f250 4wd

The Ford Motor Company has been promising a new four-wheel-drive vehicle since the successful introduction of

its Falcon utility “market tester” back in 1973, and it’s finally dope it. Without any public hoo-ha, and in fact without

even an official release, they started delivering F250 4x4 trucks to dealers back n October last year.

While only a lmited production run to begin with (250 CKD kits ex-Canada) the company plans to continue the build program

this year introducing the model as an “assembly” production unit from its Melbourne. plant, still using CKD kits.

The ‘F250 4x4 was an obvious choice foilowiñg its tremendous success in the US and in Canada, and with local production

running at capacity to fill existing light commercial orders for conventional two-wheel-drive “F” series vehicles, the company

would find it difficult to justify a full scale extension of the production line just for 4x4s.

What everyone is waiting for now of course, is to see whether or not Ford will introduce a short wheelbase F100 format 4x4

with an optional V8 and auto transmission. The existing models however are based on the F250 Jight

commercial truck. It’s available in either cab/chassis or styleside utility styles and comes with the 300 CID six cylinder engine.

Body styling and construction includes all the same features of the current local production “F” series vehicles with uprated

seating, new body and tray designs, along with a full ladder-frame chassis and zinc-coated double-wall body panels.

Discarding the old Willys 4x4 system, Ford has opted for the US-proven New Process 435 four-speed gearbox and a matching

New Process 205 Transfer case and matched them to fully-floating Dana-Spicer drive axles within Salisbury type

housings.This produces high and low range drive in four-wheel-drive, and

high range only in two-wheel-drive. The gear ratios range from 13.2 to 1 in low/low to a direct one-to-one ratio in top gear.

The front axle comes with automatic free-wheeling hubs~ as standard equipment. These automatically lock the moment

four-wheel-drive is selected and release to the free-wheeling Positioning as soon as the driver selects two-wheel-drive. There’s no

need to jump in and out of the cabin to lock the hubs. The Ford F250 4x4 also offers two PTQ positions, one on the

Main transmission and another on the transfer case. The new 4x4 (style side utility) will retail for $7300 ($6501

with tax concession) or $6860 ($6109 with concession) for the Cab/chassis model.

Because of time commitments we were unable to test drive theF250 4x4 before this issue left Australia for Hong Kong, however

We hope to have had one by the time the next issue is ready to