Howdy all I have a 1980 F-250 custom that I'm currently working on. I want to add an extra 12' to 18' to the gear shift (bulldog 4 speed) I've looked online but I haven't found any longer shifters only factory and shorter ones so I'm asking to see if anyone has an idea where to look or am I gonna have to build one myself thanks for the input. also I haven't found any blackout led taillights for the bullnose truck beds anyone know where I can find them. thanks again

 

You will have to build the shifter yourself. Blackout taillights are not legal in most states, so the reason they are not popular.

 

What the heck is a "bulldog 4 speed" transmission?
I am guessing it is one of the granny first gear transmissions, T18 / NP435.
You can only have a taller shiffter if you have double clutching boots, split shifting gloves and chain driven wallet to be a real trucker

You did not say what the top of the stick you have now is, threaded or spline?
If spline you will have to tap it for threads to add the extension.
Now this extension you will have to hit a really good truck stop that has a store / chrome shop.
Think the shortest I seen was 6 inch and I know they have 12 inch ones. I dont know if they have longer as I was not looking for longer ones.
They also come in different colors. I wanted black but in the size I wanted could only find it in white but nothing paint will not fix.

On the rear lights why in he11 would you want to make the rear lights dark
Besides breaking the law, the nuts out there have a hard time seeing bright lights and will run into you.
But if you have to have black out tail lights for "SHOW ONLY" they make a spray to make them darker.
Depending on how many coats will make them black and not see any light come thru.

On that I was behind a new Challenger that had the tail lights black and exh cut outs.
Young black kid being a jack azz in and out of traffic. I pulled up next to him at a light to tell him no brake lights and he told me they are tinted out!
There were 3 things he could have been pulled over for and sorry to say being black might have added to it.

Oh on the shifter I have an over drive box that I had to add the stick to so I could "twin stick" when I shift.
Cant remember if the add on is on in the picture but dont think so as the **** looks to low. That 4 speed granny first is now a 8 speed

Dave ----

 

Thanks for the info Dave I'm in Kentucky and they don't enforce vehicle codes where i live so I'm not worried about that aspect. could i use window tint to tint the stock taillights?

 

My point was why make the rear of your ride dark as people dont see even with bright lights, why make it worst.
Because I use my truck a lot when dark out I wanted to make it be seen so I used reflective letters for FORD

Inside the the tail light housings have been painted white like the factory did to put out more light also.
Dave ----

 

I have seen years ago taillight covers that were black, but let the red light through with a design to them. Possibly you could get some masking tape and make a design, and then spray the light housing with black paint, and then peel the masking tape off. Sometimes doing custom things to your truck will require fabrication. If you can do it, you end up with something different than anyone else has. That can be more satisfying than buying something from the store and putting it on your truck and it looks like everyone else's.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=tail...hrome&ie=UTF-8
Dave ----

 

Dave, what did you use to cut the reflective letters out of? SOLAS tape?
This is a neat detail I didn't know. I wonder if silver would work, too?

 

I bought the letters pre-cut off think Ebay.
I might have searched for reflective FORD letters or sent a email to a seller that had the non-reflective letters for sell, dont remember now
I dont remember if style side tail gate letters and flare side letters are the same so you will need to check that for your type gate.

What I have read between white & silver the white put out more lights than silver.
If the factory used white on the flare side tail lights then there had to be a reason.
Now I dont know why they dont paint the style side lights white inside and just leave them metal but that might be an option for the style side guys?
Dave ----

 

thanks for the concern i will be running an under the tailgate light stripe plus 2 extra brake lights beside the ambers on my ladder rack also debating on putting 2 more on the bumper just wanted something other than stock that looked decent on the main body

 

Depending on whether you just want to add length to the pole you already got or want a longer custom-shaped shifter pole, there are many options.

I did not like the straight-as-a-gun-barrel shifter that was on my transmission; plus, by being straight, it put Reverse and Fifth way over there in front of the passenger seat.

I just used some 1/2" Schedule 40 black-iron pipe and had my friend who has an exhaust bender to make the bends; it didn't matter that the pipe was way smaller than any of the dies he had; we just held the pipe in place and pressed the pedal until it looked like what I wanted.

I was at a Redneck Rumble and saw every kind of shifter imaginable, including several made of genuine "Rabbit Ears" double-barrel shotguns.

I saw one where the guy stuck the barrel of a .45 over the rod and welded it on = sacrifice a totally good Single Action Army replica for a one-of-a-kind shifter handle.


As for the Black-out tail-lights, I had personal experience with a set of Black-out cab lights; with LED technology, the color of the LED bulb governs what is seen when the lights are on; not the color of the lens.

You can have lens as black as a coal miner's lungs and a Red LED will show as the same Red as if the lens were Red.