Wanted 1983-19?? fuel filler door without finger notch

[JoshT]

Another oddball search from me. Some 83-88 and possibly 89-92 Ranger had fuel filler doors without the little bumped out piece that you pull to open it, they were just a flat fuel filler door. I know that they existed because my first Ranger, an 84 model, had one. I've seen pictures of a bed that was supposedly an 89-92 model that had one here on the forums. I've also spotted a 83-85 Ranger for sale on Facebook right now that has one, but I don't need another parts truck and I'm not going to pay $500 for a fuel door. It's even weird to me but it's one of the little details that stands out in my memory about my first truck, which I totaled back in 2009.

I've picked up a 85 model dual tank Ranger that I'm going to use to kind of recreate my first truck eventually. My 84 was single tank and V6, but I'm keeping dual tanks and probably the 4 cylinder in this one. That smooth/flat filler door is one of the little styling ques I want to replicate, and this truck doesn't have them. As such I'm looking for two or three of these doors to purchase and install on my 85.

I say three, because I've got a "spare" short bed that I'm going to cut the filler door out of and eventually graft into the bedside of my F-100 as part of a fuel tank relocation. I'd kind of like to have the same on it to help the door blend with the bedside better. Don;t worry, the bed won't be sacrificed just for fuel filler, I intend to patch the hole and turn it into a trailer.

I know its a big ask and not something that most of you would normally pay much attention to. If you are scrap yard hunting for 83-92 parts and spot one, please keep me in mind.

 

[superj]

jeep cherokees from 84-01 have those flat gas doors too so maybe one of those is the same size? they are all over the junkyard too so it should be easy to getone for cheap to test out, or measure

 

[JoshT]

Thanks, but I'll hold out for Ranger (or BII?) parts.

1) No junkyards worth a damn within about a 2 hour drive.
2) 2 not Ford parts, which isn't too important except for...
3) Ranger fuel door will bolt right onto my Ranger bed.

I've seen some of the full size Ford trucks also had a flat fuel door in the early 80s, but the hinge design and mounting were different. As for the junkyards, there are a few in the area, but none that will let you go walk around the yard or pull your own parts. The closest pick-n-pull is in Atlanta, which is about a 2 hour drive, and they aren't that well stocked with stuff I'm looking for. I'm not making a 4 hour round trip and wasting a saturday just to look. Might be worth it if they had something else I needed, but is unlikely due to the poor selection.

Also, I searched up the Cherokee fuel door on ebay. Wrong shape, rectangle instead of square, and different hinge setup. it would require grafting the whole section into the bed side. Might be an option for the F-100 if I don't find enough of the Ranger pieces I want, but I'd still rather keep Ford bits.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I'd have a look on here: https://car-part.com/

 

[JoshT]

I'd have a look on here: https://car-part.com/

I appreciate the suggestion, but checking has never had good results for my area. I do check for various first gen things on it occasionally, just never much there. Most vehicles that old around here get crushed almost as soon as they reach the junkyard. Those that are listed normally have either no photos included, or none that include the section I'm looking for. In a case like this, I wouldn;t trust the people to know what it is that I'm asking for and find tme the right thing. I have had to argue with yards before over parts, or even the existence of parts.

One was a fan shroud for an RBV. Then they assured me that they had one for what I needed. What they tried to sell me was completely different, even had different engine labeled on it. They tried to tell me that all engine options used the same fan shroud, but I know better. I walked with my money.

The most recent was 3G alternators. I was converting a first gen 2.3L and needed to ID which had what ear spacing. They tried (a few different yards) to tell me that they are all the same, they ain't.

Anyhow I did get lucky checking this time. There was one somewhere in TN. I sent a quote request, we'll see what happens. I'm still looking for tow, or three if it doesn't pan out, so if you happen to spot any when you are hunting for other parts, please keep me in mind.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Went and looked at my 86. Nope...
I do have a couple others to look at, maybe tomorrow if I remember.

 

[JoshT]

Thank you!

No rush. I likely wouldn't be installing them until I got ready for paint work which is not any time soon, but I don't want to wait until then to track them down either.