SCFlareside Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 All, An '85 Flareside came up not too far from me, and long story short... ended up managing to get it. Truck has a lot of patina on the outside, but the more I looked at it the better it got. Was sitting in back of a guy's house... he'd bought to restore but didn't get to it so was selling. He said that he bought it from a farmer who "had it forever" Made about an hour and a half trip home today on the highway, no problems other than a bit of a pull to the right, and some interesting noises from the left front during slow speed turns. Engine ran like a champ. Can tell the first thing I want to address are brakes, then steering... Will post more pics shortly but this truck is really complete. AC is all there and compressor kicks on but it's not cold. Everything else works... even the cruise control...(!) Truck shows about 39,000 miles on the odo. I am inclined to think that it's 139k, not 239k for a few reasons even though the exterior is pretty sun - bleached and rusted. - Wear on the foot pedals and other areas is minimal - Door hinges are great - General "original-ness" of the truck - I believe the original bed floor is in the truck (was a CA truck for a while) Will try getting the Carfax to confirm maybe. Anyway, on to a few interesting things on the truck: 1.) It has a fuel injected 300 in it. I didn't think the '85 trucks with 300s were EFI? The truck's VIN seems to indicate an EFI 302 instead. Probably a transplant later, but it looks very well done, thought it was factory at first. 2.) The truck sits up a bit more in the tail, higher rake angle than normal. Checked out the rear springs and they have five leafs, quite the hearty spring pack. 3/4 ton maybe? 3.) Will post pictures of inside. Full interior is blue, except for the grey rubberized floor (no carpet) and GREY kick panels. Question: Was this typical for Ford, to use different color kick panels to match the floor? If so, I'll want to restore it that same way. I believe this was an XL. It also has chrome door card trim. 4.) The steering wheel or at least the trim was replaced because it's rosewood, but the cruise control buttons on it all work. The dash is the normal '85 burlwood. Thanks all! SC Flareside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFlareside Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 right side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFlareside Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 right side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFlareside Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFlareside Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Nice find! Flaresides are cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Congratulations! You've brought home another orphaned puppy to keep you home and busy, and out of trouble. Looks like a fun project. What are your plans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Haha Ken, I knew you couldn't resist buying this truck!!...lol. So are you going to sell the black one now? That EFI must be a swap. As far as I'm aware, the 300 was carbed until 1987. Only the 302 got EFI part way through 1985. Are the old SBF engine perches still there...or is there evidence that they were? I'm not sure if they need to be removed or not to install a 300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Haha Ken, I knew you couldn't resist buying this truck!!...lol. So are you going to sell the black one now? That EFI must be a swap. As far as I'm aware, the 300 was carbed until 1987. Only the 302 got EFI part way through 1985. Are the old SBF engine perches still there...or is there evidence that they were? I'm not sure if they need to be removed or not to install a 300. Cool! I agree with Cory, I don't think the 300 got EFI until '87. As for the kick panel, I've never seen them a different color than the door panel/card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Cool! I agree with Cory, I don't think the 300 got EFI until '87. As for the kick panel, I've never seen them a different color than the door panel/card. If the VIN said 85 with a 302 and it has FI 300 in it wonder what the frame VIN has to say? Could it be a cab swap? On the kick panels I would think they would match the others. Now a black rug with other inside colors I can see. On my phone I can't really see the pictures so can't wait till on my pc. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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