This 1977 Ford B-250 Is an F-Series SUV With an Unexpected Surprise Under the Hood

Introduced in 1934, the first-generation Suburban paired a station wagon body with a small truck chassis. The term SUV did not exist back then, but the Suburban is now widely regarded as the world's first SUV (though it did not get four-wheel drive until 1957). Ford, on the other hand, focused on pickup trucks until the 1960s, when SUVs started becoming increasingly popular.

Following the introduction of the International Harvester Scout in 1961, Ford began developing its own SUV. The final product arrived in 1966 as the now-iconic Ford Bronco. Originally a compact SUV, the Bronco morphed into a full-size hauler in 1977 and soldiered on until 1996. What's more, Ford did not offer a four-door SUV until 1990, when it created the Explorer.

But while U.S. customers had to wait almost three decades to get a proper four-door SUV, South American enthusiasts were enjoying them as early as the 1970s. Because Ford Argentina took matters into its own hands and turned the sixth-generation F-Series into one. This 1977 B-250 that was recently imported from Colombia by the folks at "Ford Era" is one of those Chevy Suburban fighters that the U.S. never got.

There's not a lot of info about these haulers to run by, but it's pretty obvious that they're more than just F-Series trucks with bed caps. The conversion included a full rebuild of the bed area. In this case, the vehicle comes with three rows, meaning it can provide seating for up to nine people including the driver.

It also comes with a 50:50-split second row for easy access to the third-row bench. This SUV is actually a three-door hauler, as there's only one door on the driver's side, but four-door versions are known to exist.

Restored some years ago, the B-250 appears to be in excellent condition save for some bodywork issues here and there. The interior, in any case, looks fantastic which is a rare feat on decade-old haulers that usually get a lot of abuse. The fact that this one survived to get a restoration and then to make it on U.S. soil is as spectacular as it gets.

But while it's very similar to the sixth-gen U.S.-spec F-Series design-wise, this B-250 is entirely different under the hood. Because while the American truck was offered with inline-six and V8 gasoline engines, this SUV conversion packs a four-cylinder turbodiesel mill. According to our host, the B-250 draws juice from a 2.7-liter powerplant of the Nissan TD27 variety.

Not familiar with this mill? Well, Nissan built it in various forms from 1986 to 2006 and used it in vehicles like the Navara and Terrano. And as you might have already guessed, this oil burner found its way into the B-250 through a swap. However, it's not a big departure from the Argentinian-built F-Series. Because Ford's local division actually used a four-cylinder diesel back in the day.

I'm talking about a 203-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) powerplant sourced from Perkins, a diesel engine manufacturer established back in 1932. Now a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., Perkins also supplied Massey Ferguson and Dodge with diesel engines at some point. The oil burner was, however, only available in the small F-100 in Argentina, alongside a six-cylinder "Falcon" and a Y-block V8.

But the new owners aren't planning on keeping the Nissan diesel in the SUV. They're planning on replacing it with, you guessed it, a 7.3-liter Godzilla V8. Currently fitted in the F-250 Super Duty, the mill is also available as a crate engine and it's capable of 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque without upgrades. A great choice for a truly special and rare SUV like this. Check it out in the video below.