How did you get into an IDI?

[david85]

I learned to drive when my Dad handed down his old 1986 F150 to me. It was, and still is the smoothest riding truck I can recall driving. Unfortunately, it was underpowered (not such a bad thing for a new driver, mind you). And since it used a 302 that was full time LPG, fuel economy and range between fillups wasn't so great. So after some research, I found out that there was an optional diesel for F250s of that era. It took a whole year to find one that was in decent shape. All the 4x4s were thrashed and rusty, so I had to settle on one that was 2wd.

It was far from perfect, but you could tell the old man who sold it to me was hurting to see it go. He was retired and had a nice OBS powerstroke that had become his new 5th-wheel hauler. I came back to his house a few weeks later when I found some tax papers that belonged to him. All smiles when I told him the 4.10s were swapped for 3.08s. Lack of overdrive was a major reason he upgraded.

After re-gearing, came turbocharging, then when time and money allowed, came the E4OD swap. Even after rebuilding the engine, the truck paid for itself several times over as a work vehicle in my Dad's small business. Then came college, and several jobs later I could have easily bought a new truck. Instead, I built a new shop with my dad, and then restored my truck to near new condition (among MANY other projects we got ourselves into over the years...).

I never believed that the 1980 body style could ever elevate to "classic" status, but my truck really started turning heads when it went back on the road. I had one guy at my most recent jobsite ask if I planned to sell it....Nope. Not selling. I'm not even sure how long it's been...probably coming up on a decade since I first bought the truck. After seeing what the new EPA rules did to modern diesels, I would probably have to get a gasser if I ever bought new. Thankfully there is nothing on old-faithful that can't be repaired or rebuilt.

 

[Comptech]

I got into them because it was a cheap way to get into a heavy duty truck. No one around me could keep them running. I always found them with simple little problems like bad lift pumps, air intrusion ect. I have owned 6.2s, 7.3s, Cummins,Power strokes and 1 Duramax. I still prefer and IDI. The 7.3 IDI tows better than the 6.2, but the 6.2 is far superior in the mpg department. I absolutely love the rattle of both engines.I have a m1031 field maintenance cucv..6.2 IDI,93 xclb 4 wd 7.3 IDI.. that is currently aggravating me..04 ram 5.9,1969 m715 4 bta and a 95 powerstroke. You only thing we use gasoline for here is the weed eaters.. and the boat.. and I've been thinking real ******* a repower with a VW diesel in it..lol

 

[Comptech]

I didn't get into diesel for the ego, image thing.Gasoline is a thermodynamic nightmare. And probably the worst motor fuel there is as far as I'm concerned. I like the low RPM torque and efficiency of a diesel. Unfortunately the new clean diesels are so complicated they don't even represent diesel anymore.. simple..

 

[Comptech]

A whopping 155 hp..but 12 mpg with 4.56 gearing..37 inch tires and aerodynamic as my house. Plus there's a 12000 watt PTO driven generator in the box.plus..they are cheap to buy.you'll lose more in depreciation in one year than what these trucks cost.

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[david85]

I didn't get into diesel for the ego, image thing.Gasoline is a thermodynamic nightmare. And probably the worst motor fuel there is as far as I'm concerned. I like the low RPM torque and efficiency of a diesel. Unfortunately the new clean diesels are so complicated they don't even represent diesel anymore.. simple..

"I was diesel, when diesel wasn't cool"

Then a few years later, everyone wanted them and up went the cost of diesel fuel. You're bang on with the net efficiency aspect. Why we still have throttled engines is beyond me (and new emissions diesels have them now!)

 

[Comptech]

Gasoline.. an engine where I have to run the air fuel ratio rich.. or else the motor will melt down. Or I can go diesel.. pump as much air as I can in the motor to hopefully burn up all the hydrocarbon.. no lean issues... Capturing unused BTUs in the exhaust.. and turning them into more usable power via the turbo..hands down..diesel wins.Well.. all except the really stubborn IDI 7.3 that is presently eating up a garage stall..lol

 

[Laine D]

I bought my truck 2 years ago. I was a freshman in highschool and was about to get my learners permit. All throughout my little kid years I had driven trucks and tractors. I figured that there was no other vehicle for me than a truck. My granddad, being an old cattle rancher, knew a billion other cattle ranchers. One of them had an old ford truck that had been sitting on the side of their barn with 4 feet of weeds growing around it. The tags said 2001 and they said that they hadn’t even opened the door since 2004. So my grandpa took me down to their place and lo and behold it is a 1986 F250 xlt lariat with an already turbocharged 6.9 and a “fresh C6”. Needless to say I shook hands with the guy and for about 1500$ worth of hard labor I got to have my truck. At this point I really didn’t know much about engines, let alone a diesel. I Knew my way around a dirt bike but not this type of thing. My granddad handed me glow plugs, a controller, a fuel filter and an ignition switch and me and him got to work. It ended up cranking right up and running pretty good. Fast forward about a year and a half and the truck had developed a habit of drinking oil and smoking out my neighborhood. So I clear out a spot at my granddads paving machine shop and pulled the motor. Ended up having to do an entire overhaul, bored .20 over, new pistons, new rods, Got a crank that wasn’t so beat up, head studs and a million other things. All this time I had wanted a stick soooo bad so I ended up finding a zf out of an Fsuperduty and swapping it in. Painted the engine all pretty, royal blue and metallic silver. Stuck everything in fired it right up. Been driving it for 6 months and am so extremely happy with it. I would like to take a week and pull the engine again to reseal the oil pan and check everything out. Looking back I am extremely proud of how far I have brought this truck with the help of my family. It’s been a really great bonding experience with my stepdad and my grandpa. I have learned so much and I keep learning more every day. So i guess that’s my Idi story so far lol.

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[chris142]

I was looking for a bricknose. Had to be a stickshift. All the ones I looked at were trashed. Found mine with 59000 miles on it and it happened to be a diesel. The previous owner had written milages on the air,fuel and oil filter so I knew they had been maintaining it.

 

[raydav]

I have a 1984 E350. It came with a 460. I am in SoCal. In 2005 a shop had the van for three days, could not get it to pass smog check, and could not determine anything to fix. No charge.

I bought a 1989 for it's IDI. No more smog checks. In Cal smog checks for diesel start when there is OBD2. No engine faults, no visible smoke, check OK.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Did I already say "usually through the driver's door"?

 

[Exhumis]

I've always wanted a diesel but they were always out of my price range. I'd been looking for a hunting truck for almost a year and it was hit or miss with the owners, you know how craigslist is. My dad who is a diesel mechanic had been helping me search and found the truck in my profile pic. I had heard about idis but didn't know much about them, I was trying to find an old 12v Cummins. My dad texted me the truck and said hey I think you should go look at this one. It's in good shape, only has 215k on the clock which for a diesel is just broken in, is owned by a mechanical engineering student and it's close by to where you live. The rest is history. Long story longer it was originally purchased by the kids uncle and had been in the family it's entire existence as a farm truck. It had been very well maintained (for a farm truck) and runs great to this day. It's exactly the truck I needed (well almost, extended cab wouldn't been perfect) as I wanted something dead easy to work on and reliable since it's a hunting/wheeling truck.

 

[mexicanjoe]

My buddy had this '89(LuLu Belle) extended cab with a ZF5 sitting under his car port. In the middle of a West Texas heat wave his a/c goes out in the house..... his wife is working nights at the hospital....No$$$$$ because they just got back from a cruise and mama is P.O.'d... So I just jokingly said" Hey , Ill give you $1,000 for that old truck". Mitch holds his handout and said" show me the money"....I drive 75 Miles one way to get the cash.... I left the truck there for 2 weeks until I could get a ride back to the pick up.....I cranked up the old gal and found out that:
It had 2 full tanks of fuel
2 new batteries
a new glow plug relay
4 new shocks
4 almost new tires
2 rough looking spares
a fresh oil change ( plus another complete oil changes in the back)
a headache rack
a cow catcher( grille guard for yall not from Texas)
8 new glow plugs
a 100 gallon in bed tank with transfer pump
a trash can full of burnt trash
a an a/c system that needed recharging..Which my buddy Phillip Mark did for free.
Now mind you Ive replaced a"stat, radiator and others small items but for 1k, i thought I did pretty good. Ive got a 4.10 limited slip sitting in the back yard waiting for a nice day... I found out I had a 3.55 diff in it originally, but since I had a gooseneck trailer set up already in it (!) Im gonna use it for a hot shot rig when i retire..... Old gal looks a little rough but she starts, run ok. and is dependable... I plan on replacing the IP , injectors, fuel tanks( that dont register)the front seat, and the drivers door that has a dent in it.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

My buddy had this '89(LuLu Belle) extended cab with a ZF5 sitting under his car port. In the middle of a West Texas heat wave his a/c goes out in the house..... his wife is working nights at the hospital....No$$$$$ because they just got back from a cruise and mama is P.O.'d... So I just jokingly said" Hey , Ill give you $1,000 for that old truck". Mitch holds his handout and said" show me the money"....I drive 75 Miles one way to get the cash.... I left the truck there for 2 weeks until I could get a ride back to the pick up.....I cranked up the old gal and found out that:
It had 2 full tanks of fuel
2 new batteries
a new glow plug relay
4 new shocks
4 almost new tires
2 rough looking spares
a fresh oil change ( plus another complete oil changes in the back)
a headache rack
a cow catcher( grille guard for yall not from Texas)
8 new glow plugs
a 100 gallon in bed tank with transfer pump
a trash can full of burnt trash
a an a/c system that needed recharging..Which my buddy Phillip Mark did for free.
Now mind you Ive replaced a"stat, radiator and others small items but for 1k, i thought I did pretty good. Ive got a 4.10 limited slip sitting in the back yard waiting for a nice day... I found out I had a 3.55 diff in it originally, but since I had a gooseneck trailer set up already in it (!) Im gonna use it for a hot shot rig when i retire..... Old gal looks a little rough but she starts, run ok. and is dependable... I plan on replacing the IP , injectors, fuel tanks( that dont register)the front seat, and the drivers door that has a dent in it.

I think you did good for $1000 too.