Well guys, I missed my beloved Bullnose so much, I got a bright idea. The core support on my '92 was rotten and while I'm waiting to buy the '85 donor to restore my '80 F100, well, I'm sure you guys know where I'm headed with this.











Why all this labor you ask? Two reasons. One, the original '80 frame is getting scrapped and I'm using all I can off of it, and it beats paying a couple hundred for something you already have (core support), and two:

Because THIS



Looks way tougher than THIS



Of course, it's not all finished. The body panels aren't lined up perfectly, which are getting replaced anyway so no big deal. The core support on the '80 had very little rust so I cleaned it up and shot it with some undercoating. The fenders I have on it are pretty banged up so I'll be buying some new ones and cutting around the emblems of these to make a template (I love the '80-'81 emblems). I also need to fab up some brackets for the bumper.

Future plans are to find a nice '80-'86 stepside bed for it and the '80-'86 style dash which I'll probably steal out of the '85. After all is said and done, this thing will resemble an original '80-'81 Ranger Lariat, with a few subtle creature comforts original to the '92.

 

Nice swap!

 

On the dash swap, it is not a bolt and go setup. You will have to also swap out the steering column and its support that is spot welded to the firewall to the older style. The older style dash WILL NOT fit the 87 to 91 column supports and brake/clutch pedal assy(92 and up are even more different) and clear the older dash.




84 dash in a 87 to 91 cab, won't fit steering bracket and brake/clutch pedal assy.. 92 steering column is totally different as well as brake/clutch assy too.


On the firewall, you will have to cut old mounts off and weld new ones in proper place. The VIN tags also will not align up with dash vin windows.


Its more figuring out but I used a 91 cab for my 84 F250 and got it together!

 

I figured as much, but I'm a go-getter and I'm pretty good at trial and error. I figure I can borrow almost everything from the '85 cab, that only leaves me to find a manual tilt/cruise column and the brake/clutch assembly ('85 is auto). I found a picture on Facebook of almost the EXACT truck I'm building here, except he used a '91 SuperCab and left the dash alone.

 

Can you post photos of what you did at the bottom of the fenders where they attached to the 92-96 cab?

The 80-86 bolts thread straight up and 87-96 thread perpendicular to the 80-86. Thanks!

 

I can snap some when the sun comes out. I've seen some guys actually cut the old mounts out and weld in the proper ones, what I did was cut the fenders themselves. These were quick and crude since I need new fenders anyway, but basically just cut on either side of the hole to make yourself a tab and bend it out. It's nice if you have the old fenders on hand to measure how far you need to cut and how far out you need to bend. You may also need to notch out the hole if it doesn't quite line up. I'll be using this method when I get replacement fenders as well, though it may be a good idea to take a welder and put a couple tacks where you cut for a little reinforcement.

 

Will you be using an 80-86 front bumper? The 92-97 front frame extends further out than the 80-91 frame.

Any photos of your fenders?

Thanks

 

This is the best picture in the entire thread. Looks clean and strong.

The trucks we own, We care about them because they serve us. We want them to work, and look good. We do work with them, and that is all we do. We don't care if we look tough, we don't care if our trucks look tough..


I will say you did this thread wrong. What I would have done was repair that second truck and have two trucks. That would be the correct thing to do. What you did is butcher two trucks, and now you have some sort of butcherd 1992 ford truck instead of two perfectly functional trucks. I feel sad for you now, but I have faith that you are strong enough to fix your mistake and have two beautiful trucks once again.

 

Here are photos of the fenders. I didn't get them exact, so the fenders are not lined up perfectly, it was just a quick fix until I get new fenders. As said, it could probably benefit structurally from a couple tacks where the tab bends down, plus a quick spray to rustproof the now exposed metal. If you cut the holes out all the way to the bottom, you'll gain a little more adjustment. Driver's side is fairly close, passenger side is way off:





I could just cut the frame back and weld on the horns from the '80 frame, but I think I'll leave it and either make or buy a nice custom job for it.


It was more for functionality's sake than one of those "I did it because I wanted to" things. It was both, but moreso the prior. The '92 core support was so rotten that it had movement. It looked clean and strong, but there were the underlying issues. The '80 currently has a seized engine and had some body damage and rust, and will be completely restored/modded. The cab will be put on a later frame in better shape that will hopefully have everything I robbed off this one in better shape. That being said, instead of paying 200 or so for a new core support for my '92, I just chose to use the perfectly good one I had that otherwise I would no longer need. All it required was to change the rest of the front end to the style I liked better anyway. The '92 will be restored as well, a little later down the road, and I intend to make it look right. As it turns out, Ford never made the EXACT truck I wanted, so I'm opting to build it myself, I love the '80-'86 trucks, but there are a few features of the later trucks that I prefer.

However, I completely understand your point. I use my old Chevy for a work truck, my Fords are more for show, cruising, comfort, etc. If I actually used them as trucks, I'd have the same view on the matter as you.

 

Very happy that both will be restored. I am impressed with the work you've done, I was just terrified that the 1980's truck would be gutted I've never seen someone do such a thing, and you did it pretty well and looks solid work. I am really surprised everything fit so easily, or maybe you made it look so easy lol. I am sure it was not easy work most people.

 

Oh it was a pain, but it is pretty solid. Just wasn't worried about perfecting my work until I actually have good parts to put on it. The biggest problem is I used an '80 core support on an EFI truck, and the new style air cleaner box won't mount to the fender like it did on the '92. Had I used a support from around '85, I could have used the '85-'86 box on it that mounts to the engine and feeds through the DS of the support (blocked off on earlier trucks), but I'll remedy that problem later. I don't believe in being wasteful when it comes to these trucks, if it's not too far gone it either gets reused or sold. My old bed had a gouge all down the PS, but clean otherwise. I opted to just find a donor with a rust free, straight bed, so it was donated to my buddy's '85 with a smashed bed. I've also had an offer on my '80 frame. I'm needing a newer frame in better condition, and preferably a truck with EFI to be the basis of my '80 restoration. I plan to use the body of that truck if it's in good condition and just sit my cab on that frame. When that's done, the new cab will be sold to someone who needs it too, assuming it's fairly clean. I won't scrap anything unless it's too trashed.

 

Needs more pictures!

 

For sake of info sharing, here is a link where someone here on FTE made an easy modification to adapt the 80-86 fenders to a 87-97 cab.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...nder-swap.html

 

That is the cleaner way to do it, I was in a hurry at the time. More pics and progress to come as I gather the rest of the parts I need.

 

[QUOTE=Ranger80;14264138]Well guys, I missed my beloved Bullnose so much, I got a bright idea. The core support on my '92 was rotten and while I'm waiting to buy the '85 donor to restore my '80 F100, well, I'm sure you guys know where I'm headed with this.




What are the 'wrinkles' in the front frame horns??? Is that like a 'crumple zone'?