New member from Mill Creek WA

[cjstaci]

Hello, I am a life long Ford enthusiast. I started working on cars in 1975 when I got my first car. I served 3 years in the Army then went to Automotive Machinist course at a local community college. I worked as a mechanic from the early 80's thru the mid 90's. I am currently a field supervisor at Metro Transit.
  I've owned several cars and trucks over the years, two of the most notable were a 70 Torino Cobra drag pack and a 69 Boss 429. Currently, I have 69 Mustang sportsroof, a 71 Mustang convertible, and my most recent addition is a 81 F350 std cab 4x4.
  I bought the 81 F350 last month. It is a std cab, custom, camper special, 400, C-6, 3.54 gears, factory black / black interior. It looks good and is 100% rust free, but it is 40 years old has some problems, most of which are minor. So far I have replaced all of the steering linkage, the steering box and currently waiting on parts so I can replace the shift collar on the tilt column. I also de-mickey moused  things the previous owner has done. I still need to address the brake system.
  At some point in the future, I would like to upgrade the seat to a 40-20-40 from a late model truck. A local wrecking yard has one that's black cloth. Another thought is to replace the Dana 50 with a Dana 60.

[kramttocs]

Welcome aboard!
Your truck is beautiful

[Gary Lewis]

Welcome!  Do you go by CJ?

That's a beautiful truck!  I hope to see more pics of it in future.

Re the seat, look at the page at Documentation/Interior/Seat Interchangeability.  To put the later seat in you'll need the seat base discussed there, and then it'll bolt in.

Would you like to be on our map?  Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu.  We'll be happy to add you.

[Sac79]

Welcome! That's a great looking truck indeed!

[cjstaci]

Hi, I go by Staci. CJ is for my mustang, (cobra jet).

I briefly looked at the seat interchangeability page. I may have missed it, but how new of a seat will bolt in? I think the one I was looking at is from a 2005.

Yes you can add me to the map.

[Gary Lewis]

Staci - You are on the map.  Looks like there are several of you in that area.

[Rembrant]

Oh man that truck is gorgeous!

[cjstaci]

Thanks for the responses and compliments from everyone. I always liked this body style. I think it has the cleanest lines and a great classic look.

I was looking at the members map and see there is a lot of members, so hello to all. I see we have some members in Germany. I was stationed in Kaiserslautern in 1978-79. So, hello to our German friends as well.

As work progresses on my truck, I will post pictures to show what I've done.

[grumpin]

Welcome!

[Machspeed]

Staci, great to have you join us here! Beautiful truck! Curious bout your Mustang? We seem to have some things in common!

[ArdWrknTrk]

That truck is gorgeous!   😍

I was going to say John and you have a lot in common.
Welcome to the forum.  

[cjstaci]

Wow! My 69 was blue too. My plans for the car has changed many times over the years, now I am knee deep in modifications that I wish I wouldn't have started.

[cjstaci]

Thought I would throw in a few pic's of my 71

[Gary Lewis]

Staci - Nice looking cars!  Feel free to start threads on them.  We aren't hidebound to just Bullnose trucks.  Bill has a thread on is 85 LeBaron T2, I have a thread somewhere about my boat's battery system, etc.  So if you want to track your progress on the cars, have at it.

But you said you might want to change out the D50 for a D60.  That's basically what I did on Big Blue, although it started with a D44HD instead of a D50.

However, I'm curious as to why you'd do that.  I did it to get reasonable springing in the front.  I believe the TTBs with leaf springs are a very poor design.  And I can tell you that changing to the D60 with an RSK made a big difference.

But, I also had to lighten up the rear springs to get the maximum effect as the rears still being stiff masked the softness of the new front springs.  However, I'm not sure you'd have to do that as you may have a lighter spring pack than I did.  Looking at your pic of the trailer behind the truck the rear of the truck is squatting some.  But in a similar situation with my car hauler trailer loaded with a '65 Malibu (SS 396) Big Blue didn't squat at all.

Check your spring pack to see how many leaves you have.  And then check out this post where Shaun and I discuss rear springs.  You'll see that Shaun's 1980 F350 has 4 leaves, not counting the bottom overload, and Big Blue had 6 leaves.  Both spring packs were used in F250's and F350's, but the heavier pack was usually for the ones with serious GVW's and/or the crewcabs.  Big Blue has neither so the heavier spring pack just made the ride brutal.

[Machspeed]

My Mach is not Blue Stacie, rather Gulfstream Aqua. It will go back that color too. I'm doing somewhat of a resto mod to it but will maintain the classic look. I've got a 550HP 351W stroker motor built for it, TKO600, Detroit Locker rearend.....blah, blah, blah. Curious, what are your plans for your 69?

That 71 is a rare pony, is it not? With the exception of maybe the Boss 351, I don't tend to gravitate to the 71's and beyond but I can't say I've ever seen a 429 equipped 71 convertible. Beautiful car! Did you build that car and if so, to what extent?

I've got to get back to working on my Mustang! Be advised that you may not make it back to yours anytime soon. I made the mistake of coming here to find out what my truck was worth in order to sell it and never left. In fact, somehow Gary and the gang magically influenced me to not only keep it but to also do all kinds of stuff to it. Gary takes much pride in that..... 

[Gary Lewis]

Machspeed wrote

...  Be advised that you may not make it back to yours anytime soon. I made the mistake of coming here to find out what my truck was worth in order to sell it and never left. In fact, somehow Gary and the gang magically influenced me to not only keep it but to also do all kinds of stuff to it. Gary takes much pride in that.....

Guilty as charged!  

It is called "improvement".  Get rid of the leaf-sprung TTB's in favor of a solid axle.  Hydroboost braking.  Saginaw steering pump.  3G alternator.  Headlight relay harness.  Relay(s) for the HVAC system.  Etc, etc, etc.  It is a slippery slope, but now that I'm on it I want company!

[Machspeed]

 

Gary Lewis wrote

It is called "improvement".  Get rid of the leaf-sprung TTB's in favor of a solid axle.  Hydroboost braking.  Saginaw steering pump.  3G alternator.  Headlight relay harness.  Relay(s) for the HVAC system.  Etc, etc, etc.  It is a slippery slope, but now that I'm on it I want company!

Gary, would that fall under the saying that, "misery loves company"?

Gary, look at the tail end sag of my truck with that trailer attached in the picture above? Thoughts on some upgraded springs?

Ohhhhh jeez, see what I mean!!!  

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, my father used to say "Misery loves company."  That must be it.  But, I'll also tell you that there are moments of joy, like yesterday when the ride went from "brutal" to "pretty nice".

And on that note, I don't recommend changing springs to a higher capacity on a truck that will only see heavy loads infrequently.  Instead I'd go with air bags.  In fact, I may do that myself.  I want the springs to be appropriate for 99% of the time, and then have a way to beef the capacity up for that 1% of the time.

And yes, you have one foot on the slippery slope - and the other may be in the air.  COME ON DOWN!  

[cjstaci]

Misery loves company, that's why we are here...lol.  

About the 71 Mustang, they only made around 60 convertibles with 429's. Most were cobra jets with automatics. A small hand full were super cobra jets and only 2 or 3 were SCJ with 4 spds. An SCJ 4 spd would be worth well north of 6 figures. Unfortunately, my car is none of them. It started life as a 302. I put a lot of time and money in making the car what it is now. It now has a 429 cobra jet engine with a 460 crank and .030 over, so it's 466ci. The bottom end is basically stock other than the crank. The heads have hardened seats, stainless valves and exhaust port clean up. I have a Lunati hyd cam, edlebrock intake, 950 carb, custom headers. I put the correct close ratio big input toploader and linkage in, along with a 3.50 gear traction lock N case with 31 spline axles. I've rebuilt just about everything on this car. The paint is old and has its flaws but it still looks good enough. I have a complete factory ram air set up and factory aluminum vavle covers although not on the car.

For the 69, My latest goal is to make it a street/strip car. I have a big block, stroked to 557ci, kasse heads, sold roller, TFS intake, 1050 dominator, close ratio toploader and a 9 inch 31 spline detroit locker. I will probably change the trans after I finish the car because it will be at its limit. It has a mustang II style front suspension with tubular A-arms and coilovers, stilleto rack. I have the engine set rearward about 4 inches. As you can see I have a ton of work ahead of me. At the rate I am going, I'll probably be too old to drive by the time it's finished.

As for the truck, I want to finish fixing what I've started and just make it a dependable driver. Then I will probably start upgrading things. I can't change the front end anytime soon, because it just barely clears my garage at it's current ride height. This truck has a 72 DSO but it spent its life in Arizona. So, no rust at all. When the truck arrived, it was running rough, pwr strg was whining, strg bos was leaking and the linkage was loose as could be, the shift collar is worn where the roll pin is. There is clunk sound from the right front when I apply the brakes and when I hit the brakes hard the left front locks up. Other than that it drove pretty good.
So far, I've replaced the the strg linkage, the strg box, pump and lines. As for the engine, it was running rough because someone plumbed the hose from the air pump into the intake manifold, can you believe that, I couldn't figure why someone would that. Now the engine runs great. The previous owner put a edlebrock carb on it along with new plugs and wires. I assume this was an attempt to fix the rough running condition. The original ignition has been bypassed and has a HEI style distributor. Ive cleaned up some wiring in the engine compartment. I also fixed a vacuum leak for the A/C-heater control and hooked up the vacuum source. I am currently working on the strg column. All the grease was hard as a rock. The tilt joint was loose. I should have this done in the next few days. I also removed the cheesy aftermarket radio and bought a oem am-fm for it along with a new bezels for dash. I also have a new dash pad on order.  I still need to address the brakes and it looks like a I need to replace the lines from the master to the proportioning valve. They are a combination metal and flexible hose, I haven't seen a set up like that before. Ford must have anticipated quite a bit of flex. I will probably just replace all of the brake hoses along with whatever else I find wrong. Hopefully there will be an end to this before my bank account dries up.

[Gary Lewis]

Wow!  You have a LOT of work, and money, in the cars.    As said, feel free to start documenting them if you want.

On the truck, I've never seen a hose used between the master and the proportioning valve.  I suspect that was done by someone besides Ford.

If you are into it that far, you might consider going with a later model master, as shown below.  (Photo credit to John/Machspeed.)  John is/has done that on his truck, as described here, as I have on mine.  It doesn't change the braking, but does eliminate the leaking cap on the old cast iron ones and allows you to see how much fluid you have with a glance.