1985 F150 Bullnose 4x4 Project

[Gary Lewis]

Dave - These guys seem to be making progress, but we are warm.  Right?

[FuzzFace2]

Yes we are.
I should have gotten out there today, cold and raining (got to walk across drive to get to my garage) or not as I did not have work.

I don't have work again tomorrow and I plan on getting out and get something done.
I also should go thru all the bins I have parts stored in to re-fresh me what I have and to put the parts I still need to use in 1 place.
Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

Maybe you can answer my question on the Lower Spring Retainer?

[Rembrant]

Well, one of the guys on FTE pointed out something that I clearly didn't notice at a glance. (I love having access to the people with all of the information!!).

Anyway, while my crusty old 5.0 has an eccentric for a mechanical fuel pump, it is only the inner piece of the two piece set-up.

This is the 1985 5.0 EFI...



And here is my 1984 5.0 (factory carbed) with 2pc eccentric...



So, how difficult is it to find that outer piece?...
Any comments from the BTDT crowd?

[Rembrant]

Oh...

Nevermind...a quick Google search brought me a $25 dollar solution...lol.

https://www.jegs.com/i/COMP-Cams/249/235/10002/-1

[1986F150Six]

Or, $22.95...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SBF-FORD-289-302-351W-5-0-331-347-mechanical-fuel-pump-eccentric-kit/321746761531?epid=574649553&hash=item4ae999f73b:g:91oAAOxyPiJRi~bW:rk:1:pf:0

[Gary Lewis]

Or get one from a salvage.  Anyway, glad you found that before you built the engine and the fuel pump didn't work.

[FuzzFace2]

I think it would still work, that outer part just free wheels / spins on the inner IIRC right?
How thick is it where you think it would not work with it in place?
As far as I know this is the only setup to use something like this all the rest the pump arm rides on the a part like the inner or a cam shaft lobe.
Dave ----

[Steve83]

Pump arms made to ride on the spinning part are wider & contoured to fit the shape better, so they apply less pressure.  These are smaller because they rest on the freewheeling part - they'd cut through the spinning surface quickly because there wouldn't be enough oil film.

[Rembrant]

I picked up a set of cheap shorty headers for this project while on the road ($100 CDN, or about $75 USD). I was scrolling through the listings of small block Ford parts last week and came across this set of headers listed only as "Mustang Headers", with the description noting that they fit a variety of 302 applications. That may very well be the case, but from the pictures, I was pretty sure that they were 5.0 truck headers, and it turns out that they are. JBA model #1627. I don't know if you'd consider them NOS, but they've never been installed. They have some nicks and marks on them from probably banging around on a shelf somewhere (for probably 20 years), but I'm sure they'll clean up OK with some scrubbing and polishing.



I wasn't necessarily looking for headers for this engine this early in the game, but the factory manifolds went straight into the scrap bin (they were junk), so I was going to need manifolds of some kind or another for this thing.

Now, if I could just find a cheap 4bbl intake manifold, I'd be all set.

[Gary Lewis]

I like those.  In fact, I am thinking about a set like them for Dad's truck as well as Big Blue.  

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

I like those.  In fact, I am thinking about a set like them for Dad's truck as well as Big Blue.  

Have a set of the BBK shorty's on the 302 in the other truck. They make it easy to run the exhaust in the stock routing (even true duals, like mine).

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, that's why I'm interested.

[grumpin]

Nice!

[Rembrant]

Something else I am in need of for this project is a 302 4V intake manifold. Since this is a budget project and I'm trying to do everything on the cheap, I'm not wanting to buy a brand new Edelbrock...not yet at least. I've seen a few of the factory aluminum 4bbl manifolds for sale recently...I believe they are from the 1983-1985 Foxbody Mustangs. Is there any issue with using these? I assume they are OK and don't require any special parts or pieces?

What is the hole in the carb mounting surface for? I assume an EGR port?

[Gary Lewis]

I do believe that's an EGR port.  As for which is best between the stock 4bbl aluminum intake and the Performer, this seems to say the Performer has a slight edge.

But, they point out something you need to watch for on a used intake - corrosion around the water passages at the front and rear of the intake.  If the user didn't run a good antifreeze there will frequently be corrosion there that makes it difficult to get a good seal.

And another place to watch is the threaded fitting for the water temp sender.  A ham-handed "mechanic" can crack the casting there by over tightening the sender since NPT gets progressively bigger.

[Rembrant]

I finally made the journey to pick up the replacement cab for the old '85 4x4 that I took apart. It had been buried in snow all winter, and after several weeks of fresh clean spring air we got a freak snow storm on Tuesday night that dumped "4-6" of snow down. By tonight there was just a few spots left in the grass. It wasn't ideal for traveling in yesterday, but I finally made it home. I also went to the border and picked up a car load of parts, both new and old. You can't see it in the pics, but I had boxes right to the ceiling inside the car too. A new Flareside headboard, front and rear sills, all new cross bars, a 5spd 4x4 crossmember, 4x4 shifter and associated parts, a steering shaft, tunnel cover, dash and radio bezels, etc. The old diesel got a good workout today.




The cab is not perfect, but it's not bad. Has original cab corners and rockers, but there are some small holes in the floor, mostly up in the foot well area, and some pin holes on the floor pans just inside from where the door gaskets sit. The structure of the floor and the mounting areas are perfect. Couple ugly holes in the roof to deal with...must have had a visor on it at some point. The rest is just surface rust.

Anyway, this thing won't be a show truck...just another pet project.

[Ford F834]

Nice haul! 🙂

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, nice haul!  And, nice trailer.  I like aluminum trailers - that's what it is, right?  Big Blue sure knew that my steel trailer was behind him yesterday, but aluminum would have cut that weight down a bunch.  However, I couldn't find a reasonably-priced aluminum trailer.

And, I'd not thought about placing the cab on sideways.  It fits nicely and cuts the wind resistance dramatically.  

[grumpin]

Gary Lewis wrote

Yes, nice haul!  And, nice trailer.  I like aluminum trailers - that's what it is, right?  Big Blue sure knew that my steel trailer was behind him yesterday, but aluminum would have cut that weight down a bunch.  However, I couldn't find a reasonably-priced aluminum trailer.

And, I'd not thought about placing the cab on sideways.  It fits nicely and cuts the wind resistance dramatically.  

 
Cleans it out too!