Raywilson Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Okay, 1981 F150 XLT. I'm trying to remove the door panels to install sound proofing, window felt and speakers. I have the panel loose but the slider door lock won't allow me to take the panel off. I'm afraid if I unhook the slider lock bar I'll never be able to reconnect it. Does the rectangle slider lock assembly come out the front somehow? It's pretty tight and I can get pretty ham handed and break stuff. Any help would be appreciated... Ray in Portland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 That slider lock is gold. Brittle gold. Don't break it. Yes, it comes out. The plastic is fastened to a metal backing that has fingers that snap into the opening. I think you can reach around back and squeeze the fingers together to get it out 'cause if you try to pry on the plastic it may part company with the metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raywilson Posted February 5, 2023 Author Share Posted February 5, 2023 That slider lock is gold. Brittle gold. Don't break it. Yes, it comes out. The plastic is fastened to a metal backing that has fingers that snap into the opening. I think you can reach around back and squeeze the fingers together to get it out 'cause if you try to pry on the plastic it may part company with the metal. Thank you. Seems that most parts on an 81 are hard to come by. Transition year I'm supposing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Thank you. Seems that most parts on an 81 are hard to come by. Transition year I'm supposing. 80 was a big transition year, but both 80 and 81 had the slide locks. Or I should say part of 81 did. And they shared a grille and a hood with letters. And the 351M was the big engine. But in 82 you got pin locks, not letters on the hood, a Ford emblem in the grille, and the 351W was the big engine option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raywilson Posted February 5, 2023 Author Share Posted February 5, 2023 80 was a big transition year, but both 80 and 81 had the slide locks. Or I should say part of 81 did. And they shared a grille and a hood with letters. And the 351M was the big engine. But in 82 you got pin locks, not letters on the hood, a Ford emblem in the grille, and the 351W was the big engine option. Thank you. Lock was clipped in. One last question. In order to install door speakers, mine only has dash, do I need to drill a hole in the door jamb? I don't see any holes at all to run wires through... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Thank you. Lock was clipped in. One last question. In order to install door speakers, mine only has dash, do I need to drill a hole in the door jamb? I don't see any holes at all to run wires through... Yes, for some reason Ford hadn't realized it is easier to install doors with holes in them on every truck, so only those with door speakers got holes and the bellows piece that goes between the door and the door jamb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raywilson Posted February 12, 2023 Author Share Posted February 12, 2023 I got the old door panels off and I'm thinking that I could just repaint them. No cracks or damage of any kind but sun UV damage. They are nutmeg and I can scratch the surface and the color just comes off. I sanded them with 220 by hand and it just powdered off, the plastic seems pretty solid underneath though. I put some plastic binder primer on and 1 coat of replica paint (the end of can that I have). It looks okay, needs a couple more coats. I'll need to use some 600 grit to eliminate my 220 sanding scratches. Maybe what powdered off was plastic and they will never look good? I have more rattle can paint coming. I bought some pretty nice panels on ebay, tan, so I'll have paint them too. Issue w them is I have to cut in the slider lock hole and they have the newer door lockhole on top of the door like modern cars. Any experience out there with old panels? Ray in Portland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 I got the old door panels off and I'm thinking that I could just repaint them. No cracks or damage of any kind but sun UV damage. They are nutmeg and I can scratch the surface and the color just comes off. I sanded them with 220 by hand and it just powdered off, the plastic seems pretty solid underneath though. I put some plastic binder primer on and 1 coat of replica paint (the end of can that I have). It looks okay, needs a couple more coats. I'll need to use some 600 grit to eliminate my 220 sanding scratches. Maybe what powdered off was plastic and they will never look good? I have more rattle can paint coming. I bought some pretty nice panels on ebay, tan, so I'll have paint them too. Issue w them is I have to cut in the slider lock hole and they have the newer door lockhole on top of the door like modern cars. Any experience out there with old panels? Ray in Portland You might consider converting to the pin style locks. You can use your slide lock mechanism and just add the rod to the pin, but you'll discover that down is unlock and up is lock. It takes the later lock mechanism to fix that. As for the color, go to our page at Documentation/Specifications/Body Codes - Interior for a listing of the colors and the SEM paint codes. If you use the SEM instructions and products it'll turn out good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 You might consider converting to the pin style locks. You can use your slide lock mechanism and just add the rod to the pin, but you'll discover that down is unlock and up is lock. It takes the later lock mechanism to fix that. As for the color, go to our page at Documentation/Specifications/Body Codes - Interior for a listing of the colors and the SEM paint codes. If you use the SEM instructions and products it'll turn out good. for paint prep I use good ole brillo pads. removes the dead layer without scratching and cleans dirt and oils too just be sure to rinse thoroughly. and the pads form fit to the contours really well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 for paint prep I use good ole brillo pads. removes the dead layer without scratching and cleans dirt and oils too just be sure to rinse thoroughly. and the pads form fit to the contours really well too. SEM also makes a texture you can spray on the panels before the SEM color coat goes on. I did buy 2 cans but by the time i went to use them nothing would come out. I dont know if they were just old or what and being I had them a month or 2 and did not remember who I got them from I could not take them back I did a quick fix of cracks on my slider lock panels and a few coats of SEM just to make them look not so bad before a show. The plan was to get new slider lock panels but when I was ready I cant find them so the plan changed. I will pull them back off and do a little better job on the fixes and paint again. I have also bought new slider locks but they need to be painted to match the color of the panels. I also have the "A" pillar covers that need fixing and painting too. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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