1990's f250 stepside short bed ?

[marmot]

Does anyone know if the 1990's f250 stepsides with the short bed came with IDI's. I was out at the ranch today measuring up for a garage door and thinking of a short bed stepside like my buddies 78. Great truck for wheeling, and short wheel base for turnarounds in tight quarters.


Plus they look really cool.

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With a zf5 and 7.3 idi turbo, and dana 60's would be the perfect truck for MT.

 

[middaymidnight]

I think they look gayer than Elton johns fannypack but that's just me..

 

[C_Luft]

It's hard to see from the picture the lug nut count. I would venture to say it's custom job or it was a very special order from ford. I have seen a very rare 96 crew cab F250 with a stepside but that was a centurion conversion. I mean I have always wanted to take f350 extra cab long bed dually and shorten the frame to a short bed and swap the dually axles and use the f350 cab to create a f350 extra cab short bed 7.3 idi turbo zf5 4x4 srw, now that would be ****.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

No such thing as a factory stepside F250 that I'm aware of. That one in the pic could very well be an F150 with the 3/4-ton axles under it, seen it done quite a few times actually. But yes, it would work great for trails and stuff and still pull a trailer just fine especially if it's a gooseneck (bumper-pulls tend to have the infamous "the tail wagging the dog" effect on short-wheelbase trucks). Used to have a short stepper myself, when it was able to get traction (2wd) it was very useful for moving things around, especially with a front hitch. Not much in the hauling capacity though (not weight-wise, but in volume as the bed is fairly small), but that just means friends don't get to abuse it as much If we had the need for one more truck I'd build one like what you suggest and drive the wheels off it, so I say go for it... Though these things tend to move just fine even n/a, so turbocharging it may be a bit overkill, unless you DO in fact plan on pulling a GN with it

C_Luft, that's a full-float rear, look at its hubs sticking out. I can only assume the front is also 8-lugs to match the rear, and it sure sits like a factory F250HD with the D50.

 

[C_Luft]

Your correct LCAM-01XA I didn't think to look for the full float rear end.

 

[IDIoit]

i never liked the stepside trucks unless its a 62 or older.
i have never seen a short bed diesel.
i want one also, but mine will be a fleet side....
break out the grinder and the welder.

 

[dunk]

Never came that way. I have seen some Supercab shortbed with a stepside box but not sure that was original or if they were a 250/350 but Ford never offered the shortest wheelbase in anything more than a half ton for 80-97. I used to have a Stepside F-150 reg cab with a 302 and 4 speed. That was a fun little truck and very easy to maneuver off road. I'd like to get another some day but while that tiny bed looks cool it's not very practical. Also, towing anything remotely heavy with a light truck and short wheelbase was no fun. The 302 was a torqueless wonder for towing, even with a few improvements.

You could make one either by shortening a 250/350 and using a stepside bed or bolting 1 tons under a factory stepside and swapping in an IDI. Would be good for an off road toy, but not a truck that sees much work.

 

[marmot]

Kinda figured this was a one off. The length of the truck is key for the old mining roads around here. Steep departure angles and more than once I was forced to do a 180 point turn with 500ft of steep hillside below and cut bank above in my toyotas LC's and trucks. I really like diesels for off road but long bed trucks just don't work very well and being 6'4" and 225 and over 45 makes wee little fern' pickups pretty uncomfortable these days. When the garage is done I'm going to find a 150 sb and make it a f350 idi. Oh and if anyone ever mentions elton, or a fanney pack in another post on here

 

[IDIoit]

arnt the frame rails for the F150 vs. the 2/350 the same width?
instead of doing all that engine swap work, id think it would be easier to relocate the rearend on a 350 with an IDI already in it,
nothing more than a driveshaft change and a bed swap??

 

[marmot]

Found this f350 dually which looks about the right bed length. The flare side trucks are cool but the ultra short stepside bed seems like it would be perfect. I guess I could go with a flat bed but I think it would look more like a buggy than a truck.
This is an 88 f350 some canadian fella put together, OBS front clip and stepside box.

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Moved the rear axle forward and cut the frame. With srw, d60's maybe an air- locker, 35s and a turbo that would be one handy truck for out here. That Box is just big enough for a bull elk, the bronc(78 150 stepside) has hauled out quite a few. I just saw a regular cab f350 this week on CL hmmm.

 

[IDIoit]

i deff would not cut up a DRW for a project like this, unless it was cheap and i didnt have a use for it.
but putting a IDI in a 150 frame would require more fab work than a f2/350 with a rear end relocate.
plus a thicker frame is key!
besides, if you drill out the rivits, you could relocate the rearend, and bolt it in.
it would be strong enough to run it around to get welded if you couldnt do it.
i would also suspect that you would need to either use degree shims or relocate the spring pads to get your pinion angle correct.
i have been thinking about this for some time.
going to be done for my next truck.
i tow boats often and having a single cab short bed comes in handy!
and i am done with gasser trucks, unless its a flatheaded hotrod

 

[marmot]

I was looking at a srw truck 87 6.9l as I recall and it must have sold just looked for it. I think it would be pretty handy truck, plus the regular cab trucks are cheaper. Shortening that frame shure sounds pretty easy compared ta swapping stuff on a 150. Just move the axle, box the end of the frame, shorten some brake lines, drive shaft and mount a bed, pretty straight forward stuff. The cab and engine are stock. You'd have to set up the pinion angle and make sure the axle was square for sure.

I need to find this truck

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[IDIoit]

IMO, that truck is too clean to be choppin up...lol

 

[marmot]

I would never buy that nice of a truck period Dana 60 front ,sterling 10.25 rear, manual tranny on that one I posted. I can get rear dana 60's around here for 150$ fronts are unobtainium

 

[Agnem]

The Night Moose was a gasser stepside F-150. Drill one hole, and drop an IDI in it, and your done. Those 8 lugs are only needed to make it look pretty.