Make: | Ford |
Model: | F-250 |
Type: | Standard Cab Pickup |
Year: | 1976 |
Mileage: | 9 |
VIN: | F26 |
Color: | Brown |
Engine: | 428 Thunderbird 7-Litre V8 |
Cylinders: | 8 |
Fuel: | Gasoline |
Transmission: | Manual |
Drive type: | 4WD |
Interior color: | Brown |
Vehicle Title: | Clear |
Item location: | Oakland, California, United States |
We have the ideal father and son or father and daughter project an original West Coast 1976 Ford F-250 3/4 ton 4x4 High boy pickup. This truck was built in San Jose California for Carson City Ford in the Nevada desert. It was used on a horse ranch east of Carson city for years. At some point the original 360 was replaced with an engine from a 1967 Thunderbird. The owner swears it was a 427 however I believe it is a 428 from a 1967 Thunderbird. The engine has an Edlebrock manifold and nice car and Doug Thorley headers. The power steering leaks and it has some exhaust leak. The truck has spent a few years in Lake Tahoe Nevada and has a Nevada title. The truck has several dents the bed should be replaced and some body work 1976 is arguably the very best year for the Ford High boys which like the early Bronco's use to be available. For those of you who know look at what Hagerty Insurance says about 73-79 Ford F250's and value
you never see the before pictures..... Any one can buy a restored truck where someone has taken a rusted p.o.s from Montana or Oregon and welded new Chinese panels and repainted with a modern two stage paint job and sell them on Ebay for $15,000.00 and up. It is a fact that 1973-1979 Ford F250 ¾ ton 4 wheel drive pickup trucks are going way up in value for the simple fact that they don't make them anymore.
A good comparison is if you look at the 1966 to 1977 Ford Bronco market the day's of finding a deal on one are gone mainly because of the law it is exactly hat is happening to the "Highboy" market at this moment in time. The original 4x4 Bronco was a very limited production vehicle so common sense dictates the law of supply and demand have made fewer that are left. The last year for the original Bronco was 1977 which was 42 years ago. They are so rare that in 2019 rebuilt one's sell it in Ohio for $250k. Like other Ford trucks sold in the 1960's and 1970's unlike today most were sold to areas where it was a means to an end where they needed in places like Montana places where they got beat hard and rusted out. It is exactly the same for 3/4 ton 4x4's such as 1973-1979 F-250's Highboys. These were much lower volume vehicles than the ½ ton and were sold to areas where they got beat. They don't make these anymore either and as time marches on the price of F-250 4x4 Highboys will rise just like Bronco's. They are both limited production Ford trucks the F-250 Highboy being a much heavier duty vehicle in terms of frame and factory drive train
1976 Ford F250 Ranger 4x4 Factory Highboy Pickup
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1976 was the high-water mark for Ford's F250 Highboys. It had the best drive train and was the final year for 360 V8 which is the only V8 they ever had even though most people say they have a 390 that would be incorrect. The 390 was only available in the 4x2 as the Highboy had a narrow stronger frame to handle the devorced transfer case which was built to March of 1977 replaced with the married transfer case. Unless it has been changed the only V8 option for the 1973-1977 ½ was the 360 2v V8. I was told this vehicle had a replacement engine decades ago from a 428 engine from a 1967 Ford Thunderbird. It has Doug Thorly headers and a Edelbrock aluminum manifold and a big carb??? Both trucks are original West Coast production having been built in San Jose California the F-250 sold new in Carson City Nevada to a large ranch where it spent most of it's life out in the Nevada desert. That truck was brought over to Lake Tahoe for many years and then Oakland where it is now. This is a true F26 High boy with a solid narrow heavy duty frame with optional dual shock front set up and the Ranger package. The body is rough with many dents and rust from the snow in the fender arch's, it hit a cow years ago in the front left the body is clearly rough but the frame is not. The truck was ordered with Ranger trim and the original stainless-steel moldings are in very good shape. The floors are very sold with no rust from the dry desert which is a moot point as the plan was to swap the cab and bed of the donor truck with an original California Cab and bed. The frame is still a 1976 Highboy with a clear Nevada title which is better than money in the bank.
The "High-Boy" got its name from sitting higher from the factory that the other Ford pick-up trucks. The divorced transfer case (Dana 24 NP 203 or NP 205 cause the front-end to be higher, so the rear end had 4-inch lift blocks to bring the rear-end up to the same height. once Ford switched to married transfer case in mid-1977 people started referring to the 1973-1977.5 divorced transfer case trucks as Highboys and the 1977.5 -1979 trucks with married transfer case as low boys. The previous generation 1967-1972 was essentially the same and has been included in most definitions of Highboys as well. The 1967 -1975 Highboys front axles were a closed-knuckle design. The 1976 - 1977.5 had the open-knuckle design which is more desirable. The 1976 model was the first year for power disc brakes with the Heavy Duty Dana 44 front axle also in 1976 Heavy Duty external hubs became standard. The rear axles of the Ford High-Boy was a heavy duty Dana 60 with 16 splines from 1967-1975 in 1976 the heavy duty 30-spline Dana 60 Power lock rear axle was offered. All Highboys came with the 4.10:1 axle ratio.
If the vin # doesn'tstart with F-26 it is not a Highboy
Highboys came only with in-cab gas tanks, and optional side-mounted gas tank, but never with a rear gas tank. A rear gas tank is too wide to fit between the narrower 33.5 inch wide frame rails of the unique Highboy frame, and can only fit the 37.5-inch wide rear frame rails of the unique Highboy frame, and can only fir between the 37.5-inch-wide non Highboy-rear frame rails.
All F-series light duty pickup trucks during 1956-1972 had in cab gas tanks. In 1973, Ford moved the gas tank to rear under the bed, except for Highboys. 1977 was the last year for the in-cab gas tank, because US vehicle safety standards outlawed it. Make sure the filler neck grommet remains completelysealed against the cab, and occupants will not smell gas fumes. If both the cab and gas tank are breached in a serious collision, the occupants will not be alive to worry about the potential fire. In respect, the gas tank is safer in the cab, since it is less likely to be breached in the cab than under the bed, especially while off-roading. Highboys were manufactured from 1967-1977.5 (assembled before serial number (Y2,001) . The last Highboy was produced in February, 1977. Highboy production ceased in February 1977. The Highboy is significant as the most desirable factory 4x4 of it's era due to it's stout frame, increased height compared to other light-duty pickup trucks, and divorced transfer case. Chrysler and GM did not have a counterpart. The Highboy is also historically significant as the basis of the first monster truck: Bigfoot.
Highboys had front leaf springs with 5-6 leafs (depending on GVW) that were 3 inches wide. Highboy front leaf springs were more arched than non-Highboy front leaf springs. Highboys had progressive type- rear leaf springs with 9 leafs that were 2 1/4" wide, compared to non-Highboy rear leaf springs, which were 3 inches wide. Highboy rear leaf springs were 48-inches eye to eye.
Many people refer to Highboys as trucks with a factory lift which is incorrect. Although highboys were taller than other trucks, the suspension was not lifted. The front suspension did not have a lift block, and was taller to accommodate the divorced transfer case. The rear suspension had a block between the axle and leaf springs to lift the rear of the truck, but most trucks had a rear lift block, so it is incorrect to refer to either Highboys or most trucks as factory lifted trucks.
Highboys came with tall, thin tires with an off-road tread. Many people put larger tires on. A stock highboy with its suspension in good condition can handle 37-inch tall tires, as long as the tires are fairly narrow, such as 12.5-inches, this is the point where suspension body lift is required. A stock highboy came with wheels that were 8.00 x 16.5 inches, and are often replaced with 16-inch wheels. All Highboys had divorced transfer cases, as opposed to married transfer cases. A married transfer case is bolted directly to the transmission. A divorced transfer case is bolted onto its own cross-member, and is separated from the transmission by a driveshaft. Highboys had Dana 24 part time transfer cases from 1967-1973, and either standard NP 205 part-time or optional NP 203 full time transfer cases from 1973-1977.5. The NP 205 is the strongest an most desirable factory transfer case.
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