I have been enjoying what I thought was a mostly original 1975 F250 custom 2wd and today while at a show and shine, I was asked why I have a ‘77 bed on my ‘75........when I asked what he meant, he said that the dual tank setup I have should have exposed gas caps, not caps behind doors.
I do have the the proper selector switch in the dash.

So I am asking you all for assistance. Is this gentlemen correct?....Is this a ‘77 bed? And if so, what should the ‘75 look Iike?

 

ya the 75 had the gas cap on the body itself, no door to access it. the door came in 77, cant remember if 77 had dual tanks but im sure it did. i know 78 and 79 did. had a 79 with dual tanks. i personally recommend the door rather than the cap being on the side of the bed

im pretty sure the boxes are the exact same from 73 to 79 aside from that fuel door change, someone will correct me if im wrong though. so its possible, though unlikely, that someone just cut out the old flush style and welded in the new style

 

I also have a '75 and currently only have the rear fuel tank on mine, but it gives you the idea.

 

Did you tell him him to go pack sand? I hate guys like that. It is a stupid question from a guy that obviously know these trucks. He should also know how hard it is to find rust free beds to use. I don’t care what year of bed it is. That is a nice looking truck Sir!

 

The fuel doors did start in '77 but you see them on earlier rigs all the time. personally I think it's an upgrade and I'm an originality freak.

Unless you're in a conquers judging event who really cares. and I think that's many years away for 73-79 Ford pickups.

 

I have a 76 rust free bed, damn near dent free bed. 1 dinger behind the bumper under the right tail light. Drop right on. Sand and paint. I'll swap it even up for that 77 if it's rust and dent free as well. Mine is from El Paso. I am in PA. I was going to do a 76. But now doing an early round head light 78. On my 76 high boy frame.

 

1973/76 Stylesides have exposed fuel caps, 1977/79 Stylesides have fuel doors.

1975/79 F100/350 use the same dual fuel tank selector valve and solenoid assy and the switch.

The switch located in the heater control panel changes the tanks and the dash fuel gauge from one tank to the other.
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1973/74's with dual tanks have a manual control selector valve on the floor adjacent to the drivers side of the seat.

The selector switch located in the heater control panel only changes the dash fuel gauge from one tank to the other.

1977/79 fuel doors are the same as 1974/79 Lincoln Continental: D4LY-65405A26-A

 

His comment caught me off guard. It was not what I was expecting at a show considering the kind comments from most people. I do appreciate the feedback from him as I am not a Ford nerd by any means and would love to know what else is not original because I originally was going to try and do a restomod but when I saw so much originality with this truck I thought I would try and keep it that way.
I bought the truck as a learning opportunity for motor work as I am far from a mechanic but always wanted to learn more.

 

As far as what else isn't original, your sliding rear window is aftermarket. the chrome rear bumper I believe wasn't an option. and I'm not sure about the mirrors, they had them in '76 but I have been told that was the first year.

Here again, minor issues that don't hurt the vehicle in my opinion.

 

Mirrors are 'auto parts store' aftermarkets, don't fit properly. Ford offered a similar mirror beginning in 1973, but the mirror heads sit level and they were "Swing-Locks."

1973/79: Chrome and painted contour and step bumpers were available as options, but I cannot see enough of it to see if it's an original.

See TYPE 9 in pic:

 

If your mirrors have the ford symbol stamped on them then they are from an 1980s truck, they sit crooked because the 1980s body is different angles than your trucks body angles.