highboy info part 2

The engine and transmission options were limited between 6 motors and 3 transmissions some were offered before 1973 but fall into the highboy category. The motors are straight sixes and v8’s and they are the 240 straight six (1967-1974) the 300 straight six (1967-1977.5) both of the straight sixes were one barrel carburetor’s.

 300 straight 6

The v8’s were the 351m/400 starting in 1977 the 352 (1967) the 360 (1968-1976) and the 400 (1977). The transmissions were the ford three speed toploader (1967-1971) the np 435 3 speed with bulldog first and the c6 select a shift 3 speed.

Np435

The transfer case was a part time np205 or the full time np203. The np203 is rare but not very desirable because they were not very strong the np205 is very desirable because of the strength and durability of the internals and casing often called bulletproof. The reason the np205’s were so strong is they are gear driven rather than chain driven so they didn’t wear out or snap chains.

The rear ends are dana 60 16 or 30 spline the number of splines on the axle shaft’s these are commonly swapped for the dana 70’s or a gm 14 bolt. The front ends are two different types of dana 44’s 8 lug low pinion one is the heavy duty versions and were closed knuckle until 1975 then changed to open knuckle. There was a very rare dana 60 front axle used in crew cab highboys from 1973 to 1975.

HIghboy info part 1

The Highboy’s are arguably the most popular truck from all of the 70s. The reason these are very desirable is because of the frames they are the strongest of comparable truck frames of that time. They are stronger because of the width and the amount of cross members that were used. These frames were sometimes called f350 frames even though they aren’t. Ford used that frame from 1967 to 1977.5 when they switched to the lowboy frames. Though it is said they switched in mid model year 1977 which is said to be February I have a highboy that was built in March. The way you can tell if it is a highboy is if the transmission and the transfer case are separated by a short drive shaft which is due to the frame. Another way to tell which is not as accurate but I have not seen this on anything but a highboy is the very front cross member which you can see below the front bumper. Most highboy’s had a power assisted steering ram which most of the time is swapped for an integral type from a newer truck the ram systems are very complicated and leaked a lot of fluid and when they wore out there would be about two inches of play in the steering. The highboy name was never a real name it was called that from the fans of the trucks they were called factory high riders from Ford. There is a lot more info on the Highboy’s I will have to add more in a different post.

The different kinds of models were thef100, f150, f250, and f350 and those were broken up into separate categories for the gross vehicle weight. They were for the f100 two wheel drive f101-f10 (4550-5700) gvwr. The four wheel drive f100s where f11-f13 (5250-6500) gvwr. The f150 two wheel drive was f150 and f151 (6050-6200) gvwr. The f150 four wheel drives where f140-f143 (6050-6500) gvwr. The f250 two wheel drives f250-f259 (6200-8100) gvwr. The f250 four wheel drives f260-f266 (6500-8400) gvwr. The f350 two wheel drives were f350-f359 (6000-10000) gvwr. The only classification for the f350 four wheel drives was the f360 (8550) gvwr.

These classifications are the amount the vehicle can hold with the brakes, motor, transmission, suspension,  and frame strength and drive line the truck had (four wheel drive or two wheel drive).The classifications can be found in the vin number on the outside of the door frame. The 73-77 trucks look mostly the same except a few differences.

Example of a 1973 f150 4x4 (not stock)

example of a 1977 f150 4x4 mostly stock

The main difference between a 73 and a 77 is the grille the 73 was more rounded and the 77 was squarer. And the emblems were moved from the lower fender to the cowl. There were also different options in those years in 1974 the first extended cab was introduced with a bench or two sideways buckets in the back row. In 1973 the super camper specials came out to accommodate the heavier slide in campers of the time.

introduction

I am Ben Naber and this blog is going to be about Ford trucks from the year of 1973 to 1979. This includes all f100-f350 models 2 and 4 wheel drive. I go to school at Diamond oaks in Cincinnati Ohio I am in the lab for auto mechanics. I think the 73 to 79 Ford trucks are the best looking and running trucks they have made. The reason they are the best is the drive lines are almost bulletproof and the suspension is very heavy duty. These trucks are getting harder to find but are still available in numbers they are also very cheap to buy ranging from 1000$ to 3000$ for running and driving ones. There are issues with these trucks and in will go over them in this blog.

The issues with these trucks are usually pretty easy to fix if you have some mechanical aptitude. People still use these trucks for daily drivers because they are so reliable and cheap I for instance own two of them one to restore and one to drive every day. The most famous truck from this era was Bigfoot the first monster truck and I will also go over the details of this truck as well. I will go into the options these trucks had all of the models and drive trains and suspension systems, fuel delivery options and special options made only certain parts of the year. I will describe the rarer trucks from the era and the most common options.