Howdy all, new here but not new to the website. This is by far not my first rodeo, but it my first Bullnose and I'm happy to be here.
1981 f150 4WD 4.9 T18 3.50 limited slip A/C. I have a post from a while ago asking about a truck with vapor lock, well this is it, and it's not vapor lock, lol. I dunno where to start....how bout pics.


My plan is to get it driving well and drive it. Hardware store, grocery, hair cut, etc I've got the 6.7 KR but I hate firing that thing up to go to the store (small town). I have been driving my '65 F250, but it is finally time to drop the 390 I had rebuilt 20+ years ago and never assembled and installed. So, here we are $2500 poorer. You could do worse. AND I'm still married!

Fairly straight and fairly rust free, but will need cab corners, floor is great, that's as far as I know now. Interior is very rough. Runs good, drives OK, brakes need help, overall, not too bad from what I could tell driving on/off trailer. It's like opening Pandora's box with all the questions I have. For now, to confirm a few things....

Trans code F - T18
Axle code H6 - 3.50 limited slip. What about front differential - Dana 44, limited slip? I doubt, and if not, it will get a Lock Rite.

It has no factory air cleaner assy. It has a chrome filter that belongs on a 6 horse Tecumseh. I want the factory setup.
It has a new carb on it, and the guy handed me the original and two other new carburetors...and he still had "vapor lock". Yikes. Has new fuel tank which ironically is when the "vapor lock" started. It has an HEI distributor, but had the DS2 box on the fender and he handed me the original DS2 distributor so I am happy about that. It will be rebuilt as needed, recurved, and go back on.
It needs a seat and I think I found one locally.
The power steering pump...well you know what that sounds like, and this one is really loud, so I will be looking for the van Saginaw pump setup. This might be my first subject matter post here.
Yeah it will probably get the EFI exhaust, and a whole host of other upgrades I'm eyeing, but getting it driving well as best it can as-is, is the goal for now.

Enough for now.

 

Not a bad looking truck. Maybe I should have spent more money on a truck than the $800 did for mine that needed a sh** load of work

When I saw the gear ratio I was like WHAT? then see it is a 4x4.
I dont know much of the 4x4 trucks but I believe it is a D44 front axle.
As for it having LS up front in the 2 trucks I ordered new I dont remember it as a option in front only the rear and both got the LS out back.

I would drive it first without the Lock Right up front as I dont think it will handle too good when both front tires are locked & spinning as things can get side ways pretty quick.
I have a Lock Right in the rear of a 92" wheel base v8 auto car and in the rain was like driving on ice. Car was put away in the fall and taken out in the spring thaw and why I know how it works.
I dont think I would even put a Detroit Locker in front for the same reason but maybe a LS?
For all the winter street snow driving I have done with my 2 4x4's I just never needed a locked front axle.

On the air filter look in the for sale area as there are some who part out older trucks and may have a air filter assy. that is where I got mine from.
Note they make 2 different types. The eraly tucks used a tear drop and the later ones used when looked like a normal round filter but is off set to clear the HVAC box assy.
Both will work and do the same thing.
Now the plastic ducting to the front radiator support is a different story and can be harder to come by but check with the seller of the filter to see what they have.
The flex tubing I use is for a Jeep. It is a little too long but does the job.

On the vapor lock I wonder if it is a bad rubber hose as they break down on the inside?
If the tank is new I would replace all the rubber roses from tank to carb as a start.

Clutch linkage check it over really good. The cross shaft from frame to motor has plastic bushings in the ends and if they go bad can wear the pivots.
The one on the motor side you can no longer get and have not seen one come up on Ebay in over 2+ years and that one was over $100
Also where the rod connects from pedal to cross shaft check that the holes are not egg shape and rod worn.
Yes I have been there and done that and why I know ....... save that motor side pivot at all costs!
Dave ----

 

Congrats. it looks like the perfect town truck for driving around with your left elbow sticking out the window.
First things first.....keep those steelies. Powder coat them and put new tires on but pls don't swap them out. And dont bash the 6hp Tecumseh. My father had one of those engines that i simply could not kill...no matter what stupid thing i did to it.
You also didn't mention how many miles she has....or maybe i missed it.
Yes, the PS pump is loud but i have just been taking the slack out of my new belt as it gets worn in and it quiets down every time. Might be a quick fix as you focus on other items.
Cheers.

 

Soy the Ford pumps are known to make a kind of grinding noise like they are low on fluid but are not.
My turn cam with the Saginaw pump as I think the motor came out of a van as the exhaust manifold did not work with the new pickup truck head pipe.
That is was why I went EFI manifolds on my motor.

Note when you get the van pump you will need the brackets as they are different than the Ford pump ones.
You will also want to get the water pump pully as I think it is different between them.
Or maybe that is for AC? But get it any way.

I added factory AC to my truck using parts & firewall from my parts truck but I did not have any AC compressor brackets so had to come up with brackets that work with the Saginaw bracket pump set up.
Dave ----

 

Lil' update today. The short term goal is drivetrain/suspension. The interior is so rough that if I find a doner with a better cab/dash I may go that route, but I want to retain the 4WD/4.9L/4spd combo, so that is the focus.

I got it to run a lot better. PCV was toast and there were plenty of vacuum leaks. I was able to back down the idle to the point where the mixture screw actually has some authority over the idle quality. One of the carbs he gave me(not on truck) has a vacuum pull off and electric choke, both I want, neither I have now. I know where to hook the electric choke on the really OBS truck, but not this one. Presently, it has no choke and in case no one noticed, it is winter and a choke would be helpful. All the carbs he gave me are fairly new rebuilds, i.e. they are clean, lol.

Why are all the spot welds on the tailgate failing? The whole thing has delaminated. Is that common? It looks like I can clamp/Cleco the thing back together and re-weld, but it will be a fight. (I have pics, but phone is charging) Is it worth saving or find another? The outside of this one is pretty good shape and I'd like to retain if possible, but I ain't married to it.

The radius arm bushings are shot, dunno the condition of the brackets but did find them available new in case. Front TTB pivot bushings look OK at this point. Tie rod ends are gone. Front hubs and lockouts look good, but gonna need both front disk rotors/calipers/pads.

Pinion seal leaks, left axle seal leaks, and the rear drum brake on the right side somehow tore up the "balance" bar or whatever it is called that spans across the top from shoe to shoe. I have not found that part and it is not included in a brake hardware kit. Rear end is a 3.50 posi which from previous experience is the perfect gear IMHO. I had a '78 Bronco with a healthy 400 and 3.50 gears. In that truck I shimmed the posi very tight, and installed a lock rite up front. Wheeling in the rocks a front locker is a requirement - huge difference. The downside was the carburetor at high angles. I'm considering strongly a Sniper for this and that problem is resolved along with several others - waaaay down the road though.

Wheels/tires. Tires are a L78 - 15 equivalent, 235/75 r15 but they are 6years old. The wheels and hubs caps I like, but the wheels are only 5 - 5.5" wide. I'd like to find some wider factory wheels, but for now, these will do.

2+ main reasons why this truck. 1) Parts are cheap and available, not so with my '65. 2) It is one of the last years made before electronic everything begins, this means a normal dummy can still work on it. A lot more plastic inside though. +) '73 - '79 trucks have skyrocketed in price. It's not my preferred body style, sorry, but I don't mind the look of the bullnose(especially step side); I cannot do the bricknose.

So much for brevity, I'll try to keep it shorter from here on.

 

We Ford guys and mostly Flare Side owners they are not called by the Chevy step side name but Flare Side.

I have not heard of the spot welds on the tail gate breaking but I have a Flare Side and the gate is different than the style side trucks and my style side parts did not come with a tail gate but based on the rest of the truck I cant see it having broken spot welds.
From what I hear of the new gates the cheaper ones (if you can call them that) are really cheaply made and thin metal and dont have F O R D across the gate (no Lic. from Ford)
The ones with F O R D that are Lic. from Ford is big bucks and I think thicker metal.
I would keep and fix what you got now but that is me.

The brake E brake bar I think you can only get from Ford or find one used as I have never seen one other wise.
You will need to know what axle you have, Ford 9" or the 8.8? If it does not have a rear cover then it would be a 9" and I think that is what came in the 4x4 trucks but not 100% sure on that.
I would also think you would need to know the brake drum size dia. as that would say how long the bar needs to be to work.
I dont believe there is a left or right as you should be able to just flip it around as needed.
The spring that fit on the end I think comes in the spring kit but not sure on the washer that fits between the shoe and the spring so when getting the bar get the spring & washer so you have them.

They do make replacement dash pads for big bucks but a cheaper way to fix it is with a dash cove or over lay that fits over the old cracked pad and gets glued down.
This is a cove over lay glued down and then painted using SEM paint to match the res of my painted parts inside the cab.

Picture does not show the clock installed or the carpet installed.
Dave ----

 

I think the part number is CWA-J5357889

 

The spot welds failing is a very common problem. If your tailgate is in good shape and not all rusted out and bent up, you better hold on to it. The aftermrket china ones are very thin and only good for show trucks. And a stock tailgate that is not bent up is very very difficult to find and commands high prices. I would try to drill/grind the old spot welds out, and take a mig and make new ones with it.

Most of these trucks had a hot air electric assist choke. Translatation, the choke mainly works on hot air entering the round black piece for the choke where the bi-metal is located. The electrical connection was just to accelerate the choke opening when the engine was already warm. Some did have a full electric choke though.

If you take a meter, and do not get a ohm reading between the choke elec terminal and the carb housing, more than likely you have assist version. To make this choke work, you need to hook a small line, copper is easiest to work with, and hook it to the fitting on the carb black housing, and run it down and through the hole in the exhaust manifold, and then back up to the carb. This is where the hot air comes from.

We can get into more detail on this choke thing, but it can be complex and hard to get it to work correctly. I know you want a auto choke, but a manual conversion is much easier to understand and make work reliably.

 

Between coats of finish on my woodwork project I got to fooling a little more with the engine. I discovered there was no vacuum advance, it was hooked to a port that had very little vacuum. So after some fenagling I got that worked out and it runs a million times better, so good I could tell there was a mis, and it turns out cyl #4 is dead. I haven't done a comp test so I don't know. Nothing to see here, lets move on.....

The tailgate is interesting, nearly all the spot welds failed.




So I took it off, gutted it, which isn't saying much, and proceeded to get after it with clamps and I think I can clamp it in place and re-weld with my wire feed. It cam together well and with a little persuasion here and there, it should be fine. Tomorrow I have a ton of wood finishing work which is 5 minutes of work, and hours of dry time. So between coats, I'll do some welding.

Anyone want part of this?


That's pretty ugly.

 

Here's some info on an electric choke conversion. I think 1981 trucks just had a hot air system. The later years did have a electric choke cap with the hot air tubes, but the electric part only works around 60 to 70 degrees. Just to pull the choke faster in the summer, mostly for emissions reasons.

https://www.carburetor-parts.com/electric-choke-cu1112

Jim

 

I think that would be the Ford number but IIRC for the 300 truck motors it is NA from dealers and why I went the Ebay way and got one for a Jeep CJ with a 258 six.
Again it is a little too long and if I was more into it I could cut it shorter and then stapple the end back on like it is but I got it to fit so it stays.

I did not know the style side tail gates did that, now I know.
Yea fix when you got dont go the cheep new ones as they are not worth it.
Dave ----

 

When you do the brakes with new rotors, go ahead and put new calipers and brake hoses on it too. These trucks are also famous for the calipers sticking, causing that overheated rotor.

 

Also think about new wheel bearings, if the rotor got that hot. Might as well do the brakes right, the first time.

 

Since the tailgate is now front and center, I decided to start from the back and work forward, which, by default, leaves the engine for last...nice plan eh?
The parking brake bar? has Bendix 316274 stamped on it. I believe it is common to, at least, Ford 9" rear ends with 11" brakes. I need one badly. Then we do an axle seal(ugh), pinion seal, u-joints, and installation of a new limited slip clutch pack. Top it off with a new rear brake hose. I'm going to drop the rear end out of the truck to do all this, since this stuff is heavy and I don't fancy working under the truck at my age. It's only disconnecting the parking brake cables and the brake hose which is replaced anyway. I already have the u-bolt nuts broken loose.

 

Is this the parking brake bar... https://www.northeastclassicfordpart...1-drum-brakes/

Hint, we like pictures...