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Hello, all. I have a 1985 F150 short bed myself. A very clean and mostly original southern truck, been in storage for many years. Only unoriginal part on the bed is the tailgate, which is a rather flimsy reproduction. I've been trying to find an original, but not much luck to be had here in Maine. Anyway, I found this one I'll include, it seems to be from a 1980-82, as it has steel straps to hold it up, not cables like mine. If anything I think I'd prefer the straps, but either way, could this be fitted to a later model?
You may have to drill some holes for the strap mounts. Do not know about any other differences, but the tailgate for sure will fit the hole in the back of the bed. But the minor latch and strap/cable differences will have to be dealt with.
I would eyeball it and see what would be easier, convert the truck to straps, or convert the new tailgate to cables. You still have the old tailgate so if the latches are different you could transfer them over also.
