First Gear
First Gear 1:50 Ford Super Duty F-250 Crew Cab, Graphite Gray
First Gear 1:50 Ford Super Duty F-250 Crew Cab, Graphite Gray>
$59.95
The Ford F-Series Super Duty (often shortened to Ford Super Duty) is a series of trucks manufactured by Ford Motor Company. Introduced in 1998 for the 1999 model year, the F-Series Super Duty trucks marked the addition of a heavy-duty pickup to the Ford F-Series range with the new versions of the F-250, F-350, and F-450 pickups, while the previous 1987–1997 F-Super Duty chassis cabs were replaced by the F-450 chassis cab and F-550 Super Duty.
The Super Duty trucks utilize a distinct chassis from the lighter F-150, with heavier-duty chassis and suspension components to allow for higher payload and towing capacities; additionally, the product line continued the use of Ford PowerStroke diesel engines. With a GVWR over 8,500 lb (3,900 kg), Super Duty pickups are class 2 and 3 trucks while chassis cab trucks are class 4 and class 5. The F-Series Super Duty has been used as the base chassis of the Ford Excursion full-size SUV.
Ford F-250 to F-550 Super Duty trucks are assembled at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, while medium-duty F-650 and F-750s are assembled at Ohio Assembly in Avon Lake, Ohio (prior to 2016, medium-duty trucks were assembled in the Blue Diamond Truck joint venture with Navistar in Mexico). As of 2016, the Ford Super Duty is sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela (F-250 and F-350), Suriname, Brazil (F-350/F-4000), Argentina (F-4000 only), Angola (F-250 and F-350), Cambodia, the Middle East, and Iceland (F-350 only) in LHD only. In Suriname, even though traffic is on the left side of the road, the import and registry of left hand drive vehicles is allowed. In Australia, it was officially imported in right hand drive from Brazil between 2001–06, however as of 2007, Ford no longer offers the Super Duty in Australia.
In 1958, Ford introduced the Super Duty family of V8 engines. Built specifically for trucks, the 401, 477, and 534 cubic-inch gasoline V8s were the largest-block V8 engines ever built by Ford Motor Company (other than the 1100 cu in GAA, developed for the US Army as a tank powerplant; this however was a 'cut-down' V-12, with a 60° V-angle, and was not originally designed as a V-8), and were the largest mass-produced gasoline V8 engines in the world. To showcase the engine launch, the "Big Job" conventional truck variants of the F-Series were re-branded as Super Duty, a name added to other Ford trucks as well. Alongside the Ford C-Series and H-Series cabovers, the N-Series conventional adopted the Super Duty name. Although its poor fuel economy would prove uncompetitive against diesel engines, the durability of the Super Duty would keep it in production into 1981.
In 1987 Ford would revitalize the name as a Class 4 truck badged as "F-Super Duty", Manufactured as a chassis cab with the frame open for a bed that would suit its future application, these trucks would be equipped with the 7.5 liter gasoline engine or a 7.3 liter IDI diesel engine. The weight and class of these trucks would make them the heaviest trucks in the F-Series line at the time.
Following the redesign of the 1997 Ford F-150, the Ford F-Series began a transition in its layout. In response to the changing demographics of pickup truck purchases during the 1980s and 1990s, Ford shifted the design of the F-150 separate from the larger F-250 and F-350 (which remained in production). While still a full-size pickup under the skin, to expand its appeal among consumers, the F-150 adopted carlike aerodynamics and convenience features. To market a truck that appealed towards commercial buyers, fleet buyers, and users who tow, Ford sought to create a separate, dedicated heavy-duty truck platform (in place of using one chassis for all of its trucks). By expanding into two separate but related platforms for F-Series trucks, the inevitable compromises inherent in offering a wide range of load-carrying capacities were avoided. The F-250HD lasted into 1997 (alongside a separate 1997/1998 F-250 based upon the F-150); the F-350 pickup was put on hiatus after 1997.