WHAT FITS ? 1980 to 1996 Parts Interchangeability

 

Quite a few of the parts on the 1992 to 1996 trucks interchange between models and years.
The most noticeable differences were major body and interior changes in 1987 and 1992 in the F150/ Bronco series. The F250, F350 and F450 followed these changes.

 

This will deal with the F150 line and the reader can assume logical similarities in the other weight classes. Body and interior parts from F150 will fit the heavier trucks and Bronco from the doors forward are also the same.

1992 to 1996 body parts fit 1997 F250 HD, F350, F450 and F550 (f-superduty) trucks as well.

 

Frame:  The F150 was built on the same basic platform from 1980 to 1996. That is to say that other than the addition (1992) of crumple zones at the front and a change to the bumper mounts, the frame is basically pretty much exactly the same all the way through. The heavier truck frames stayed basically the same through all 3 generations. There are different configurations of truck - regular cab longbox, regular cab shortbox, extended cab longbox, extended cab shortbox, crewcab longbox, crew cab shortbox and in the heavier series, cab and chassis. The frame is specific to the configuration of the body, but almost all of the parts attached to them interchange.

 

Cab:  The same basic cab design was used from 1980 to 1996 - the body lines match, the door and window openings are the same, the mounts are the same, it's basically the same cab, other than a few small changes along the way. The most noteable major change happened to the driver's side firewall area - different steering column mounts and the introduction of EFI systems required changes such as round holes for wiring plugs being replaced with rectangular ones and a PCM mount was added etc. A 1996 cab could be made to work on a 1982 truck for example - the body lines will match up, but because of these changes you would have to modify that section of the firewall. The F150 cab will also work for the F250, F350 etc. models.

 

Doors:  The doors are basically the same throughout the 1980 to 1996 series, mirror mounts and windows changed, a small body line at the bottom and a larger wiring hole were added in late1994, some of the internal parts and handles were changed up, but from a body part perspective, it was the same basic door throughout. These doors fit all the trucks as well as the Bronco.

 

Box:  There are 2 sizes of box - longbox and shortbox. All the longboxes will fit a longbox truck and all the shortboxes will fit shortbox trucks. There are 3 basic styles ; fleetside, fenderside and dually. The fenderside box was phased out in 1987 but brought back as the flareside in 1992. The fleetside (styleside) stayed basically the same throughout, but the wheel well area was changed in 1987 (same as the front fender wheel wells), and the new style remained until 1996. Tailights were changed at some point and some minor things but overall, a 1987 to 1991 box will interchange with a 1992 to 1996 truck. A 1996 box would actually work for a 1980 to 1986 truck if the wheel well area was changed, although the tailgate opening area is different. Boxes are interchangeable between the F150 and the heavier trucks.

 

Tailgate:  Fleetside tailgates fit fleetside boxes, fenderside tailgates fit fenderside boxes and flareside tailgates fit flareside boxes. There were some mounting hardware, width and profile changes between the earlier (80 to 86) models and the 1987 and later versions. On a side note, tailgates with the stainless insert had a red stripe from 1987 to 1991 and a black stripe from 1992 to 1996 for those striving to be technically correct.

 

Interior:  The seat mounts are the same from 1980 to 1996. Bench seats will bolt right in. For bucket seats, while the seats are pretty much the same, the mounting system is specific to regular cab/ crewcab and extended cab/ Bronco - because the floor is different. The dash, door panels, steering column etc. are specific to the generation of truck (including Bronco and heavier models) - 80 to 86, 87 to 91, 92 to 96 usually with an extra year holdover on the heavier trucks.

 

Fenders, hood, grille & lights, rad saddle:  Referred to as the "front clip", this is where everything gets very generation specific - 7th gen = 80 to 86, 8th gen = 87 to 91, 9th gen = 92 to 96. These parts fit the generation of truck (all of them + Bronco) that they were made for. They do not interchange with the other generations unless you were to change the entire front clip. Fenders do bolt up to the cab and the body lines do match between generations, but the entire front clip including the radiator support (rad saddle) would have to be changed. Note that gas and diesel engines use a very different rad saddle, which is specific to either a gas or diesel engine.

 

Bumpers: The rear bumper fits all of the trucks from 1980 to 1996, with the exception of fenderside and flareside trucks which have a rear bumper specific to the box style. Front bumpers fit the generation of truck they were made for.

 

Wheels: 5 bolt wheels interchange between all the F150's as well as Bronco from 1980 to 1996. 8 bolt wheels fit all the F250 & f350 trucks from 1980 to 1997. 5 bolt and 8 bolt wheels from newer model trucks do not fit the 7,8 and 9th Generation trucks.