Whick grill do ya like better: 80-81 or 82-86?

[BullnoseHunter02]

personally, really depends on my mood, honestly, I kinda like the 1980 and 81 grills a bit better on these trucks. Any prefrence here?

[Gary Lewis]

I agree. A friend on FTE called the 80-81 grille the LGG - Last Great Grille.

[Ken Blythen]

I agree. A friend on FTE called the 80-81 grille the LGG - Last Great Grille.

No,no,no.......sorry! But it's just gotta have a blue oval!

[Rembrant]

...it's just gotta have a blue oval!

I'm with Ken.

 

[Nothing Special]

No,no,no.......sorry! But it's just gotta have a blue oval!

I mentioned this several years ago on a thread on the same topic in that other forum, but someone told me that the last time before the '82 F-series grill that the blue oval was used on a Ford car or truck was the 1931 Model A. My first car was a 1929 Model A Tudor Sedan (bought as a father-son project when I was 10 years old). My second vehicle was a 1985 F-250HD.

Se definitely a blue oval for me!

[LARIAT 85]

I think it depends on the truck.

I actually purchased both grilles for my own truck as I was restoring it because I couldn't make up my mind which style I liked better. Although the Ford oval grille is correct for my 1985 model, I thought that the earlier 1980/1981 grille with the FORD hood letters would look more unique and "classic." In the end, I decided that the Ford oval grille looked better on *my* truck.

However, I think the earlier 1980/1981 grille and FORD hood letters looks much better on a Flareside truck.

 

[Ray Cecil]

I think it depends on the truck.

I actually purchased both grilles for my own truck as I was restoring it because I couldn't make up my mind which style I liked better. Although the Ford oval grille is correct for my 1985 model, I thought that the earlier 1980/1981 grille with the FORD hood letters would look more unique and "classic." In the end, I decided that the Ford oval grille looked better on *my* truck.

However, I think the earlier 1980/1981 grille and FORD hood letters looks much better on a Flareside truck.

I like the blue oval with the 80 clear turn signal lenses.

[BullnoseHunter02]

yeh, looking at em now, it really depends in the truck, honestly, and how its painted, the Broncos kinda look better with the earler grills, and the F150s kinda look better with the blue ovals, but idk, it comes down to the paint and rims for me to decide which grill i like better. i do prefer the 80 and 81s though.

[Ford F834]

I’m fond of the 80/81 grille just because it looks older... more antique/classic somehow. The later one with the oval and larger cross bars looks a little tougher. As already said it depends on the truck.

[salans7]

I’m fond of the 80/81 grille just because it looks older... more antique/classic somehow. The later one with the oval and larger cross bars looks a little tougher. As already said it depends on the truck.

As a kid, I didn't like the trucks without blue ovals because my dad's trucks all had blue ovals. But when I turned 15 and purchased a 1980 F150, there was no blue oval to be found. I swapped the grilles out, but I ended up going back to the 80-81 grille because it looked better with the FORD on the hood. Now, I prefer the 80-81 trucks over the 82+.

I will admit that the 82-86 grille is much cleaner. However, painting the argent bars of an 80-81 grille black tends to hide them and make them look much cleaner as well.