1980 - 86 Ford Trucks

This portion of the site is dedicated to Figuring Out Random Details about the 1980 - 86 full-sized pickups and Broncos (and the odd '87 as well, Jim).  [Many thanks to my friend David for the F O R D idea.]
Why am I "into" these the 1980 - 86 Ford trucks? Well, one of my father's favorite things, after his family, was his 1981 F150, which is shown above. Hoping that some day it might come to me, I got into that era of Ford trucks by buying a 1982 F150 Explorer that hadn't run in two years, and hadn't run well in many years. (Don't buy a truck that doesn't run - at least not without full expectation that many, many more things are wrong than what you are being told.) Originally the intent was to learn about them so I could restore Dad's truck when the time came, but I actually got hooked on these trucks - and now how two 1981's, having sold the '82.  (I sold the '82 for probably half what I had in it since there were many, many problems.)

You might ask why I got hooked on these trucks, and the answer might lie in what Wikipedia says of the 1980 - 86 trucks: "These trucks are considered amongst enthusiasts to be the last generation of great trucks built by Ford and are now beginning to become popular amongst restorers as the models have just reached classic car status. They are typically considered to be the last of the "classic" Ford trucks, due to the fact it had features such (as) glass headlights." While I'm not sure that they have "reached classic car status", I do think it will happen soon as I strongly agree with the Wikipedia author about them being the last of the classic trucks. In 1987 Ford went to great lengths to improve the aerodynamics, and that took bringing the headlights flush with the grille so no air was captured, rounding the corners with much larger turn signals, etc. And the result was a much more modern look that, to me, is more European than American. So, to me, the 80 - 86's are the last classic Ford trucks.

While to most people the 80 - 86 trucks are all the same, there were some significant changes along the way as well as many insignificant ones. Given that, I'm attempting to document some of the more obscure thereof:

  • 1980:
    • Wiring: The instrument wiring was different for the 1980 trucks, as described in this thread. In it my friend Paul said "The printed circuit for the 1980 models is green, and is wired differently than the 81-86, which has a red PCB."
  • 1981:
    • Amber turn signals: The 1980 trucks had clear turn signal lenses and amber bulbs. Ford's Master Parts Catalog says clear lenses were used before 12/80 and amber lenses were used after 12/80. However, from what I can tell only the Twin Cities and Norfolk plants used clear lenses for '81 trucks, and it appears that Twin Cities changed to amber lenses in September of 1980 and Norfolk changed by October of 1980.  Or, said another way, out of 7 plants in North America producing 1981 Ford trucks, only 2 used clear lenses at all for that production year, and they stopped using them in September and October.
    • Door Locks: The 1980 trucks all had slide door locks, and the parts catalog says that the cutover date for 1981 trucks was a build date of 3/81.  However, like the turn signal lenses, that date isn't precise.  It looks like door locks changed fairly close to 03/81 in most plants, but not in all of them.
      • Kansas City produced trucks in 03/81 with slide locks, but by 04/81 had gone to pins.
      • Twin Cities was still using slide locks as late as 07/81.
  • 1982:
    • The A/C system changed, with the round FS6 compressor replacing the twin-piston York or Techumseh. And, the hose that goes from the compressor to the evaporator went straight back to the firewall and across it rather than angling across the engine as it did previously. (See pictures of the 1983 Bronco survivor.)
    • The Swiss cheese frame of the 1980 & 81 trucks was replaced by a solid frame
    • The LGG (Last Great Grille as my FTE friend WilleyJoe is wont to say) of a simple egg crate was changed to a more complex one with a Ford emblem in the center
  • 1983
    • The tailgate straps were replaced by cables, so the tailgate itself has one fewer hole on each side.
    • Probably at the same time as the straps changed to cables, the tailgate strikers changed from just open loops to ones with rubber bonded to the loops.
    • Probably at the same time as the strikers changed, the screws that hold them on changed from Phillips to Torx.
    • The 460 replaced the 400 as the big engine in the lineup.
    • Hydraulic clutch linkage was introduced for the F250's & 350's with either of the new engines - the diesel & the 460.
  • 1984
    • All trucks with manual transmissions got hydraulic clutch linkage
    • Introduction of the 351HO, which had a Holley 4180 4bbl, a hotter cam, and DS-II ignition
    • The hot-fuel handling setup was added to the 460's to prevent vapor lock.
  • 1985
    • ​The coolant recovery bottle changed such that the hose connected to a fitting in the bottom rather than being inserted through an opening in the top.
    • Trim: Early 1985 trucks had an upper body molding option that appears to have been used on only a few trucks and may have been discontinued for late 1985 trucks, as described in this thread on FTE, and pictured on the Upper Moulding/Regular Cab tab on my Exterior Trim & Moulding page.  The latest usage I'm aware of is the 1985 F150 Survivor, which was built in 5/85 at the Ontario plant.
  • 1986
    • ​The wiring colors changed slightly as the hash marks and dots that had been used on the wiring up through '85 were dropped. Apparently the hash marks and dots turned into stripes, but the color code stayed the same.

Still need to figure out when these things changed, and what was involved:
  • Wiring change in the 1980 models. When and what was the change?
  • Door weatherstripping: 1982's appear to have different stuff as it gets HARD. When did it change back?
  • 2G alternator
  • Feedback carbs?