i'm contemplating a frame swap for a '52 F3 in order to get 4WD...

found a local guy selling a complete, running chassis from a '72 F250 "highboy" -- does this just mean the body sits on the frame higher? if so, is this accomplished at the frame or body mounts?

thanks in advance.

 

P.S.
are all the FE motors from this era 360 and not 390? i realize just the different crank/stroke in otherwise same engine.

some CL ads claim 390, but i thought the trucks got the 360s and the 390s were for full-size cars...

thanks in advance.

 

Hi,

The 67 -77 1/2 F250 4x4 (Highboy) came from Ford with 4" lift installed. I guess you would call this a "Suspension lift" not a body lift.

You are correct, the 390 was not offered in the Highboy.

 

thanks... so to further clarify part 2, the 390 was not offered in *any* truck from the factory?

 

The 390 was offered in trucks starting in model year 1968.

I think they stopped offering 390's in trucks in 1976, .... but I could be wrong.

The 4th character of the VIN = H for a 390.

 

390s were only available in 2wd bumpside trucks unless special ordered in 4wd.

 

IIRC from ND, 390's were only available from some dealers for 4x4's. To identify FE's, you have to measure the stroke as the blocks are the same, and have the same markings as 352 and 105. Remember the old saw, 390's on sale day, 352/360's another day. The 67-77 F-250's didn't have a suspension lift. They just had a higher arch in their springs which made them taller than the Chimmies (Chevys and Jimmies) and Dodges of their day. This continued until the 77.5-79's which had a suspension height much lower with their reverse arch springs.

 

There were no "regular production" 4X4's with a 390. Whether or not a truck could have been "SPECIAL" ordered that way is a possibility back then.

 

And the highboy wasn't lifted, it just set higher than Dodge and Chevy trucks did. Highboy is a slang term. As far as ford was concerned, it's just a four-wheel-drive F250.