81 and 84 245 compatability

[procobob]

Hi folks,
Just bought a 81 245 as a parts car for my 84. How can I found out what
parts are interchangeble? I bought it mainly for the rear hatch and
rear drivers side door. It's in poor shape, but seems to have probelms
with parts that are ok on my 84 and vice versa. My 84 is a manual and
the 81 an auto if that helps. Real adventure driving it home, sheesh.
Safe enough, but no ac in 97 degree NC. Thanks in advance for any and
all advice.
Bob

81 245 DL
84 245 DL
90 740 GLE
(95 POS Mercury Mystique with cracked block)

 

[James Sweet]

Hi folks,
Just bought a 81 245 as a parts car for my 84. How can I found out what
parts are interchangeble? I bought it mainly for the rear hatch and
rear drivers side door. It's in poor shape, but seems to have probelms
with parts that are ok on my 84 and vice versa. My 84 is a manual and
the 81 an auto if that helps. Real adventure driving it home, sheesh.
Safe enough, but no ac in 97 degree NC. Thanks in advance for any and
all advice.
Bob

Virtually all the parts are compatible, very little changed until '86.

 

[Mike F]

Virtually all the parts are compatible, very little changed until '86.

Assuming the OP is in U.S.A, the '81 would have a 2.1 litre engine with
mechanical fuel injection, the '84 would have a 2.3 litre version of the
same engine with electronic fuel injection. Factor in the different
transmissions and resulting rear axle ratios, and virtually everything
in the drivetrain is different.
Also, the bumpers and bumper trim would be completely different, but
that would be obvious. The rest of the body parts would be
interchangeable, as would everything to do with the suspension.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

[James Sweet]

Assuming the OP is in U.S.A, the '81 would have a 2.1 litre engine with
mechanical fuel injection, the '84 would have a 2.3 litre version of the
same engine with electronic fuel injection. Factor in the different
transmissions and resulting rear axle ratios, and virtually everything
in the drivetrain is different.
Also, the bumpers and bumper trim would be completely different, but
that would be obvious. The rest of the body parts would be
interchangeable, as would everything to do with the suspension.

They're all interchangeable though, you can swap bumpers and trim
between the two, axles, driveshaft, transmission, engines, you can even
swap the cylinder heads between the engines if you wish to change the
car from one fuel system to the other. Yes there's differences, but what
I was implying is that the body and interior is identical between the
two cars.

 

[Mike F]

They're all interchangeable though, you can swap bumpers and trim
between the two, axles, driveshaft, transmission, engines, you can even
swap the cylinder heads between the engines if you wish to change the
car from one fuel system to the other. Yes there's differences, but what
I was implying is that the body and interior is identical between the
two cars.

Right, but the more common use of a parts car (at least in my
experience) is swapping small, easy to change parts, like injectors,
control units, sensors and trim parts. Not too many people have the
time, skill and determination to do the kind of swaps you've done.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)