Hey all! I have been stalking...err...lurking/reading this site for a while now. Finally registered. Tried before but work computers wouldn't let me.

Let me introduce myself: I am 35. I am an Army Logistics Officer, was also an enlisted Combat Medic, Husband and father of two buttheads...i mean boys , 7 and 4. I just traded my motorcycle for a 1983 F-150. It is single cab, short bed, 4x4 with a 302 v8 . It has an NP-435 4spd transmission and I believe an NP-208 trxsfer case, 3.55 gears with open diffs. I don't know if it is XL, XLT or what because it has a hodgepodge of pieces from other trucks in it. The dash if from a diesel. It has the glow plug idiot lights and such in place of the pocket on the lower right of the steering wheel. The bench seat I think came from a GM van??

I had an 84 F-150 out of high school and always said I would get another like it except in a 4x4. I finally have it I have been learning a lot from this site already and already feel like I know you guys from stalki...reading here.

I currently have the whole interior , including dash, out of the truck and doing a restofication on it. I will be spraying in liner xtreeme in place of carpet and painting the dash and trim pieces with SEM paint. I want it to be pretty much factory with some upgrades.

 

Have you checked out the numbers on the door tag and the vin? You can possibly figure out what your truck originally was. Do you think it's all original except the diesel dash or are there other signs things have been changed?

 

I did look up the codes from the sticker but don't remember anything referring to the package it came with. Other things have been added/finagled in it. The clock was in the dash but not working. Once I removed the dash I saw the wiring cut and dangling. A lot of the wiring is like that. It's been hacked by a PO. The doors and tailgate seem to have been replaced to at one point as well.

 

Welcome DedboltF83,
Military folks are definitely welcome on the bullnose forum. I retired from the USAR in Dec. Nearly 17 years of active duty over 35+ years. Started off enlisted infantry in the 82d Airborne Div back in 74, and retired an LTC, VC at the end of last year. The Army sure has changed since I first joined.

Good luck with your project. I'm doing a frame off resto-mod on my 86 F150, El Guapo. Lots of work but loving every minute of it.

Now if this busted knee would heal so I could get back to it...

 

Someone can help with this if I make a mistake.

Does your VIN on your title match the one on the door jamb in the picture above? The one in the picture above is; 1FTEF14FXDRA17592

E=is 6001 to 7000 lbs GVW f150/f250 (is this correct for a shortbed guys?)
F14=standard cab 4x4 f150
F=7.3 turbo diesel
R=might mean it's a 1994 model cab(I am getting confused on the lettering positions)

Assembly plant is not coming up right either. Might need someone else's help on this part.

 

Thank you for your service 86fordtruck That's a lot of years in and LTC is nothing to sneeze at. Maybe i'll get to be one. Im just hitting 8 years and plan on staying for 20+ if they'll let me. I love it but it's hard to be gone all the time. Got back in December from a year deployment and dang the kids got big.

I'm loving this truck, just wish I could drive it. I have driven it a bunch and it runs good, though a little rich. I have it all tore apart right now though. Kinda miss my 351 HO I used to have but this 302 isn't bad. Gonna rebuild the Motorcraft 2150 once I get the interior done.

 

Welcome to FTE DedboltF83

Like 86fordtruck said, military and ex-military are always welcome as far as I'm concerned. Did 10 years myself in the USAF back in 70-80.

Looks like you have a nice truck, and sounds like it's going to be even nicer when your done.

 

Welcome Dedbolt. I like your truck, it looks vaguely familiar. I'm doing a resto-mod on mine also, except it's mostly original. You should start a build page and update it regularly with plenty of pictures. here's a link to mine; https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...build-log.html
Good luck with your project.

 

Trans code A is a New Process 435 4 speed
Axle code 19 is a 3,55 Ford rearend. It's coming up as a 3800lb axle, so I am suspicious my diesel code in the previous post is not correct(the rearend would not be heavy enough for that engine).

 

I pulled the 300-I6 from mine and have a 351W that I stroked to a 408. Currently have a broken kneecap or it would be back from powdercoating about know. The knee is getting better, though, and now I can walk without crutches, although the brace only allows 60 degrees of motion. Just have about 3 hours of work to do on it, and I can haul it down to the powdercoaters. Then it's the waiting game. Of course, i can work on the the rear differential while the frame is gone. I've got an Eaton posi to replace the open diff, and can get the rear axle housing completed while the frame is gone.

Slowly, but surely.

 

Grubbworm, your truck is looking good. I didn't realize the newer style taillight lenses fit. Saw a ton at the salvage yard yesterday in better shape than the ones I ended up getting. No tailgate handle or pieces though. I need to replace a bunch of, all, my bushings as well. I will definitely be watching your thread. And I have been taking a lot of pics of my build.

Franklin2, the VIN on the title does match the sticker. I have a build sheet around here somewhere that I pulled off the 'net. The 302 was the stock engine not a diesel. All the diesel stuff lights had wires just hanging...wasn't hooked up to anything. Think the PO just pulled it from another truck. Don't know what the PO did to all the wiring but I will sort it out.

 

Ya jumpin' junky.

The man that married my aunt, if I remember correctly, was in the 82nd Airborn. He said he loved jumping, and would hop out of a plane any chance he'd get. Me, I wouldn't jump out of a perfectly good plane if they threw a gold nugget out in front of me.

Old World War II joke told by my grandfather, "You know why them Airforce boys always wear them baggy britches? So when they jump out of the plane the ^$@& won't land all over the infantry."

It seems like lately we've been getting a lot of military boys on here. Welcome to the forum DedboltF83, and thank you for your service. You have a really nice truck, and yes, those seats look GM-ish also to me (not certain). Pick yourself up a Chilton's repair manual for a 76-86 Ford F-series and start scouring fleaBay for some of the original shop manuals. Those, combined with the help you can get here, will have your truck as nice as you'll ever want it. It's not too far off from being perfect as it is though. I'm a sucker for a black truck, too.

Yeah, you've got the New Process 4-speed (trans code A). Keep the gear oil fresh and changed in that thing and it'll outlast the rest of the truck. The New Process 435 is one of the best transmissions made for a light duty truck like an F150. If your truck has the married transfer case, it'll be the New Process 208F. It has a 2.61:1 low-range. You've probably also read the ratios and such for the transmissions on here already. The 3.55's will make for a great 4x4 with that motor and transmission. That's a really nice combination.

If you look on the tags screwed (bolted rather) to the transfer case and the tag on the passenger side of the transmission, you'll be able to see the build dates on the transmission and transfer case as well. It should say the month, if I remember correctly from my tags, the day, and the year. The year will be two digit.

Also, you should have the 8.8 rear with a Dana 44 front. Some of the 84's still had 9''s I think. If you had a 9'' rear, it'd be 3.50/3.49 gears. Your gearing is 3.55/3.54 which is indicative of the 8.8.

 

I'm pretty sure I never jumped from a perfectly good airplane. I did make 62 military jumps, and 50 civilian freefalls, but none from "perfectly" good airplanes. I was a grunt in the 82d in 74-76, and then was a pathfinder in the 172d Artic Light Infantry Brigade, Ft. Wainwright, AK. In my jump log, I have a bunch of jumps where the drop zone is only grid coordinates. Can you say, "Tree Landing."

 

Welcome to the forum...I'm ex-military as well so that's cool.

Did some looking up on your certification label:

VIN is 1FTEF14FXDRA19592

1FT= FoMoCo Truck
E= brake class = 6,001-7,000 lbs
F14=series = 80 and up pickup 4WD
F = engine code = 80-85 302, 2 bbl
X = check digit...means nothing
D = Year = 1983
R = plant = ?? can't find it

on the bottom of your certificate:

117" WB...that's a short bed
F141 = type = 83 and up pickup, 6100 lbs, F150, 4WD
DH4...2 part code
DH = Interior code = Tan knit and vinly (FW seat)
4 = cab style = regular cab styleside
A = transmission code = NP435
19 = axle code = 3.55 non-locking
9Y = exterior color = 83-85 DArk Walnut Metallic

 

To add to Kevin's stuff:

DSO 75 = Region with originally-purchasing dealer = Phoenix

Thank you, Kevin, for looking all that stuff up.