Hey guys! I figure that I may as well stop lurking after all the help I garnished from the threads here for the purchase of my new (Old) 1985 Ford F-250 XLT Lariat Explorer 4x4 manual. I adopted her from a nice small-town business owner that could no longer justify a 460ci 3/4ton truck for a weekend dog-runner, haha.

I promptly deleted the weird roof rack that was on it, and the aftermarket camper shell, and lucked out on a set of 315x75 r16 Goodyear Wrangler Dura-traks that I was thrilled to find out squeezed under with just a tiny bit of rubbing on the last 1/4 turn of the wheel on the leafs. (Soon to be corrected with new wheels and perhaps minor suspension lift)

Im an O/O OTR truck driver by trade, and an adventurer by hobby... and this is going to be the new M1 Viking Expeditionary Vehicle... Ive got loads of plans for her and I will post updates as the bigger parts come together, as well as questions as they come up in droves. She is tight, lean, strong, 125k young, and just needs to be spoiled now after a little face lift and a fresh coat of poly.










((Got a little o' the beard in this shot, woopse))


((Aftermarket parts upon purchase- Holly 640cfm carb, and MGS Ignition system))

 

Have you looked under the chrome aircleaner yet to see what carb is on it? I see you live in Nevada, so you should be ok with the aircleaner, but if you plan on driving somewhere with a colder climate, you might want to look for an original aircleaner so you can get some warm air into the carb during cold damp mornings.

 

Man that truck looks nice! Love those tires on it.

 

It is actually a Holly 640 Carb... I still have the stock air cleaner in a little box of goodies that came with the rig. I appreciate the advise! I'm planning on snorkeling the intake, hopefully using the stock air box (though carefully modified) as the foundation. Nice to know there's more than one reason I should do it that way, haha!

 

I like that he said they rubbed just a little bit in a tight turn. I like to know everything when a modification is done, and I do not like it when people say these oversize tires fit fine with no lift, stock rims, etc. The little bit of rubbing is probably not a problem for most people, but I still like to know every little detail.

When he puts aftermarket rims on it, they will probably set the tire out farther and get rid of the rubbing on the leaf spring, but then the rear tire sitting out farther may rub the back fender with a heavy load of firewood on it. Still probably not a problem for most people, but it might happen and a lift or air bags would get rid of it.

 

Looks good!

 

Hit the nail right on the head, Franklin! I'm honestly shocked that these squeezed under with so little issue... I had an old 88 Suburban once that couldn't DREAM of squeezing even 285x75's under it without MAJOR issues. Its gonna be an interesting journey to find that unicorn balance of backspace, suspension tweaking and upgrades and minor modifications to get these to fit while maximizing travel, without rubbing and most importantly, without raising the center of gravity much higher than it currently is. A monster truck I do not want!

Thank you for the comments, guys!

 

Neat truck, it's pretty much my truck's long lost twin, except for the color. Mine too is an '85 F-250 4x4 460 4sp, supercab w/ long bed, lariat, explorer. I like the color on yours better, mine is brown / light brown. And now I finally know what's missing on my tailgate, that chrome w/ red trim piece is missing on mine, but the holes are there for it.. Gonna have to hunt for one.

Is there only one AIR pump on that rig? Can I ask what you paid for it? It's clean older truck for sure.

 

I will actually be deleting that piece on mine when I paint it in a few months.... amusingly enough a coyote brown metallic, lol. Perhaps we can somehow arrange to have it find its way to your rig. Would love to know its going to be used rather than scrapped.

Air pump?... is that what that unhooked thing on the left is? Ooooooh, ok... yeah, we don't Smog in my county, so I honestly had no idea what that was until I just goggled it, haha.

I go her for $1800 cash.

 

Wow, I bought mine for $1,800 also; was able to talk the guy down from $2,200 because it had a couple oil leaks, which ended up being real easy to fix (valve cover gaskets, and oil filter adapter O-ring). It was 100% stock when I got it, including all the original emissions stuff. Mine had two air pumps is the only reason I asked, but I ditched most of the emissions stuff recently.

If you do decide to take the panel off the tailgate, let me know, I don't mind paying if it's reasonable. Where in NV are you? I go out to Pahrump and Las Vegas area a couple times a year. But the scenery in your pictures looks less like desert and more like Northern NV.

Do you plan on doing anything with the rust over the one wheel well before you paint it? Mine is rusted in the same place, and I'm not sure how to go about fixing it... I suppose with enough money anything is possible, but I'm far from a body repair expert.

 

Aye, hehe... I talked my guy down to $1,800 from $2,000 because I was going to have to replace the dry rotted front tires immediately. Didn't mean to go to my ideal 315x until later, but fate is a funny thing.

The panel will be taken off, definitely, as I am going for a tan and black bi-tone look, no chrome. I live in northern Nevada, indeed, near Carson City. Where abouts are you from? If its anywhere I go by semi-regularly, I can throw it in my peterbilt and wait for an opportunity when I'm passing through.

As far as the rust, I've been told I have 3 options... A) Bondo or some other filler before I Line-X the bottom third of the truck. B) Replace the outer body panel completely with a new one or a straight healthy one from Pick and Pull. or C) Most likely, I'm going to carefully cut the wheel-wells out, in a matching general shape, to maximize my articulation travel sans-rubbing and make room for rock-bar fenders.

I would say if your going for a stock look, you might start hunting for that body panel.

 

I like the truck! Strong and bold. As for the 31's, I'm running a set on Rusty and they, too, rub on the last bit of turning the wheel. But in this case it is on the radius arm as mine has TTB.

For body panels, Tabco is where I go. My body man said they are the best panels he's seen. I think Dave/Franklin put me on to them. Or was it Jim?

 

Hmm I've never heard of them. I'll have to check those out. I used to buy body panels directly from Ford but they don't sell them anymore.

Ford Trucks Forever!!!

 

I don't think it was me. But here's another place to look at. Auto Body Parts | Rust Repair Panels | Replacement Panel - Chevy, Dodge, Ford Don't forget ebay and Amazon also.

 

What is this piece? Could it be the lower rear inside floor/cab corner?

1980-98 Ford Pickup/Bronco Rear Pillar, Standard Cab Only, Driver Side