1985 will be part time 4wd. Most likely the NP208 case though heavy trucks got the NP205. 208 is aluminum, 205 is iron.
205 cases had regular locking hubs. 208 had drive pucks and a vacuum controlled disconnect in the center of the front axle.
Sounds like he's got the basic 208 setup. In the rust belt keeping the disconnect system functional is a waste of time. Putting the disconnect into permanent lock and swapping to locking hubs is common and easy.
For hubs, buy a set of Warn hubs listed for an 85 Ford f150. The disconnect just gets pulled, the snap ring for the fork gets removed, the fork gets slid over and the snap ring reinstalled.
Hubs get replaced like buoldanother stated. Just be sure to remove the large spring or thin metal sleeve that's behind the puck.