Before the "door style" of bed Ford used an exposed gas cap. There was a round recess about three inches in diameter stamped in the bedside that lessened the amount the cap protruded from the bedside. For the High-boy trucks there was a round filler panel that was used to fill the recessed area.

 

Thanks everyone for all of the informative comments! Blackfoot what year of bed do you think they changed on my truck. So there is no way my bed in 1974 had a square gas door? hmmmmmm

 

Take a look inside your bed, you should see open bolt holes next to each bed bolt, the only exception would be if your bed was pulled from a '77 highboy.

 

No way a '74 had the door system... I would just be guessing on the year '77, '78 or '79.

If you click on Sleepy445FE's avatar (page 1 of this thread) and then on garage you'll see what the original bedside looked like. He does not have the round filler plate I mentioned though.

I also have a 1973 F-250 4x4 and I replaced the original bed as it had too many dents and other damage. The inner wheelwells (what protrudes inside the bed) were larger (longer) than the replacement bed.

As Montana says if your bed came from another F-250 High boy the bed floor will not have any extra holes. If it came from a 2WD truck (or an F-100 4x4 or F-150 4x4) it may have the extra holes. I say "may" because when I replaced my bed I patched the original holes by welding in round panels.

 

Good point, they may be patched.

 

sledge,

I don't know where you live or what your plans are for the truck, but my impression is you bought a nice truck.

The '73-'75 High boys had some things that were improved on in later years making the driving experience much more enjoyable. I humbly suggest you consider these modifications as your wallet/desire allows.

One is the low-pinion, closed knuckle, drum brake front axle. The drum brakes just don't do the job the way the disc brakes do...

The Dana 44 open knuckle, disc brake model is better. I'm not sure if all the Dana 44 open knuckle, disc brake axles were high pinion or not. Certainly the '78 and '79 were the high pinion design (I'm not sure about 1976 through 1977). The best option would be a high-pinion, disc brake Dana 60. Those were only offered in 1978 and 1979 and they are sought after. That means they are quite expensive.

The other issue is steering...

My 1973 came with manual steering which was pretty lousy. They did offer a "power-assist" option which was better, but certainly "less-than-optimal". Eventually Ford went to an integral power steering box which was the best system. IIRC that change happened in 1978. Again this is from memory, but you would want a box from a 1978 or 1979 F-250 4x4 or a 1979 F-350 4x4. There is a fair amount of work involved, but you can find that information on this forum if you do a search.

 

Thanks! It probably would have been better just to buy a 78 or 79 f250 4x4 ha ha ha I enjoy the look of the old Hi boy and like the older stuff. I have an old 1970 Bronco that I restored so I am not afraid of a good project. The Bronco has manual steering and is a bear to drive around the city. ha Thanks for all the help again!

 

What are those two pieces of metal under your front bumper, they look like brackets for a bull bar? spare tire carrier?

 

Montana....those are old brackets for a snow plow attachment. I had the muffler guy cut them off because they were in the way.

 

I'm a little late to this discussion, but you might want to check out that front diff again to be sure it's a low pinion D60. My 75 F250's data plate and the print out from Marti says mine came with a D60...but the casting shows it's a D44HD. My belief is that it wasn't swapped out--who would do that?--and it's an error.

Pics are as follows:
1. A D60 front diff
2. My front diff
3. The casting on my diff

Dan

 

Who knows why it was swapped out. But if the VIN on your data plate matches the VIN on the frame, I'd be inclined to beleive the data plate..............

 

More pics for viewing enjoyment The Marti report and the data plate...hard to read the plate, but it's B4P (last letter not "B") Wish I had the D60, but oh well.

 

Notice the DSO code of 751068, this truck was a Domestic Special Order.

75: Phoenix AZ Ford District Sales Office, where the original selling dealer ordered the truck from.

1068: Domestic Special Order number. The truck was special ordered by the original purchaser, not "bought off the lot."

According to Marti, the paint and tires were special ordered. Marti has ALL the original FoMoCo records that pertain to 1967/79 FoMoCo vehicles, but...

Marti makes mistakes, here's an example:
1973/79 Ford Light Truck Parts Catalog / General Info Section / Front Axle Code Charts:

1973/75 P = Dana 44-6CF with Power Steering / 3,500 lb. Front Axle Capacity.

1976 P = Dana 60F with Power Steering / 3,550 lb. Front Axle Capacity.

Since your truck is a 1975, the Dana 44 is the original front axle. Marti goofed!

 

Wow! Well i'll go look at my front axel tomarrow at the shop and report back!

 

I stand corrected it is a Dana 44HD! I got my numbers off my front axel 603396-1 and 4.09-D3TAHA. That makes sense it says its an 8 lug with larger hubs. That helps explain why my brake guy had trouble finding parts. Are these a good axel? Thanks for all your help guys! I'll reread my print out when I get it back next week and confirm.