73-80 vs 81-87 interior interchangeability

[WyattTX]

Would the dash pad, instrument cluster, guage bezel, doors panels etc from a 73-80 Truck fit an 81-87 regular cab and doors? Thanks.

[bbbc10]

yes

[dragn91]

I don't think so but I could be wrong I know the whole doors swap but interior peices are different and I'm pretty sure the dash are as well

[WyattTX]

Thanks, but the thing I'm really curious about is the interior door panel. The 73- 76 door shells looks similar to the 81-87, so it looks like they would interchange fairly easy. So if I wanted to, could I install a 73 door panel on an 85 door shell, and have it look right?

[jjmorrse]

The main difference between doors is that relatively early on they needed to revise them to make room for electric windows. Please check, but the 73-76 are different than later ones, and 78-80 are a little different from 81-86. At some point, the glass thicknesses varied, and there were some differences in the vent assemblies. The dashes on 73-80 were more rounded than 81-86, so I think if you want to change, you will need to change more than just dash pads. Hope this helps. It is from memory, so please verify.

[E.D.75GMC]

The interior door panels on the 73-76 trucks will not fit later year doors, and as such the 77+ interior door panels will not fit on 73-76 doors.

[f.monroe]

73-76 door panels will fit other years but leave huge holes uncovered in the door so they will not look right. The 77 and up panels are larger and will cover up to 8I. The early doors used a shorter window crank shaft. It is too short to work correctly on 77 and later doors. The dash pads will need to be used with the correct year bezels. 81And up use a thicker bezel at the top. If you put a 73-80 pad the bezel will stick out at the top. WINDO thickness changed in the early 80's I think. It is thick on early trucks and thinner on later ones,

[WyattTX]

Thanks, that makes sense, so mocking up an '80s trucks to to look like a 73-74, is a little more than a front clip swap.

[dragn91]

This has got me thinking what doors will work on my 1980 crew cab where I can use my original door panels. Will the later doors work?

[79sierra]

If you have a headliner the front a piller trim is a little different but can be trimed to work.