1997 Ford F-250 - Size Matters - Four Wheeler Magazine
It doesn’t matter how fast or cool-lookin’ your little sports car is when someone like Bobby Hartwell pulls in with his towering ’97 Ford F-250 that rumbles so loud it sets off car alarms across the street. All the girls jump right out of their boyfriends’ silly little exotic cars and run right over to the big-boy toy. They all want a ride, and we’re more than happy to help them up. Of course, this big-ass rig isn’t anywhere near street legal, but that doesn’t quite matter when we’re hanging out in the woods and mud pits with a girl on a crisp Saturday night. A few years back, Bobby and his buddy Danny Watson decided to get together and build an insane off-road toy to play with on the weekends. The 5-ton military axles and gas-powered Ford 460ci big-block help this rig crawl out of anything it sinks into. Oscar at PRD racing bored and stroked the motor with a cobra jet kit, making it a 521ci big-block. A manual valve body Ford C6 transmission was attached to the nearly indestructible 12-inch drop SCS gearbox. The cradle and frame modifications were designed and fabricated by Heavy Metal Fab in Miami, which added a ton of beefy strength to the Ford chassis. Once the control arms were cut to length, the bungs were welded on, Heims installed, and the custom Schedule 80 arms were bolted into the four-link brackets. King shocks are used for suspension, and heavy-duty chains help limit axle droop. Source: www.fourwheeler.com
