Ford F350 Centurion

"j250ex" (j250ex) 11/12/2014 at 10:59 • Filed to: Ford Trucks, Centurion, Conversion truck

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This is my first post on Oppo so I'm kinda excited but to start things off I wanted to show something I came across on my craigslist searches. 1996 Ford f350 Centurion conversion.

Let me start by saying I believe this era of trucks is probably my favorite. This is when trucks were still trucks. They were built for heavy jobs and purchased by people who actually used them. Trucks from this era were never designed to be fashion statements. However, this wasn't always the case. The early to mid 90's was also the hay-day for truck / van customization. You had companies churning our conversation vans and trucks for customers who wanted something fancier than what was available off the showroom floor. This 1996 Ford Centurion represents just that.

For those of you not familiar with Centurion they were a custom car company that generally took ford vehicles and gussied them up a bit. Usually this included a new interior with some of the best seats known to man and some exterior changes. Exterior side steps were added and a new front bumper. My dad had one a while ago that was very similar to this truck but with an awesome turbo wing on top and testarossa style side skirts. We lovingly referred to it as the "Texas Limo".

This truck is special though because it is the first one I've seen with the camper conversion attached to the rear. Basically this made your F350 centurion a long haul truck with the option of sleeping in the rear when you got tired. Ive seen these before on the econoline centurions but never on a truck. Albeit, its a strange option because it severely cuts down on your bed space for the 5th wheel horse trailer and 100 gallon fuel tank these trucks usually come paired with.

This truck continues its oddball streak by being fitted with the Ford 460 v8. This seemed like an odd choice for many reasons. 1996 was a good year for ford trucks. The 7.3 power stroke had been introduced years earlier and was making a name for itself as a powerful and reliable diesel engine. The power stroke made more torque than its gasoline brother and got better mileage. Reports are these 460's averaged 7 mpg while towing. I know the diesel engine cost more but clearly if you are getting a custom truck keeping cost low isn't your first priority.

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TheHondaBro > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 11:00

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That thing looks gross.

j250ex > TheHondaBro 11/12/2014 at 11:03

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Its not their prettiest conversion. The 4 door bronco they did is probably one of the best.

Coty > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 11:18

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I was like "ok, what's so special" and then I got to here and did a:

HammerheadFistpunch > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 11:44

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I'm confused by that conversion, its too far into the bed to allow 5th wheel trailers, but its not big enough to make a really comfy camper. Its the worst of both worlds. I love the wood trim roof console though.

j250ex > HammerheadFistpunch 11/12/2014 at 11:49

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My thought was someone had the 5th wheel hookup further back in the bed but it didnt show any pictures. I agree its a weird one.

HammerheadFistpunch > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 11:51

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Well you wouldn't put a 5th wheel hitch anywhere but withing a narrow range directly above the axle for weight distribution reasons. This is just weird. I generally dig centurion conversions, but this....nope.

Dsscats > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 11:55

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Chat to Bird if you can. He has a Centurion Bronco

JEM > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 11:57

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Wait.....

I think we need to see pics of this "Texas Limo"

j250ex > Dsscats 11/12/2014 at 11:58

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I'll do that.

j250ex > JEM 11/12/2014 at 12:13

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Sadly thats a picture I haven't been able to find. I know we had some but i i'm sure they're on a forgotten hard drive somewhere. Ours was a 1993 Ford F350 Centurion Odessa Edition. White with testarossa style side skirts with a turbo wing on top, fiberglass running boards, and 120 gallon diesel tank in the rear. It was a cool truck. Sadly it had the 7.3 turbo diesel non power stroke. Dad lived in constant fear of block cavitation and sold it when he felt he pushed his luck long enough.

This is very similar to ours. Same style of bodywork but ours was white.

shop-teacher > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 12:27

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5th wheel hitches need to be over the axle, so you couldn't fifth wheel tow. This would be excellent for a big conventional trailer though. It was probably ordered in a cold weather state, hence the gas motor. Diesels of this era still weren't known for being easy to start on a cold winter morning.

j250ex > shop-teacher 11/12/2014 at 12:32

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I remember that well. My dad had diesels when I was growing up. It was a nightly routine of plugging the truck in. If you ever forgot you would be very sad in the morning.

shop-teacher > j250ex 11/12/2014 at 14:08

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Yep. The family of a friend of mine in high school had a '93ish F350 dually. They got the 460 due to cold start issues. They used to let his older sister drive it to school, but when my friend was old enough, his parents decided he was too stupid and irresponsible to drive the truck (they were right).