New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

classic Classic list List threaded Threaded
9 messages Options
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

JohnnyD
Hi, I'm new to the forum, but have had my 1981 F150 Custom, short box, 2wd, 4-speed, straight 6 since it was new (it happened to come to my driveway the same day my first child came home from the hospital with his new mama -- definitely a gold-star day!). Now, after being the daily driver for my 2 kids, a farm truck, and on its 3rd coat of paint, I'm retired and have time to replace the door panels (crumbling from the sun), the cracked dash, and nearly non-existent floor mats.

I'm in the process of ordering parts. The truck had slider-type door locks when new. One slider has broken and I understand they were a "Ford has a better idea" that lasted only a few months. I'm wondering if I can use the same locking/latch mechanism and convert to pin-type locks just by buying the rods and caps or whether I have to get more serious about replacing other parts. Any thoughts?
"Old Blue" 1981 F150 Custom, short box, 2wd, straight 6, manual 4-speed; purchased new in NY, now happy in Oregon
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

Gary Lewis
Administrator
Welcome!  Glad to have another retiree on here.  

On the lock situation, you can get the pin-style rods and caps and use your current door latches, but down on the pin will be Unlock and up will be Lock.  To change that just change out the latches to the later ones.

Or, you can see if anyone on here has the replacement sliders.  And, one of the catalog outfits is selling them now.

Also, we have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map on the menu), and I'd be happy to add you to that if you'd just give me a town/city and state.  No address in other words.
Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

grumpin
In reply to this post by JohnnyD
Welcome!
Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

JohnnyD
In reply to this post by Gary Lewis
Gary, thanks for the info. Hmm, I'll have to think about having up/down reversed. Have replied to a couple posts elsewhere on the forum where people had or were looking for sliders, so maybe I'll come up with a replacement. Have looked online and can't find anyone selling replacement sliders - any more clues? LMC seems to have a great variety of parts at reasonable prices, but no sliders.

BTW, I'm in NW Oregon - I've changed my signature to include location.
"Old Blue" 1981 F150 Custom, short box, 2wd, straight 6, manual 4-speed; purchased new in NY, now happy in Oregon
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

Gary Lewis
Administrator
Johnny - I saw your posts, but there's little chance of Taden getting back with you as we've not heard from her since that post in Oct of 2017.  However, I'm sure Jonathan will get back with you.

And, I've looked but apparently I don't have any sliders.  Sorry.  But, I'm pretty sure that someone is now selling them.  

So you should search for them online.  The part numbers are shown below, and I just did a quick search for E0TZ 1022168 and got several hits, although most of those were used.  And, note that some people don't know that the second character is a zero, so you might also search for an O rather than a 0.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

JohnnyD
Thanks, Gary. I have a pile of manuals, but didn't have a parts listing like that which teases out all the part numbers including colors. I need the LH one, so the part is -169, but this helped me find one on Dennis Carpenter. I'll wait to see if anyone on the forum responds to my requests.

Truck and interior were originally powder blue - that wonderful blue that Ford made that faded out pretty quickly. This is the second time I had it painted, and as you can tell from the photo, the paint guy managed to order the wrong blue. But he did a good job of painting it and I didn't do any body work other than putty up all the holes where the emblems go, so I didn't worry too much about the color not being perfect. Took a couple of months to get used to the brighter blue.

The dash is cracked and the door panels have crumbled from UV, so they're next to replace. Just have to decide whether to stay with sliders before I order the panels.
"Old Blue" 1981 F150 Custom, short box, 2wd, straight 6, manual 4-speed; purchased new in NY, now happy in Oregon
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

Gary Lewis
Administrator
You found it on Dennis Carpenter?  Cool!
Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

1986F150Six
Administrator
Welcome!
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: New member 81 F150 restoring the interior

Ford F834
Administrator
In reply to this post by JohnnyD
Welcome! Sorry I’m late to the conversation. Sounds like you found what you needed? I converted mine to pin locks because both sides were broken/missing and I had no keys. It was just easier/cheaper for me to swap the whole lot over to the later kind. If you found replacement then that’s great. I love the 80/81’s.
SHORT BED 4-DOOR DIESEL: 1986 F350 4x4 under construction-- 7.3 IDIT ZF5+GVOD

STRAIGHT SIX 4X4: 1981 F150 2wd to 4x4-- 300 I6 close ratio diesel T19, hydroboost brakes, Saginaw steering

BIG F: 1995 F-Superduty under construction— converting to 6.9L IDI diesel ZF5+DNE2