Breathing Some Life Into My OBS

[lossscause]

Yes Brad is correct on the badges, I paid $30/each from dealer.

The mirrors are:
FOTZ-17696-A
FOTZ-17696-B

[lossscause]

The previous owner TRIED to mount some grab handles in the truck, so I'm left with replacing trim pieces with holes. Luckily it's only around the headliner. All I could get locally was tan, so I painted them to match. Well, match as close as possible.

Old on right, repainted replacement on left.

[diesel_brad]

Looks pretty dam close. I want to try and mount some sort of grab handles in my truck but not sure where/how to

[lossscause]

The dyes Ford used for the vinyl must have varied because my RC gray interior is much lighter than this truck.

I've not seen anyone actually pull off a functional grab handle in an OBS but would like to see it done. Especially since I can't NOT lift my trucks haha.

[diesel_brad]

I was going to say, that looked more like the 92/93 charcoal than the light opal of the 94-97

MrJonesJr put some in his super cab, I just wonder how functional they would be for a 250+lb guy to pull in

[Ole Nasty]

Originally Posted by diesel_brad

I want to try and mount some sort of grab handles in my truck but not sure where/how to

Here's 11 samples of grab handles: Ford Bronco And F-150 Links - Grab Handle

[davey99ps]

Awesome project, I'm doing pretty much the same thing only mine was a lil rusty. How big of a mess does the soda blasting make? I haven't decided yet which way to go about stripping the paint off of mine

[Strokersace]

Originally Posted by lossscause

The dyes Ford used for the vinyl must have varied because my RC gray interior is much lighter than this truck.

I've not seen anyone actually pull off a functional grab handle in an OBS but would like to see it done. Especially since I can't NOT lift my trucks haha.

I've done it and it turned out good. Removed all of them from an Expedition I believe. I'll look to see if I have any pictures on my computer. Did it about 8 years ago. Still functional today as my dad has the truck now. If I can't find pics, I'll have him take some and send to me.

I went with Ford specific handles because they were nearly an exact match to the OBS interior colors. I did a 2 tone interior in that truck. Headliner, seats, carpet, door panel inserts were all the medium opal (light grey) from the 94-97 trucks. Dash, all plastic trim, and door panels were all from a 92-93 with dark grey. Turned out awesome. Needs sprucing up after all the years, but it's still 1 off custom.

How I attached them was just like ford attaches everything from the factory. Drilled holes into the sheet metal behind the panels and used a factory style "clip nut". Then actually cut out the plastic from the headliner trim so that they'd be flush and look like they're supposed to be there. Turned out awesome!

[Denver]

Originally Posted by diesel_brad

Yes. The latest doors were sept 95-97(aka the door with the extra body line at the bottom)


And yes, them taking their sweet ass time is a good thing. Solvents have to evaporate and that takes time. Also, it will not be rushed to just get out the door which also makes for a MUCH nicer job

I had a 2/95 build date F250 with the lines on the doors.

[deezeljunky]

Nice write up on the ps.org for the grab handles, How to: Grab Handles for the OBS - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum