Pros and Cons of Bullnose Ford Ownership | A Mini Buyer Guide 

The bullnose is my first classic vehicle and my dream truck, i finally bought one about a month ago and im in love with it

In a town full of rusty trucks this is going to look GREAT in my driveway. I'll try really hard to keep it out of the salt, I promise!

I have owned several of these, the bodies rust and are very thin. The plastic interior is cheap and doesn't hold up well, but they have a killer drive train and look great. I drove an 81 SWB, 300 6, 4 speed granny low, for over 365,000 miles, the buyer got almost 50k more. I loved this truck.

My daily is an 86 xlt Bull Nose Bronco. 100% original with 130k miles. I’ve had it as my daily for 2.5 years now. Super reliable. Extremely comfortable. Even with a 4” lift. Downside would be the lack of power in comparison to modern vehicles. Its a rust free truck too! Born and raised here in Arizona.

Last year I bought a 1986 f250 extra cab 8 ft bed red and tan, with red interior, velor captain's chairs, with a 6.9 l diesel banks turbo kit Ford installed back in 1987, and a C6 automatic, I don't regret it a bit these are fantastically built trucks, last of the best!

I owned an 1983 Bronco bull mose with the 4.9 ci 6cyl. I fine ride for many years and great styling. I still own a 97 F350 srw 4x4 460. Also, a 2001 F350 DRW with the 7.3 and 6 speed 4x4. All great Ford rides. Onward!

To sum it up.... Yes you should buy a bull/box nose Ford. Also make sure to pick up a 300 six out of a old Ford dump truck as it comes with some beefed up internals . Get some good rods and Pistons, get a good cam and valve trane components. Make sure to have the machine shop freshen everything. Get a nice compound turbo setup and tune it for E85-100 . This should get you around 500-600 ftlbs of torque and it will come in low and stay till you pull your foot out of it. I love these trucks . The one major issue they have is moisture......do not get these wet, at all , ever. Take a graham cracker and drip some milk on one corner, wait 45 seconds and try to pick it up by that corner.....this is exactly what happens to these if you get them wet just once.

Always loved my bullnose Fords. I grew up learning how to drive on a 1986 F250 with the 6.9L IDI diesel V8 and manual transmission. One of my more recent ones, which was very rusted out, was a 1985 F150 with the 300 inline. 300 inline 6, and manual for speed transmission with manual transfer case lever on the floor and manual locking front hubs. I didn't realize that one can actually transfer over super duty seats into these older trucks, but I did realize that you can switch out a lot body panels as well as interior components from the older brick nose trucks from the late '80s and early '90s. I would definitely go out and find another used early '80s diesel, Ford F250 or F350 with a diesel and manual transmission again. And knowing what you can do for swapping out components. On the inside, I know where I can get some cheap parts whether it's from the junkyard or buying a super high mileage, super duties off of craigslist or facebook marketplace.

Me and my Dad currently have 5 of these trucks down here in texas they are pretty rust free. One problem they have is that is the fuse box they tend to get the wrong fuses put in them and get melted cause someone is chasing a failing blower moter and you gotta change the entire harness to fix it properly.... As far as the interior plastics go.. LMC sells Most of the interior for these trucks door panels are reasonable...dash pads can get expensive though.

A bit late on it, but that folding hood is common on a lot of cars and trucks of that era. It's not just the aftermarket hoods. Original Chevy hoods from the period do the same thing. it's caused because the hood is designed to fold in half in a front collision, rather than be pushed back in to the driver as was common a couple years earlier. Best bet is to replace the hood hinges with ones without springs and use a prop rod.

The 86’s had Fords routine mid year changes of their electrical system. I was told by a manufacturer’s rep that they were gearing up for the 87 ‘ model change.

Sweet build! Can't wait to get ours to look like this one!!

02:16 I agree, last of the classic look. Love my 84 F250 single cab

I've got an 82 F-150 with the 6 n a row ready to tow 4.9 with a 4 speed, no bad rust just some surface rust. freakin love it

What a sweetheart. I am working on pulling the 302 out of my 86 this winter. Love that 80’s style!!

So much information you are giving us. I have 1984 F-150 that I restoring I hope really don't know what I'm doing but trying. Thank you and I will follow you.

My father owned one growing up......I.. love that 2 tone!!!!

🤤 Now that's a pickup. My dad had one (bullnose) exact same color. Miss that monster.

That's a beast of a truck! Love the looks! 👍👍

Short answer...yes...I have had several of them over many years and they're a great truck!

One of , if not the coolest old trucks out there.

I had an 84 f250 with a built 351w. It was easily one of the most reliable vehicles ive ever had. They were just simple and well built, i wish i still had that truck

I had a 1984 half ton, it was an incredible truck, I know how great they are. And to tell you the truth, coming from a chevy family, my 84 turned sharper than all tje family trucks did. Plus, not that it matters but it outran a 2002 chevy half-ton of my buddy's multiple times too

I have an 85 150 with a 300 and a M5OD 5 speed I swapped in. Still my first and only vehicle I’ve owned and I love how raddly it is

I’ve got an 84 bronco I bought in June. It’s got a decent amount of rust but ~80% of that is just surface rust. The hood is original but still has a bend on one side sadly. When I’m done with it it should be a beauty

I love my 86 bronco. Has a pop up camper on it, 300 six, 4 speed manual. Slow and steady, always ready.

I have an 83 6.9 diesel and I love it and an 82 6-cyl short box that for me was the best

What a great looking truck, good luck

I've owned several of these and love them. Been trying to find another one for years now. For me, every one I find is either rusted junk, or restored and overpriced.

Great rundown and bonus points for the Ed Bassmaster! Bartle do. Just picked up an 83 F-250 extended cab with the 6.9L and a stick shift in decent shape with just some exterior surface rust. Surprisingly, door panels, head liner and everything I'm replacing has been easy to find online and for decent prices. Some parts from the 7.3 can be used/retrofitted to the 6.9, like glowplugs and controller, and haven't had any problems finding any other parts I've needed...so far. Absolutely love it and enjoy driving it more than my 2022, creature comforts aside.

I was lucky to find a rust free 83' with great patina. 300 -6 .. in Canada! love it.

I owned an 84 f250, and a 86 f350 damn good trucks I've owned 70, 80, 90, and 2000 ford trucks I love them they are built tuff!, I now have a 67 f250 hi-boy!, i sure could use that truck!.

I miss my 84 F150. My dad bought it new a couple weeks before I was born. It was red/white. We repainted it victory red and arctic white, both chevy colors but it looked great. It was on KMC Condor 18s and 20s. Unfortunately it stalled on a mile long interstate bridge and got hit by a newer f250 going 60. That was in 05. My next one was an 81 F100 Ranger with 63,000 miles. I did NOS 1st gen lighting suspension, and gt40p heads on the 302. When I put that one up for sale, a guy drove 12 hours to get it.

That might be the most beautiful truck ive ever seen

I recently got my papaw's 1985 inline 6 manual. It stalls here and there but overall a great farm truck.

Fingers crossed on this one! 🤞

I've always liked that design of the Ford bodies. I especially like that red/white color scheme. I don't see it very often.

Dude that truck is clean 😮

Beautiful truck

If your into Bull Nose fords I have a pretty rare factory built camper ! I’ve been bringing him back to life for the last 3 years on my RU-vid channel ! I do wish I had that IDI and zf5 set up in this f350 ! My 300 straight six is a tank but gutless on hills lol

Love the Bull nose trucks. Very good looking trucks and for personal reasons I would love to own one in honor of my brother in law. Hard to find one that isn't trashed or out of my range.

Exactly what I'm lookin for for a first truck. Simple to work on, easy to replace parts, and just a good all around truck I can work with. Don't need a super fast truck YET hehheh

Such a clean truck

In the past I had a 84,86 Broncos and a 83 f150 and a 84 f250. I wish I still had the f250 regular cab long box but it needed some work to be road ready and I had to move and just didn't have time to fix it.

Absolutely!

I was going to get an after market tailgate but after this I found a junkyard tailgate thanks for the heads up

When I moved to Idaho in 2003 I bought my 84 F150 shortbed for 1000.- as a beater truck for dump runs etc. Over the years I put some money into it but it still has a lot of patina. I like it that way. I never thought of myself as a "Pickup truck guy" I always thought I was more refined than that LOL. But I have really grown attached to my truck in spite of the 8 MPG. I don't think I'll ever sell it

I’m a Chevy guy but this generation is dope

got a new 84 F-150 short bed 4x4 had it 21 years put 540,000 miles with no major problems, u-joints need replacing every year till i put new drive shaft in, disc brakes rotors replaced almost every 6 to 10 months till they finally came out with organic pads then they would last 4 to 5 years, new got 12 mpg after k&n air filter high performance cat and 3 inch exhaust went to 18 plus mpg

Just bought an '86 with the 6.9 and its a fun, albiet slow truck.

Damn a ford truck is always a beautiful scene I had a 95 regular cab longbed 4X4 with the 300 6 auto and it was the toughest pickup damn it always got it done and it was a two tone with copper metallic over a light beige XLT package great seats it was the best vehicle I have ever owned the owner after me is still working it today

My grandpa has a 1985 Ford F250. Hasn't ran in 24 years. The story I get is he and my mom were picking up a pet snake we had and the truck just up and died in Bismarck, ND. no clicking or anything. It has 79,000 original miles on it and the inside is still insanely clean. Not much rust considering where it has sat (5 miles east of a small town called Glyndon). Granted, yes, it has rust around the rear fenders, but otherwise it's not as bad as it could be. I dunno what the problem could be but I want to get it running. it has the original Ford 4.9L (300) engine and 4-speed manual transmission

Nice Truck! Just a all-out from Australia, I have owned my 1984 F350 4wd bullnose for 23 years, originally Australian assembled right hand drive and fitted with 4.9 liter, (302 cu) fuel injected Windsor, 4 speed New Process 435, 205 transfer, Dana 50 front and Dana 70 4:11 rear axles. Unhappy with the Windsor I rebuilt an Australian thickwall Cleveland 351 with modified 59cc quench chamber Ford Australian 302 Cleveland heads, ( Yes we made shorter stroke 302 Cleveland's here to eliminate need for separate Windsor blocks for smaller capacity V8) A mild Sig Erson cam and it sounds and runs s pretty well. Australian late model Cleveland's were built until 1982 and equipped with 4BBL Carter 780 Thermoquads on spreadbore manifolds. These run very well and I prefer them to a 600, 650, 750 Holley. As we don't use salt on roads due to our generally warmer climate rust is less of an issue down here and my truck is quite rust free. Also own a right hand drive Australian assembled 75 F250 hi boy also with a 351 Cleveland.

I have a 1985 in really great condition i wanna make it a girls truck i was going to sell it but im not now after seeing your channel my truck has no rust all original everything bench seats to steering wheel..thank you for your video this made my choice really easy oh and my truck is single cab and has a 351 engine....its blue with all the clear coat coming off...she will be a beauty

I’ve got a 1981 f250 with a 351m and the 4 speed for my first truck at 17

My 86 F250 was the best truck. I regret not keeping it !!

I was honored to be able to drive operate i think was a Bull Nose and to see the hat holder...makes me believe was a Bull Nose Ford Was a shedded 350 Ford with the 7.3 4x4 International 4 Speed without the Turbo Was very fun truck to drive Was a custom made With heavy duty front Axle with very impressive leaf springs was a Work Horse 🐎 and or Strong Elephant 🐘 What i would have changed is having a long bed...sadly was a short bed

Dad had a 84 with the 6.9 in it growing up. 4spd 2 wheel drive reg cab. He wishes he never sold it. My uncle bought it and hit a bunch of deer with it but he drove it for years too

talking about interchangeable parts, my 86 f 150 has electric window motors out of a 2007, bolted right up, they are lighter and have more torque

easily my favorite build you've done but i'm biased bc bullnoses are my favorite. my granddad had a single cab long bed that was gray and red. and his brother that lived in the house i bought next to my granddad had a single cab short bed navy and gray. I bought a 1984 bullnose bronco 2 before my son was born with intentions of building it with him as he gets older to give to him when he's older. there's just something about bullnose fords that makes my face light up. my wife gets a kick out of the fact my jaw hits the floor every time we pass one whether its a rust bucket or dents all throughout. lol great informative video by the way. would love to see you build a bullnose bronco 2 one day. even though they arent highly sought after

I’m looking into buying an 81 f-250 automatic, 4 wheel drive with the 351 Cleveland motor and a rust free body. Need an opinion should go buy the truck or keep lookin

Beautiful truck 🛻 ❤️ 😍

I just bought an 86 f350 gasoline 7.5L 460ci v8 under 90,000 miles garage kept most of its life. all said and done about 10k to bring it home

I have the 1983 f100 short bed single cab is currently being built

The rusty panels are cheap to fix and very easy to get you can build one ground up from an LMC truck catalog and it’s fairly cheap.

Super Duty seats swapped was mentioned around the 4:50 mark. What years bolted right in?

Stop telling everyone you’re giving it away 😵‍💫😝😜🤫🤫🤐 thanks 👍🏼🤙🏼❤️🇺🇸🤠

my dads 1985 bullnose f250 with a 460 big block was a beastttt truck would pull big ol fucking trees off the side of the mountain in the road its was such a good firewood truck, shit ton of dents cause of it but its pretty much all original, but has been retired with someone stealing the starter off it, kinda wish my dad didn't trade his 69 Camaro for it but sure did have alot of memories in that truck

I have an '86 F250 4x4 7.5/C6 with 4.10 gears on 33s and the only downside is that the engine is screaming at 70mph...but an E4OD would easily solve that problem. 7.3 MPG at 70mph...but this truck is a stump puller that can take any thing I can throw at it, so the poor MPGs aren't even a concern. Can't expect 4 cylinder gas mileage from a big block.

Nice truck do you have a link or something where I can find after market parts for a good price

Is there anything you can treat or spray on the body to prevent rust from eating up the metal?

Hoping I win this beautiful truck.

What size spacers did you use for the rear wheels?

I didnt watch the video. Just stopped by to say “Yes! You should!”

What year of super duty did those seats come out of?

I’m 16 need a reliable, truck I can afford and is wont have smog issues with in cali so I’m looking at the 7.3s and 6.9s sense they are supposed to be reliable and smog exempt (plus they look awesome) is this me being an ignorant 16 year old or should I seriously consider one of these

Needs the dually wheels on the front.

That hat holder tho where do I get one?

If it hasn't been up north for decades then rust won't be an issue. Mine's been in Georgia since New and has no rust!

ah, what I would give for a NOS FSV for my 84 6.9

Awesome Beauty

I just recently got my first pickup and im already wanting an old pickup. Its an addiction, once you buy one you are hooked.

I had a 79 dodge powerwagon. 5 year frame off restoration was a real chore. There are literally no reproduction parts made for those old dodges, I spent countless hours on eBay and everywhere else tracking down expensive NOS parts. Beautiful trucks but you can’t just build one out of a magazine like a ford or Chevy.

I own the same truck just with less miles and lower

What Year model did that come out of??

The bend in the hood from the hood hinges going past the travel tabs and then the tabs get pinched in the hinges happens in the OBS also. My 92 F350 bullnose just had that happen to it…but is it fixable to get that hump out.

lmc trucks sells alot of parts for these

1986 ford 460

Not a lot of aftermarket support? You could build the entire truck from a bare frame just from catalogs

I have a 86 F150 XLT Lariat, where do you get your ford parts???

The problem is stock engines are either anaemic or have major durability problems. If its 4.9 in line six, it might break pistons. If 5.0 or 351M and SixNine, it will be slow. The 400s and 460s weren't a common fitment, but we're good engines. The US market 4180C 4bbl or HO 5.0 and 5.8s, even the 2bbls, were really a great base. Learn about the Brown Box or MCU or EECIV and emissions systems. Plenty of guys just rip shit off these trucks, and don't understand why Ford's 81-83 ignition systems are so complicated to tune when the supporting stuff is ripped off. It's all in the TSB and truck forums, lots of great help. Down here in NZ and Australia, we had years of 140 HP 4.1 sixes, 195 HP 4bbl 4.9 Cleveland's and 216 HP 351Cs or, after October 1985, US import 195 HP EFi 5.0 port EFis, and nothing ever went wrong unless you tried to do a water crossing in a 5.0 Fuelie. For 81 to 82, a 136 HP 1982 351M is common, but it's really s-l-o-w...

460 ford 1986

Trim package history, 1980-1986 1980-1981: Custom, Ranger, Ranger XLT and Ranger Lariat Changes for 1982: Custom replaced by Standard Ranger replaced by XL Ranger XLT and Ranger Lariat replaced by XLT Lariat XLS replaced the Freewheelin' package Changes for 1983: XLT Lariat shortened to XLT Changes for 1984: XLS package discontinued Changes for 1985: XLT Lariat name reborn as the top trim level

Your classic cluster isn’t original but you know that. Nice looking one though.

This generation has grown on me recently but I think maybe why they are becoming so popular is because the generations before have gotten so expensive and the younger generations do not know how bad bullnose fords were consider by the gear head community in the 90s and early 00s. Literally everyone avoided them bc chevys proved there worth by that point in time. I’m a Ford guy through and through. I had a 79 bronco and a 81 f150, a 72 Mach 1, etc, so don’t think I’m hating, but these trucks just pale in comparison to the 73-79 fords and every generation after that. Back in the 90s the junkyards were packed with bull noses with hardly a Chevy in site. It always made me mad personally, but after seeing more bull noses rotted out while their Chevy counter parts that were road hard and ridden wet we’re still semi solid and drivable, not to mention faster, and easier to respond to power, i through in the towel and admitted these trucks kinda suck. Besides the thin metal and rust issues, here’s why: if you are planning to go hard off road the independent front Dana 44s are awful. In early 2000s I feel like every street had a bullnose bronco or f series besides a house with 33s on it where the camber was way off and the wheels looked like they would fall off. Also, engines offerings compared to Chevy were not the best. 302s are awesome but not with 138hp. 351 Windsor are great but not with 150 hp, the 351m and 400 that were offered up to 82 I actually like but they don’t have a ton of support and can’t take rpm, the 351hos with 210 horsepower though were cool bc they had a rv cam and an aluminum intake stock, 460s were kinda dogs but at least you had torque but everyone loved the 454 better. The later two engines are hard to find though so my point is more than likely you will be stuck with a weak 302 or 351w. Basically what I am getting at is, so what if the interiors are comfortable and it’s more modern, Chevy square bodies were the clear winner that won over the public who had experience and daily drove both, that’s why square body prices soared after 2011, and these fords stayed where they were. Also, Chevy 305, 350s, and 454 have more support and are dirt cheap to build. Chevys had thicker metal and didn’t rust out half as quick, plus chevys had a solid front axle. I know it was a ten bolt but at least it was solid and it could hold big tires straight. Another thing to be perfectly blunt, is that the independent Dana 44 was pushed really hard in ads as being a huge advantage with this generation of trucks but what it couldn’t take in abuse does not make up for a very minor improvement in ride quality. Having owned a 79 and 81 myself, the independent front axle before barely made the ride more comfortable than a regular straight axle Dana 44. Now 78 and 79 fords are where it’s at. You get a solid Dana 44, bullet proof c6 and np205 cast iron transfer case, and a 9 inch rear end, all stock. literally indestructible in stock form. Yes, the 351m and Ford 400 were low on power but if you just put on a edlebrock intake and 4 barrel carb you got an additional 40 or 50 horsepower, then adjust the timing, and put on some dual exhaust and you around 220-240 horsepower and you can actually feel it. Those are the better overall trucks but what I think we had here was what Ford always did and that’s be the first to innovate and think ahead and that back fired with the front end and the shitty interior quality.

Not factory stock with any turbo.

Where did you get the pillar gauge

Does anyone know a good place to get all the weather seals and door trim for an ‘85?

🔥

one thing to mention, the t19s will only let it do 65 tops!!!