Notices
1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Steering column interchange?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 4, 2025 | 07:19 AM
  #1  
GOVTMOD's Avatar
GOVTMOD
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Photoriffic
Liked
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 724
Likes: 26
From: Southeast Salt Lake, UT
Steering column interchange?

Greetings all you grungy nailed, stubborn, knuckle busters.

As I progress along my futile, endless, endeavor of getting my truck up to snuff, at least up on the highway. I'm thinking ahead and making a mental list.

One of the things that I would like to upgrade is to tilt steering. I'm just north of 6 ft. and on the bigger boned side. Situating myself behind the wheel could be a little more convenient and the view of the dash could be better if I could adjust the attitude of the wheel.

I did do some searching around and I couldn't find anything that lays out what columns are swappable into a Bullnose. In my case I have a '80 F250 Custom 4WD with 4 speed manual. Besides just finding a Bullnose with higher trim, what are my options? Would I have to change the steering wheel too and what options would I have there?
 
Reply
Old Jan 4, 2025 | 10:11 AM
  #2  
BigBlue2's Avatar
BigBlue2
Lead Driver
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,246
Likes: 1,223
I can't give you any advice on which years you can plug and play steering columns other than a guess that 80-86 tilts should work. I can tell you that I love my tilt wheel and have it in the highest position all the time. It's not a room factor it's just a good angle to hang on to. I have good visibility of the dash except for the turn signal indications which can hide behind the wheel. But what do people expect when a classic pickup is going down the freeway with the left signal blinking in the slow lane piloted by an old man in a hat?
 
Reply
Old Jan 4, 2025 | 10:50 AM
  #3  
FuzzFace2's Avatar
FuzzFace2
FTE Legend
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Community Builder
Liked
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 30,832
Likes: 4,097
From: Angier, NC
Club FTE Gold Member
Like BigBlue I dont know either but I think the 80 had some wiring differences so I would look at 81-86 trucks.

Now you want tilt and floor shift because of the manual trans but you did not say anything about Speed Control?
If you dont have that then it would be tilt, manual trans, no speed control 81 - 86.
I also dont think anything from your column will work in the tilt other than the IGN switch at the bottom and the key cly.
Dave ---
 
Reply
Old Jan 5, 2025 | 10:55 AM
  #4  
GOVTMOD's Avatar
GOVTMOD
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Photoriffic
Liked
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 724
Likes: 26
From: Southeast Salt Lake, UT
Originally Posted by BigBlue2
I can't give you any advice on which years you can plug and play steering columns other than a guess that 80-86 tilts should work. I can tell you that I love my tilt wheel and have it in the highest position all the time. It's not a room factor it's just a good angle to hang on to. I have good visibility of the dash except for the turn signal indications which can hide behind the wheel. But what do people expect when a classic pickup is going down the freeway with the left signal blinking in the slow lane piloted by an old man in a hat?
That's me! Do they not have self cancelling signals? I've noticed mine doesn't cancel. I've been looking on ebay and I've seen ranges from 80-91, 80-86, 81-97. I don't know if there are different ranges for particular features like A/T, Speed control, etc.

Originally Posted by FuzzFace2
Like BigBlue I dont know either but I think the 80 had some wiring differences so I would look at 81-86 trucks.

Now you want tilt and floor shift because of the manual trans but you did not say anything about Speed Control?
If you dont have that then it would be tilt, manual trans, no speed control 81 - 86.
I also dont think anything from your column will work in the tilt other than the IGN switch at the bottom and the key cly.
Dave ---
I don't have speed control but it would be cool to retrofit in the future....
 
Reply
Old Jan 5, 2025 | 11:21 AM
  #5  
BigBlue2's Avatar
BigBlue2
Lead Driver
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,246
Likes: 1,223
My turn signal will cancel if the wheel is turned far enough to engage the cam but freeway ramps don't allow enough turning of the wheel while merging to the slow lane. That's the only lane I drive in anymore since the left side of the freeway lanes are dedicated to those doing 80 in the 60 zone. We don't have enough cops so folks taking advantage of being able to speed. Most dangerous time to be on the freeway is 10 minutes to 4pm, when Oprah comes on TV.
 
Reply
Old Jan 5, 2025 | 03:34 PM
  #6  
Franklin2's Avatar
Franklin2
Moderator
25 Year Member
Photogenic
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,951
Likes: 2,718
From: Virginia
Club FTE Gold Member
All columns have the cancel feature. If yours doesn't cancel, it has missing or broken pieces inside. Also, when driving down the road the steering wheel needs to be somewhat centered and level. If it's cocked to one side or the other, the cancel feature will not work properly. Over the years these trucks can get in sad shape.
 
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Patina65
1961 - 1966 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
3
May 11, 2021 04:33 PM
Fordication
1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
10
Dec 27, 2016 11:30 PM
mhu
1961 - 1966 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
0
May 8, 2015 06:14 AM
Johnny Be Cool
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
12
Apr 1, 2015 04:28 PM
jmikeyj4
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
2
Mar 5, 2011 06:32 PM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:33 AM.

story-0
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home

Slideshow: Ford's bizarre fishing-themed Explorer concept has resurfaced after spending decades largely forgotten.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:07:46


VIEW MORE
story-1
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!

Slideshow: The 10 best Ford truck engines we miss the most.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 13:09:47


VIEW MORE
story-2
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?

Slideshow: first look at the 810 hp 2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road!

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-12 12:50:07


VIEW MORE
story-3
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!

Slideshow: Everything You Need to Know about the 2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package!

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-05-07 17:51:06


VIEW MORE
story-4
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!

Slideshow: 10 most surprising Ford truck options/features in 2026.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:17:22


VIEW MORE
story-5
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026

Slideshow: Here are the top 10 Fords coming to Mecum Indy 2026.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:49:49


VIEW MORE
story-6
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time

Slideshow: The 5 best and 5 worst Ford truck wheels of all time

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 16:49:01


VIEW MORE
story-7
Ford Super Duty: 5 Things Owners LOVE, 5 Things They LOATHE!

Slideshow: Ranking the 5 things owners love about their Super Duty and 5 things they don't

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 16:36:49


VIEW MORE
story-8
Every 2026 Ford Truck Engine RANKED from WORST to FIRST!

Slideshow: Ranking all 12 Ford truck engines available in 2026.

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 13:32:20


VIEW MORE
story-9
The Best F-150 Deal of Every Trim Level (XL through Raptor)

Slideshow: The best Ford F-150 deal for every trim level (XL through Raptor)

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-21 15:59:01


VIEW MORE