

 

[Rembrant]

On today's to-do list!! Operation remove-sloppiness! I just removed the old steering gear, and man that's a heavy chunk of iron to lower out of there with a bum shoulder.

This thing has been sitting on my bench all wrapped up in the original box since November, or whenever that last sale was...Thanksgiving I believe, or maybe Christmas.

By the way, I'm really pleased with the RedHead steering gear. I got it installed yesterday and followed the instructions to the letter regarding the priming part. I was a little disappointed at first...I think I thought that the steering was going to feel like a brand new truck...lol (A 2019 truck). Now it feels like a new 1984 truck! Anyway, the steering is much tighter than before. Once out on the highway and on the back roads, it felt great. The steering in this truck is as good as it is going to get...there is nothing left to replace in the front end. I still have a swaybar to install, but I'm going to wait and leave it for a winter project.

I tore the drivers front fender off the truck today. What a pita job that is when the majority of the screws are rusted/seized in place. Some of them were easy...the rest not so much. Pulled the fender liner to clean it all up as well. I have a new set of fenders and stone guard or whatever it is called I'm going to get it all installed before taking it in to the body shop for paint. If all goes well I'll be dropping it off a week from Monday so they can get started on it.