myrl883

[myrl883]

Hi! Another newbie to this board...

I had an '85 F150 for over 20 years that I loved. I passed it on to my son when he turned 16, and a few days after he started driving it, he was run off of the road and it rolled down an embankment. When the wrecker got it dragged up the hill, he got in it and it started perfectly and he drove it home. The roof was pushed down about 5" and the broken windshield was laying on the dash. When he got it home, I asked him what his next vehicle was going to be, and he said, "Another F-Series. Look at it and what it went through, and I'm not hurt!" True to his word, he's been driving Ford trucks for the last 7 years, mostly OBS trucks.

I now have a '94 F250 4x4 with a IDI turbo in my fleet, and finally got another Bullnose. I've wanted one since I got rid of the '85, and finally talked my son out of one of his trucks. I'm now the (proud?) owner of a 1986 F150 step side. It's a truck that my son originally bought only for the bed - when that project fell through, one of his friends stripped it to convert to a 4x4. I purchased it after that, so currently it's a roller with no drivetrain, wiring, or interior. Luckily, included in the purchase was another '86 F150 LWB that's a complete parts truck. Now the fun begins on my journey to build my step side "kit".

Professionally, I've been a Ford parts man since '85, married with two grown kids, so it's finally my turn to get back out to the garage and play. Wish me luck!!

[Gary Lewis]

Welcome!  What part of the country is home?

What are the plans for the Flareside?  Still going to be 4wd?  What engine and tranny?  It'll be a fun project in any event.

Parts man, huh?  Just had a retired one of those staying with me over the weekend, and I think he's coming back tomorrow. He brought me the microfiche for several versions of the catalog, as well as a viewer, but I can't find the TSB's so he may come back and show me where they are. 😉

[myrl883]

Sorry - home is Hermiston, OR. I had lived in Portland all of my life and was just tired of the rain.

The plan is to put it back to near original. I've already put a set of I-beams back in it to get it home. My goal is to make it look like it's stuck in 1986... The front wheels in the pic are staying (Bronco 15x8's), along with a set of 60 series tires. I have the red stripe trim rings and the chrome center caps for the wheels. The original drivetrain was an EFI 302 and an AOD. The parts truck is the same, so that's the way I'm keeping it. This truck was strangely optioned. It has A/C, V8, and an automatic, but that's the end of it's options list. Not even a headliner! Luckily, it was a California truck all of it's life, so there is NO rust - even in the bed sides where stepsides always seemed to rust.



As an unrelated side note, I was looking around the site earlier today, and saw your comments on the F100 "Pony". My Dad had one years ago. I look at it as a light duty truck built to fill the gap between the discontinuation of the Courier and the release of the Ranger. Dad's had a 300, a manual SROD overdrive transmission, and an open diff with 2.47:1 gears. It also had a GVW of only 4700 pounds, smaller brakes from a Granada, and 5 on 4-1/2" car bolt pattern wheels. It was a wimp as a truck, but a real fuel miser!

[Gary Lewis]

Your thoughts about the Pony were almost exactly those of the other parts guy - Bill. Apparently they were cheap but very light duty.

So, you are going back stock with 2wd, 302 w/EFI, and AOD. Should be a good cruiser and return decent MPG. I'm ready to arm-chair enjoy. 👍

[myrl883]

My son finally delivered my donor this weekend. An '86 long box with the same 302 and AOD that the stepside had, and 161k documented miles. Almost too nice to be a donor....

[myrl883]

Dang, my picture won't post from my phone.

[Gary Lewis]

What kind of phone.  Those rotaries don't post very well.  

Anyway, what are you getting off the donor?

As for it being too nice, that's one thing I'm pleased with on my donor - it is UGLY!  There's absolutely no way I'd want to keep it.  There isn't a panel that isn't dented.  I think I can remove the passenger's door with the door closed and the fender on as the door skin is peeled back far enough that the hinge bolts are accessible.  The seat is so worn out that the stuffing is gone below the driver.  The windshield is broken, and I could go on and on.