Thinking about a Mid 80's F150 (pics)

[SVO]

And it's gonna be a work in progress, I bet once you get the kinks outta that truck it'll be awesome.. keep us all updated.

Stand by will be making another attempt to bring home this beast, this coming weekend.


Lori and I are gonna try and toss an axle in it and drive it.

After it's been sitting at Anderson's for over a year, we were there two weeks ago and it fired right up.

 

[SVO]

Well after a 13 hour fiasco trying to get this truck home, where anything and everything could have gone wrong, and Lori learing some valuable new words, the beast is finally home.

The cool parts was some of the people we past were checking out both 80's models crusing down the hwy.

Jeff - :navajo:

 

[Turdle]

OK, I'll ask-
What happened? You say everything went wrong, yet I see a truck with a new home-

 

[SVO]

OK OK OK OK Fine


Went and snatched the truck up with the fork lift and as I was moving it the hub/wheel/brake/axle assy came out in the parking lot, no biggie I just wanted it all to stay together (I later went back with a smaller fork lift and retieved it).

I was very nice that Harold let me use the forklifts, facillities, and air, but I was outside in the gravel, rocks all poking me in the back and such.

Every single u-bolt was frozen and had to be heated to be removed.

The brake line was also frozen.

The brake bleeders where corrodedand full of ****, and had to be cleaned once removed.

Once the axle was in place, the right rear drum was frozen, and wouldn't turn, and it too an act of hell to get the hub nut and the drum off, after readjusting the brakes, the hub nut wouldn't go back on, so I snatched the one off the other axle.

Come to find out, that 1981's have left handed thread lugs and 1985 axle don't, so I had to run around and scrounge up another set of lug nuts, than one lug stud was striped out

And for some reason the I.D. on the wheels are smaller on the 1981, than the 1985, so I had to bully boy the wheels on with the lugs.

Repaired the leaky fuel line from the pump the carb.


IT MOVES AND DRIVES!!!

So we start home and go eat our firrst meal for the day and start on out way home.

I have never trusted the gas guages in these trucks, but I did fill both tanks over a year ago, HAHAHAHHA!

15 miles from the house we run out of fuel, so we drive home to get the gas can and tow strap, why, cause the battery is dead from the alternator not charging the battery, and as I looked at the cables and starter, the long tube headers are RICHT ON THE STARTER, you don't think that would kill a starter.

And while under there I notcied that an ear of the block is busted and they're using a Heli-Coil for a MFing nut

The clutch pedal linkaged is President OBama Rigged.

And the newly assembled motor, has a huge intake oil leak that is puking over the front of the motor by the distributor.

So I put my jump box under the hood to act as a battery, and had Lori pull me with the Flareside to get the dually started, and then once started (by this time it's dark thirty) I cheack the head lamps and the high beam switch is being flakey, meaning no head lights, or high bems sometimes low beams, **** make up your mind already, just give me something.

So we went to fill up, and damn it I was right someone had siphoned the tanks dry, so the guage reading 1/8 was in fact correct, can't belive I went 100 miles on that little of fuel.



OK now it's home, my one hour swap it was not


Jeff - :navajo:

 

[james t]

Clean rig there Jeff! Specs? I assume NP435... what motor?

Dad had an 81 as a farm truck when i was a kid. 400m/C6... it ran forever but gaaaaawd it was gutless. Granny low 4spd would have helped alot.

 

[SVO]

Purchace price:

$1500


Engine:

Less than 500 miles on:
New rebuilt 400cid/6.6 .030 0ver with mildly ported heads, low to mid rpm camshaft (no cam card available), Edelbrock Performer Series carb 750cfm, Weiand Action +Plus Intake Manifold (idle to 6000rpms), some cheapie long tube headers, 2 1/2" true dual exhaust w/aluminized pipe, turbo mufflers, stock Dura Spark II ignition.
New 4 row radiator

Transmission:

New Process 435 w/granny and PTO option, needs shifter bushings rebuilt, very hard to find the gates.
T-handle shifter
I do not belive it to be the T-18
New clutch kit/assy.

Front Suspension:

Stock Twin I Beam 1 ton spec with dual piston calipers.
New Monrore gas dampeners

Rear Suspension:

Stock Dana HD70 full floater with 12 x 2 1/2" brakes, stock leafs w/overload spring, new Monroe dampeners.
Stock gearing was 4.10, I searched when buying this axle to get the factory optioned 3.54's, before 65mph was 3000rpms, now it's 2200 rpms at 65mph.

Truck:

Ford F350 XLT 1 ton dually
Manual windows and locks (wierd for an XLT)
Full guage package w/Tach, and trip odometer
Vinyl and cloth bench seat, Herringbone cloth
A/C (which has been removed), and heat.
Dual fuel tanks, only the front one works right now
Kenwood AM/FM/Cass pull-out, w/Pioneer truck box speakers with a Optimus 10" sub, damn you gotta love the 80's, some Jensen in there would have topped it right off
Was silver exterior with black/red/silver interior, now ****ely painted black.
sliding back window to access the cooler
Factoru extendable side view mirrors
Drop-in bed liner
Tail gate was missing, along with the visors, THANK YOU ANDERSON AUTO SALVAGE, I pick those up when I went to get the truck.
Factory optioned (Ford Accesories catalog) front grille guard.
Cheapie aluminum wheel covers.
There is another brand new rear bumper in the bed to replace the bent up one on the rear of the truck.




James,

Guttless this truck is NOT, just rolling on the throttle in 2nd (remember folks 'granny' is not 1st) it strats spinning the rear tires, this thing is a monster.
I know that most stock 400m's are guttles, but with a few mods which they actually did, these things are torque happy.
I was very supprised, as you start to tip-in the throttle, this big heavy beast starts to move on out with authority, and you can tell the wieght difference between driving the F150 Flareside and this dually.

BTW this truck hasn't been on the road since 2002.


Two things:

1. It's home!

2. I finally got a tow rig now after loosing the Lightning.


After getting it home, in order to park it where it is, I had to hook the boat up to it and move it back, super sweet when all you have to do to move a nearly 5000lb boat and trailer is to let the clutch out at idle and it moves it with ease





Jeff - :navajo:

 

[JDraper]

Nice hauler Jeff!

 

[SVO]

Dad had an 81 as a farm truck when i was a kid.

HAHAHAHHAHA it has "Farm Truck" Texas plates on it!





I guess my 7th generation sickness is becoming a reality.

The past month going back and forth to Waco (back roads, HWY 95) to goto Latemodel Restoration Supply and Anderson's for parts for my customers there is another F150 short wide style side for $1500 forsale in front of a pawn shop that is straight as a button, and a few others here and there parked in the weeds at people's houses that need a good home too.

15-20 years ago you' never would have caught me owning a truck.

 

[james t]

Sweet rig.

Yea the 400M can be built into a stout motor with just a few mods, but bone stock 2bbl was junk. IIRC in stock form the cam was retarded alot and the 2bbl intake was complete garbage as were the exhaust manifolds. I know in stock form i would be shocked if it put out 120hp. Funny thing is just a few mods turn them into monsters.

 

[SVO]

Per an email I got................

Here is the email I recieved this past week before going down to Houston to pick up mu daughter and stopping by to check out the truck:


By the way, if you are interested, you can have that 1986 x 8,600 G.V.W. x F250, that is if you will come and get it. It still has the Edelbrock High Rise intake, but I took the 750 dual line double pumper off and sold it. Someone wanted it worse than I did. It was just a little too much for a shop truck. The 750 was still not big enough to give that old beast all she really wanted to drink when you stood the butter flies on edge. The body is still in fantastic shape, no major rust anywhere that I’m aware of. She needs paint where the clear coat has sunburned through. If you will remember Ford repainted her once under a “Paint Recall.” I suspect that’s why the body is still in good shape. The interior is not in bad shape, needs a new dash cover and door panels, all of which could probably be purchased for less than $500.00. One of the windows needs a new motor. The transmission needs to be rebuilt or replaced. All it really needs is some tinder loving care. It still has the big heavy work bumper I built, on it



You want it you can have it. I haven’t registered it in 2 or 3 years. The boy’s keep trying to get me to put a for sale sign on it but I just haven’t had the heart.



Oh, by the way, mine has the dash with all the gauges including the tachometer! Original Captain Chair, electric windows, & door locks center console storage box and fold down back seat. I still have the original factory mirrors for it, if you will remember I replaced them with the big fold out camper mirrors back in 1986 when I first got it.



Let Me Know,



And so here's the truck:

Jeff - :navajo:

 

[SVO]

Randomness..............

MY FAVORITE!!!

 

[IZwack]

Pssst.. there's a trailer, on top of shipping containers...

 

[SVO]

Pssst.. there's a trailer, on top of shipping containers...

Yeah that's how we're gonna get the truck home





Jeff - :navajo:

 

[SVO]

Yummy!