Need Info On Bullnose/Slantnose Purchase

[ZWilson07]

As some of you all may have seen, I am in the market for another idi. I am wanting a crew cab 4x4 F350 slantnose/bullnose this time with the 6.9 to put along side my 90 but I just had a few things to clear up.

Would you all recommend staying only to the 85/86 trucks since that is when the mid way through 85 they switched to the D60 front end and Sterling out back? (That is what I read but didn't know for sure)

Also from what I read 84 is the last year you could get the trucks with the woodgrain on the door panels. Does the dash still have the woodgrain for the 85 and 86 year or was that also stopped?

Im sure I will have a few more specifics as we go along but figured this would be a good start.

Thanks

 

[opusd2]

My 86 SCLB has woodgrain on the inside, and trust me when I say that I know the previous owners were too cheap or uncaring to want to upgrade the inside. Don't know about the Dana 60 but I do have Sterlings in both of my 86's

 

[mohavewolfpup]

My Bottom of the line truck does have the faux woodgrain around the instrument cluster and the radio/clock area if that's what you mean. Has a 3.54 rear end in it also

 

[ZWilson07]

Does anyone have or can get an interior picture of what the different style door panels with wood grain look like in 84 and earlier?

I tried searching google and 85/86 shows a lot of interior photos, but before that doesn't show much of anything.

 

[ZWilson07]

Alright guys, for my discussion since I am only wanting a diesel crewcab, that automatically makes it easy and limits me to 83-86.

Like mentioned I have read that 83-84 came with fake woodgrain on the dash and door panels to where 85-86 only came on the dash. I know it came on the steering wheel as well but I am trying to keep it on track with the previous post I had about the door panel difference.

Believe it or not, it can be very difficult to get good pictures of the interiors of these trucks, and I had to go through many pages to find some good ones. I also was able to find what it would look like with the different color interiors after a lot of searching so here you guys go.

Woodgrain on doors with manual windows/locks and cruise steering wheel I assume.

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Woodgrain on doors with power windows/locks but looks to be no cruise; weird.

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No woodgrain on doors but from what I read it was supposed to be "carpeted" there on the doors for 85/86. Can anyone confirm that this is what 85/86 doors look like cause to me that looks like plastic not carpet.

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On a second note, does anyone know what trim levels even got the woodgrain? I know for this discussion it came in Base, XL, XLS, and XLT Lariet but I don't know which comes with wood grain instead of the black plastic. Also are the 83/84 door panels able to be switched to the 85/86 trucks?

Thanks

 

[FarmerFrank]

Would ya consider another Bricknose? Haha on the fence whether or not I sell me crew cab

 

[The Warden]

Like mentioned I have read that 83-84 came with fake woodgrain on the dash and door panels to where 85-86 only came on the dash. I know it came on the steering wheel as well but I am trying to keep it on track with the previous post I had about the door panel difference.

On a second note, does anyone know what trim levels even got the woodgrain? I know for this discussion it came in Base, XL, XLS, and XLT Lariet but I don't know which comes with wood grain instead of the black plastic. Also are the 83/84 door panels able to be switched to the 85/86 trucks?

Not sure how I missed this post before, but I went out to my truck and took pictures of my door panels. The passenger's side is OEM on my '84; I replaced the driver's side panel with one out of an '85 or '86 Bronco because I had a gaping hole in the top of the original...unfortunately, the passenger's side panel on that Bronco was destroyed, but one's better than none, right?

My truck's an XLT non-Lariat (I don't know if the Lariat package existed in '84; AFAIK my truck has every option available in '84 except for an automatic transmission). Every XL truck I've seen had the basic door panels (similar to the last pic in your post); I'm pretty sure all XLT/Lariat trucks got the wood trim on the door panels in '83 or '84, or the cloth panels in '85 and '86. As you can see, one will replace the other.

You may or may not have noticed this, but one other point...the design of the wood grain changed between the early trucks and the later trucks. All of your pictures show '84 or older trucks; the '85 and '86 trucks used a different pattern, that for whatever reason tends to fade more easily...to the point where it often appears to be light purple rather than brown

Also, AFAIK all diesels with factory air conditioning got the wood grain instrument panels...I think it was so Ford only had to make one cluster for the diesels. I can't remember if there are any non-a/c trucks with black panels or not...

Hope this helps some

 

[ZWilson07]

Would ya consider another Bricknose? Haha on the fence whether or not I sell me crew cab

Pics?

Not sure how I missed this post before, but I went out to my truck and took pictures of my door panels. The passenger's side is OEM on my '84; I replaced the driver's side panel with one out of an '85 or '86 Bronco because I had a gaping hole in the top of the original...unfortunately, the passenger's side panel on that Bronco was destroyed, but one's better than none, right?

My truck's an XLT non-Lariat (I don't know if the Lariat package existed in '84; AFAIK my truck has every option available in '84 except for an automatic transmission). Every XL truck I've seen had the basic door panels (similar to the last pic in your post); I'm pretty sure all XLT/Lariat trucks got the wood trim on the door panels in '83 or '84, or the cloth panels in '85 and '86. As you can see, one will replace the other.

You may or may not have noticed this, but one other point...the design of the wood grain changed between the early trucks and the later trucks. All of your pictures show '84 or older trucks; the '85 and '86 trucks used a different pattern, that for whatever reason tends to fade more easily...to the point where it often appears to be light purple rather than brown

Also, AFAIK all diesels with factory air conditioning got the wood grain instrument panels...I think it was so Ford only had to make one cluster for the diesels. I can't remember if there are any non-a/c trucks with black panels or not...

Hope this helps some

Warden thanks for your post, I was getting a little worried there as there doesn't seem to be as much activity about the bullnose/slantnose trucks. I did notice the wood grain looked different but it was hard to tell because most pictures I see are high mileage trucks and vary from one to another greatly. So I did not know if maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. From what I read the XLT Lariet was an option; the options I listed above I read were the normal trim levels for 82-76 trucks. I personally think the 83/84 wood grain looks better then the 85/86 wood grain, plus I do like the wood grain on the door panels for 83/84 trucks as well.

Can you buy new replacements for them or is it only what you can find used?

But arent 85/86 trucks D60 front and Sterling 10.25 rears? For the f350 4x4 obviously? I assume that would be worth trying to hold out for vs the 83/84 axle setup?

 

[The Warden]

I did notice the wood grain looked different but it was hard to tell because most pictures I see are high mileage trucks and vary from one to another greatly. So I did not know if maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. From what I read the XLT Lariet was an option; the options I listed above I read were the normal trim levels for 82-76 trucks. I personally think the 83/84 wood grain looks better then the 85/86 wood grain, plus I do like the wood grain on the door panels for 83/84 trucks as well.

Can you buy new replacements for them or is it only what you can find used?

But arent 85/86 trucks D60 front and Sterling 10.25 rears? For the f350 4x4 obviously? I assume that would be worth trying to hold out for vs the 83/84 axle setup?

The Lariat trim package did exist at some point in the "slant-nose" trucks; I've seen the badging on '85 and '86 trucks. I just don't know if it existed in '84 or earlier trucks.

Re: the different patterns...I can get out to my truck and take a better picture later, but I have this from a while back...the pic isn't the best, but you can see the old and new patterns together (the dash trim is the newer style):

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AFAIK for the door panel wood trim, it's not available anywhere new...certainly I've never seen it anywhere.

You're right that Ford started using the Dana 60 front axle and 10.25 rear axle midway through 1985...but, the operative word is "midway"; I've seen at least one '85 F-350 that had a Dana 50 TTB front axle from the factory. I want to say the rear axle was a Dana 70, but I don't remember for sure.

IMHO if you want the earlier paneling and a Dana 60 axle, you'd do best to buy a truck with a Dana 60 and scour the junkyards and see what you can find for interior trim. I THINK you can put the wood grain trim piece on an XL door panel, but I haven't tried...I prefer the cloth panels

 

[ZWilson07]

Would ya consider another Bricknose? Haha on the fence whether or not I sell me crew cab

The Lariat trim package did exist at some point in the "slant-nose" trucks; I've seen the badging on '85 and '86 trucks. I just don't know if it existed in '84 or earlier trucks.

Re: the different patterns...I can get out to my truck and take a better picture later, but I have this from a while back...the pic isn't the best, but you can see the old and new patterns together (the dash trim is the newer style):

You must be registered for see images attach

AFAIK for the door panel wood trim, it's not available anywhere new...certainly I've never seen it anywhere.

You're right that Ford started using the Dana 60 front axle and 10.25 rear axle midway through 1985...but, the operative word is "midway"; I've seen at least one '85 F-350 that had a Dana 50 TTB front axle from the factory. I want to say the rear axle was a Dana 70, but I don't remember for sure.

IMHO if you want the earlier paneling and a Dana 60 axle, you'd do best to buy a truck with a Dana 60 and scour the junkyards and see what you can find for interior trim. I THINK you can put the wood grain trim piece on an XL door panel, but I haven't tried...I prefer the cloth panels

What about swapping out the wood grain on the dash with the earlier style? Is it as simple as just switching them and everything being the same?

 

[S-west]

I have an 86 xlt lariat it has wood grain on the dash but not on the door panels, I know for a fact though the panels where replaced. The only option my truck didn't come with was a tach, other than that it's fully loaded. Unfortunately it just looks like an old work truck on the inside, those interior pics must have come from trucks that where never driven, I especially like the black, but my truck is black and I deleted the ac so it would be horrible in the summer.

 

[The Warden]

What about swapping out the wood grain on the dash with the earlier style? Is it as simple as just switching them and everything being the same?

For the most part, yes, it's simply a matter of swapping out the panels; that's exactly what I did. However, you may have to get creative with the radio cutout in the center piece...AFAIK all of the early panels were designed for a two-knob radio with a center display that's taller than the standard DIN cutout we see today; the later panel was designed for a DIN radio. You'll have to do some cutting and filling to get a DIN radio to fit in the hole. In fact, that's why I swapped to a later panel for the center piece...I wanted to be able to put a DIN radio in without cutting (in the pic you see, I had replaced a failed DIN radio with a two-shaft radio as a temporary fix).

I actually have my old dash panels sitting in storage...it's been a while since I looked at them, but IIRC they're in decent condition except for the strip on the top of the instrument cluster that has the info lights (turn signals, high beams, brake light, etc; much of the black backing has been scratched or faded off, but it's not impossible to replace if you can get another strip from another panel). If you're interested and not in a hurry (they're 300 miles away from me and I'm not sure when I'm going to have a chance to get down there next), I might be ready to let them go...

 

[Brush 6]

I'll add this, there was also a bottom line basic trim model. Very bland and plain. That's what I got. Not even an XL. It has the fake wood grain on the two trim pieces.

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