Hello from the LowCountry!

[tjmac]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and a brand new Bullnose owner. I'm also Gary Lewis' son-in-law;  I finally caught the bullnose bug after watching Gary have so much fun with a number of different trucks through the years. He speaks highly of all of you on this forum- believe it or not!

Last week, he and I drove out to a "holler" about 90 minutes and 50 years away from where I currently live in Charleston, South Carolina. Under his questionable influence, I bought an '83 F150 short bed.

It runs great, but had been a country boy party truck for a long while. This weekend I cleaned many pounds of mud, rotten floor liner, rust, hay, pitbull hair (and snot off the glass), shotgun shells, fishing lures, cigarette packs, women's earrings, beer bottle caps (and old-style pull tabs!), and who all knows what else. My 12 year old son even found some earthworms living in the inches of soil under the bed liner. Still not done cleaning, but getting there. Good start to a project truck, I'd say!

All that said- I'm glad to be on the forum and I look forward to meeting and interacting with everyone. I'm a complete noob when it comes to these trucks, or any vehicle restoration, for that matter, but I learn fast and I'm not scared of much.

See y'all 'round.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Welcome TJ!  

Sounds more like an archeology expedition than a vehicle purchase.  

You've got the basics covered as your sig shows, and if Gary thinks it's solid and serviceable enough to purchase it should serve well.

[Gary Lewis]

Welcome, TJ!  Sure glad you joined.  

And glad you bought that Bullnose.  We talked to your wife yesterday and she seems happy that you did as well.  Said you were thrilled to be able to put the lawn mower in the back and go tend to the church yard.  And I'm sure it'll be useful in your other projects.

However, whomever coached you on your signature didn't quite 'splain things very well.  The C6 is a 3 speed auto.  Very old-school, with no overdrive and no lockup on the torque converter.  Tough as a boot but fairly inefficient.  Works well for a car or a light truck, but the heavier you go the more slippage and heat the torque converter has - all of which was once gasoline.

Anyway, hope to get a care package off to you when we get home.  Lots of parts that'll help put things right.  But we've already started putting things right.  Placing the wire back on the oil pressure sending unit fixed that, and adding a screw to the air cleaner secured the snorkel.  

[Gary Lewis]

Forgot to say that I added you to the map.  And your 11 year-old daughter would probably like to see it as she's asked to see the map frequently.  (Zoom in to see where I put the pin.)

I can easily remove it if you'd like.

[tjmac]

Glad to be on the Bullnose map!

[grumpin]

Welcome!

[BigBrother-84]

tjmac wrote

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and a brand new Bullnose owner. I'm also Gary Lewis' son-in-law;

Gary likes to say «We aren't a big forum, but we are family.»
Looks like he could not have put it better!


Welcome!

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, we are FAMILY.

[BigBrother-84]

Are we going to see some Lil'Blue picts soon?

BTW, isn't it curious that Gary coached you to buy a blue Bullnose?

[Gary Lewis]

Well, "coached" might be the wrong word.  "Aided and abetted" might be closer to the truth.  

TJ had already spotted the truck on FB Marketplace when we got there two weeks ago.  A conversation about transportation ensued since his wife starts her new nursing job in about 3 weeks and the 2001 Subie had blown another head gasket.  So he asked what I thought about the truck, and after a bit of investigation I said it was worth a look-see.

We went to see it and it appeared to be sound mechanically but needing attention to a bunch of details.  However, many of those details I can help with from things I've acquired, so I'm in the process of filling a box, henceforth known as the "care package", with bits and pieces like door weatherstripping, PEX tubing pieces, rear view mirror, shop manuals, glove box liner (the plastic one), HVAC control, etc, etc, etc.  (Actually it'll be two boxes since the shop manuals can go via Media Mail.)

As for pics, I think I'll let TJ post them as he's been cleaning the truck up a bunch and my pics are prior to that.

But, I will post one pic that he doesn't have - the care package at this point, with a lot more to be added:

[BigBrother-84]

Gary Lewis wrote

But, I will post one pic that he doesn't have - the care package at this point, with a lot more to be added

Having such a Father-in-Law is very cool!

[Rembrant]

tjmac wrote

Last week, he and I drove out to a "holler" about 90 minutes and 50 years away from where I currently live in Charleston, South Carolina. Under his questionable influence, I bought an '83 F150 short bed.

Haha, OK, that holler bit made me laugh out loud;).

Welcome to the Bullnose life.