1974 Ford F-250 “Highboy”
In 1974, the era of the highboy truck was over and Ford was the last holdout. “Highboy” describes the stance, but the reason for that stance isn’t clear to everyone. A true highboy has a divorced transfer case, meaning it is separate and connected to the transmission via a short driveshaft, rather than being married to the back of the transmission as is common today. Among other things, that divorced layout necessitates a very long front driveshaft and, for clearance, the ride height of the truck must be higher.
The engine is a rebuilt 390 V8. It runs very string and smooth and sounds great with the added dual exhaust. They added an Aluminum Edelbrock Intake, Edelbrock Carb, Steinkes Headers, and a nice mild cam. Transmission is 4-spd manual with Part Time 4WD kit installed. Tranny shifts smooth and 4WD works. Dana 60 Rear Axle and Dana 44 Open Knuckle Front Axle. 4.10 Gears. This is a true factory Highboy sitting on 35 Inch tires that give a great look and awesome stance.
Cosmetically, besides the trim options, you had four optional two-tone paint combinations and 16 different colors, plus accent stripes. Ford also offered a bed shell, which could be color-keyed to the truck. A sliding rear window was on the options list, as was a bed tonneau. This was an era where the comfort and convenience options made for a short list but they included air conditioning, a high-output heater, knitted vinyl seat, AM or AM/FM radios, remote control left mirror, various towing mirrors and deluxe seat belts with shoulder harness.
In terms of appearance, the 1974 Ford F-250 “Highboy” owed a lot to the models that had come before it. Cautious about upsetting brand loyalists, the new pickup kept roughly the same shape, adding a ‘dent’ in the side sheet metal that stretched from front to rear (giving the trucks the ‘dentside’ nickname) as well as a more pronounced clamshell hood (with reinforced internal bracing for less shake) and a taller grille.
Mechanically, all trucks saw a wider rear track, which improved stability, while the long-wheelbase F-250 “Highboy” provided a higher gross vehicle weight rating intended to satisfy those who towed or went camping with their trucks. Disc brakes were installed on two-wheel drive trucks from the start, with 4×4 models gaining the feature by 1974.
