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97 F250???

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
The light duty version.
 
Ford offered a heavy half ton for a few years. Its basically a half ton with heavier springs and the bigger diff. They also have 7 lug wheels. Ford also called it the f150 7700 right before they put the f250 on the super duty platform.
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
Ahhh, never encountered such.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
Also in '97 was the old style in the F250 Heavy Duty.
 

Austin

FTF's #1 Knob Polisher
10,350
297
Cumming, GA
Good ole 7 lug wheels :D
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
I did know that, which was why I questioned the 150 bodied 250.

I was in a lather when the new style got announced..I was looking to buy a new 350 and couldn't get a straight answer from my dealer as to whether they were going to change the 350's..I was really wanting to wait until 98 for a new truck...so I wound up ordering one earlier than I wanted to...I miss that truck.
 
I saw one of these F250's in one of those "truck trader" type periodicals, in So-Cal a few years ago, was a longbed regcab 4x4 with the 4.6, and a manual, and only 60k miles. Can't recall the exact price, maybe around $6k, seemed like a sweet truck to me.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
1,124
outside your house
From what I understand truck specific parts (like the 7 lug rims) are an absolute bear to find. No experience with the trucks, but most of what I've read on line people say they're more trouble than they're worth. I don't see what the problem would be other than if a truck specific part were to go...other than that, it should be tried and true blue oval parts.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
Roger,from my experiences of the 99 i had....look for a better truck. rust issues in the same place of the bed,cab ect..looked under the vehicle..bed rails and front bed mounts were gone,cab floor & corner's very rusty,push button 4x4 went out in the dead of winter when i needed it most,along with the tank and fuel pump.the truck deceived me in looks and the initial test drive it ran and drove pretty well, got rid of it after having it only 3 months.91k on a plow truck,more than likely the front end is junk also (ball joints are common issues).I thought mine was decent as well...wrong.my own fault for not going over it with a fine tooth comb in short.These rigs rot from the underside & inside out.
 
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Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
Not really looking for a truck, just caught my eye that they were calling a it a 250 with a 150 body. If I were to bother with such, a light duty 250 wouldn't be on my radar anyway, it wouldn't make it under the farm use...
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
1,124
outside your house
I have no validation for this, but I remember the body style change was what prompted my dad to order Thunder sooner than he wanted. The talk at the dealerships was that the 150 body style was what everything was going to, but there were drivetrain clearance issues, hence the body style split. Here again, no proof of that...and maybe it was just a handful of dealerships that didn't have a clue and were trying to make a sale.
 

polarbear

just growing older not up
12,878
607
Boring, Oregon
The real story on the bodystyle split goes something like this: Ford wanted a competitor to the Dakota and Tundra (mid-size), but didn't see enough sales volume to justify a new model. Sooo... they decided to split the difference with a LD and HD F-Series, and the LD would be physically smaller than the HD.

Problem was, traditional Ford PU buyers were horrified when they saw the new design. In focus groups, it was discovered that SD buyers in particular were really put off by the rounded nose. The SD went back for a frantic restyling, and as a result was about 14 months late to the party. Sporting the traditional, square, broad-shouldered "I'm a Ford truck" look.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
I have no validation for this, but I remember the body style change was what prompted my dad to order Thunder sooner than he wanted. The talk at the dealerships was that the 150 body style was what everything was going to, but there were drivetrain clearance issues, hence the body style split. Here again, no proof of that...and maybe it was just a handful of dealerships that didn't have a clue and were trying to make a sale.

That is exactly what I went through.
 

460Trucker

Has the Cat Scratch Fever
The worst body style change over ever began part way through 1997 for the 250 and up :headbang: :(
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
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The worst body style change over ever began part way through 1997 for the 250 and up :headbang: :(

Ehhh...I'd have to go with the current design...stacked headlights, God awful dually fenders, and bulbous grille are just too much for me.
 

460Trucker

Has the Cat Scratch Fever
Ehhh...I'd have to go with the current design...stacked headlights, God awful dually fenders, and bulbous grille are just too much for me.

They are horrible as well. Ford, for some reason, seems to be taking the F150 on a different styling path than the 250s and up. In all honesty, they look like huge hunks of plastic molded into a spaceship.
 
Right now I have a 1997 F-250 HD, with 351 and auto OD. It is basically all the truck I need, except I would rather have a dually. I have the standard cab and 8' bed so it does get a little work out. Unfortunately with the set-up I have I am limited to about 3 tons of gravel in a load before the tires are crying. I would love to change to dual rear wheels If I can find information as to what is involved, without changing the rear end. The truck only has about 265000 miles, so it is just now getting broke in. It is nice to have one that I don't have to worry about scratching too.

Aaron Thomas
Newport News VA
 
I have a 1997 F250 Turbo Diesel, the cab is shot and I am thinking about swapping. Any idea what year cabs would fit with the least amount of problems or modifications?
 

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