'84 Lift gate question

[Hawkeye58]

Hi all,
I am in the middle of getting my BII restoration completed. I have recently looked into my lift gate only to discover no locking function to the handle. In fact no key lock any where in the gate at all. I need help here. How the heck did Ford lock these things? It's a 1984. Can I get a locking handle for this? All info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Hawkeye

 

[Boggin]

in my 1989 there is a lock just like the door lock right in the middle on the inside thats all i can help you with
oh and BTW, is your username referring to the Polaris Hawkeye? i had one and it spent more time in the garage then i rode it, had to get rid of it ahah

oh and mine doesnt have a key either

 

[martin]

When I bought my 84 there was no handle at all, just a hole, so I bought a handle with a lock in the middle from the rv section of canadian tire.
some fabrication was necessary to make it work with the latch mechanism.

 

[Hawkeye58]

Wow. It looks like I'm in for some fun then. This one has no key cylinder any where.
My User name is for the fact that I am a total fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and have been nicked that name here in 'Vegas for years. Grew up in Iowa City the home of the Hawks. So, happens I liked Hawkeye from M*A*S*H as well.

 

[Boggin]

Wow. It looks like I'm in for some fun then. This one has no key cylinder any where.
My User name is for the fact that I am a total fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and have been nicked that name here in 'Vegas for years. Grew up in Iowa City the home of the Hawks. So, happens I liked Hawkeye from M*A*S*H as well.

ah nice lol

 

[5.0B2]

Mine had the key in the handle(hinged rear glass/no rear window defroster). I've seen later models with the key cylinder below the handle. I removed mine and glassed it shut. I used a lock/unlock unit from an EB and added an inside latch. Don't have pictures, but maybe this will give you an idea or two.

 

[Hawkeye58]

Thanks for the info and the ideas. I'm heading to the bone yards Wed. I hope I find something, or perhaps full size Broncos have something? Any ideas on that?

Hawkeye

 

[H munster]

My 84 has a cylinder like the one in the door just below the handle. BTW I havent got my hatch to work correctly in 6 yrs. Not that I have tried that hard.

 

[Hawkeye58]

Well I made it to the Bone yards and no '84 models there at this time.
I found a '88 that had the key laying inside the truck and the gate in good shape so I got the entire setup minus the power lock portion. I want to stay manual. So now I get it all home and the lock cylinder is not wanting to work with the key, but... after some TLC I have got it working.
Now I hope I can figure out how to install it all into my gate.
Thanks for all the input, and any tips for my install are greatly appreciated.

Hawkeye

 

[Hawkeye58]

BTW here is what I have learned from my searching for info so far.
The key lock handle was '84 model only. It had to be opened with the key inserted, otherwise was locked. '85 to '90 had the lock cylinder in the gate just below the handle, and a different handle was used. It appears someone has installed a later year handle on mine prior to my ownership.
If I can't get the handle/cylinder lock assembly to install then the other alternative would be to install a later year gate.

Hawkeye

 

[Shran]

My 84 has a cylinder like the one in the door just below the handle. BTW I havent got my hatch to work correctly in 6 yrs. Not that I have tried that hard.

My 84 has the key cylinder in the handle...lol...couldn't Ford have just used ONE design for these things?

 

[PetesPonies]

This is how I fixed my '84

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34903

 

[Hawkeye58]

Fixed

Well I got it done. I got a lock set with keys at Autozone for under 12 bucks.
Made a hole for that in the gate like the 85+ year models. Found that the 88' latch assembly had a hole in it that matches the 84' hole for the rod that operates the window hatch. Mounted that with just a bit of enlargeing the hole. did some creative carving with the Dremel and mounted the 88' latch assembly. Drilled and fit the inside lock rod so it can be locked/unlocked from the inside. Created a metal plate, and dremeled the inside of the gate to recess it, behind the lock cylinder to keep it from rotating in it's mount.
With all of this done , it looks very near OEM. I am trying to post pics that I have but I need to resize then post. I'll have them up here soon.

Hawkeye

 

[Hawkeye58]

Pics of the Fix

I got it working! Here's some pics.

 

[Hawkeye58]

More pics of the fix.

Here's more.