What started you burning oil?

[The Warden]

Hello!

I was reading this thread a few minutes ago, and one of the "younger" posters said something about people on this board coming from all walks of life, and that got me thinking (dangerous, I know )....which in turn leads me to this question.

What, exactly, got you interested in purchasing an IDI (or any diesel, for that matter)? Even though diesels are starting to get "cool" nowadays, we still only see something like 3% of the passenger vehicles and light-duty pickup trucks in the U.S. these days burning diesel. Particularly since most of us are running trucks that are 15 to 26 years old, that makes us unique. So, what's your story? What led you to this point?

The longer the story, the better and, while I'm of course asking everyone on the site, I'm particularly curious to hear the answers of some of the newer members. Maybe this can be a way for people to help get to know each other?

If people care I'll post my own story later in the thread, but I want to see what others have to say, as well.

Thanks! and WELCOME to all of the newer members!!

 

[sle2115]

I got into my truck because of price. My dad found it for sale at a yard sale, actually 3 of them. Turns out they were owned by a friend who was dying of brain cancer and needed money. I purchased them because I needed a truck capable of moving some heavy stuff around, and kind of just fell in love with the simplicity of the IDI...the truck wrapped around it, not so much, but I've pretty well worked the bugs out of things and have my truck close to how I want it. I just purchased a turbo, hydroboost, ZF5, GV overdrive, etc. so it's gonna get better hopefully soon!

 

[dyoung14]

Well i guess it all begins with my dad, when he first found out what an idi was, was back in 1986 he said his boss had a brand new one and ever since riding/ driving that one he said he had to have one so ever since then he never owned anything else he got to buy one brand new in 1993 but only kept it 6 months then sold it, well i kinda continued on from him as the truck i learned to drive in was a 89 f-250 4x4 7.3 zf5 i love the truck its one truck that i will never let go of, well i have owned 4-5 trucks since then all diesel all idi, my current one that i drive is a 86 f250 6.9, im currently swapping a diesel into an f150, i will never own another truck beside an ih idi its in my blood and i will pass it down to my children there just something about these old engines that will never die in me

 

[FordGuy100]

My grandfather bought my truck brand new in 1985. He was a Owner/operator truck driver for 20+ years, so he wanted a diesel. Only Ford and chevy had diesel's that year. he liked the Ford more.

He put on 113K miles on it. I was helping him move into his new house/property and we were driving the old Ford into town. We were talking, and he said, you know, I really dont need two trucks (owns a 97 Dodge 2500 cummins 4x4 5spd). I was joking and said, "Ok, I'll take this one off your hands for you." He laughed and said, "I'll make you a deal, if you dont wear baggy pants, dont have earings or piercings, and have good grades, when your 15 the truck is yours." That was 5 years ago he promised me the truck. I got it on my 15th birthday and have owned it since. The first year of its life it sat mostly. I started it up and ran it around the property some. When I was 16 I started modding it, after doing most of the body work, I had it painted, then all the other stuff.

I have fond memories of my truck. My grandfather use to take me out trucking when I was little, we would get a load from up here, down to Reno, then LA, then back up. Did that a couple dozen times with him. Talking on the CB about smokies (for being 3-7 years old I had my dang CB lingo down...I've forgotten most of it though ), giving the other trucks the trucker wave (thats what I call it ). On the weekends when he was around, me and him would jump in the Ford and head to truck stops to shoot the chit with truckers, and have pancakes. I helped him move 3 times in my life, all in that truck (and others ).

If anything, the truck is worth more to me in sentimental value than anything else. My grandfather is a good man, and I will always have this truck to remember him by.

 

[85ford]

Well I got my IDI about 8 months ago. And it was my grandfathers truck since it was new. He bought it new in 1986 as the last years display model. It had a few upgrades done like the dually conversion, class V hitch, pretty smokin' interior, and a few other little things. Then the chance for me to get the truck came up and I jumped at it. for the price of a new toolbox for grandpa's new Ranger I had grandpa's old truck. ($230) I mainly wanted to use it to tow my Toyota 4x4 and the horse trailer I don't own yet. I love the 6.9l and the truck that surrounds it, It just needs a little tlc and then some mods. And my grandpa told me that if I ever get rid of it he will kill me (or Haunt me). I was brought home from the hospital in this truck when I was born and so was my daughter, so it's pretty important to me. It had 113k on the clock when I picked it up and now it has 123k on it. And in 10k all I have done is a water pump (witch it needed when I bought it). Next on my list for mods is a t-19 swap, turbo, then d60.

 

[BIG DAVE]

i've always loved diesel's, growing up on a farm in oregon all we ran was diesel's. As for idi's i have aways liked odd motor's that people don't realy build "cuz there not cool" i love these thing's lol my frist diesel truck was a 85 3/4 ton 4x4 chevy with a 6.2L i put a 6 inch lift 36inch tsl's, put a sm465-205 and 4" straight pipe with 5" stack's on it. custom bumper's and did all the body work and painted it dark green. i miss that truck

 

[tbiagent69]

I had wanted a Cummins Dodge ever since the 1994 redesign but I've never had the money to afford one. Last year I was looking for something big enough for my growing family and looked for about a month before I picked up my 03 Dodge. Only thing I would change is to get a 4x4.

As far as the Ford goes, I talked my brother in to buying it for $2500 the second I opened the door and saw the gear vendors overdrive controller, and then reaffirmed it when I popped the hood and saw the BANKS TURBO intake box =). I ended up "Borrowing" it from him while I save up to buy another truck. The truck is fun to tinker with, and I'd much rather waste the engine on this one screwing around with it than my 03 since I see 7.3's every day on craigslist for cheap.

 

[argve]

Most of you older forum members know the story of the Enterprise but a lot of the newer members don't so here goes....


Sherri and I were expecting our first kid (Sherman) and I had a 1996 Chevy 4x4 ext cab short bed Z71 with the 350 Vortec = all stock with 80k miles on it.... Truck was new when I bought it.....

Sherri started harping about that you can't put a baby seat in an ext cab pick up - there just isn't the room. I retorted with we looked at crew cabs when I wanted a new pickup and you said I better get the 4x4 because you didn't want to listen to me complain about not having a 4x4... she still kept on about needing a crew cab and wouldn't shut up... I liked my truck - was fully optioned less the leather seats dang it.... Heck it had a power drivers seat and was comfortable.... plus it looked dang sharp... rhino lined on the inside of the bed and the rockers were color matched rhino lined... Bull bar up front with nasty tread on the tires. Pulled the boat just fine... I liked my truck....

So I said if I have to give up my truck for a crew cab then I'm getting a diesel with duals..... You have to understand that I had to give up my harley and my lifted 4x4 for this chevy... she said I couldn't have a family and keep my toys....

So I went to looking for a crew cab dually diesel.... Chevy didn't make one that I liked - this was pre duramax.... and Dodge didn't make a crew cab so they were out of the running....

I spotted a crew cab older diesel for sale at a Ford Dealer in Greenfield, Ind. so I called up my buddy Scott (SNicklas here on the site) and told him to run over to Inns Keep Ford and take a look at it because I didn't want to drive 101 miles one way to look a truck that was a piece of junk.... Wanted him to check it over before I made the trip down... Well that night he went to look at it, we were running around looking at various trucks up our way and didn't find anything that tripped my trigger so I said.... let's just run down to Scott's and if nothing else we'll all just get together and go out for supper....

Showed up at the dealership found me a salesman and said I was looking for this truck, he looked around the lot and said that it wasn't there they must have sold it already.... getting ready to head back to the truck and head over to Scott's.... when in pulls Scott behind the wheel of this pretty white truck with low miles... I told the salesman that's the truck I came to see, he responded that it looks like the guy behind the wheel is wearing a grin so it's gone... I was like oh no that's my buddy I was telling you about....

So I take it out on a test drive and then come back to get a really good look at her... you need to understand that both Scott and I are BIG BOYS... we both top the scale at above 300 lbs each... Scott and I were commenting on the running boards (they were diamond plate alum) and both of us hop up on the running board behind the cab and both bounce at the same time... I thought the salesman was going to lay the golden egg right there but the running board held just fine and the truck just shook... we both said at the same time - these are good....

So in the dealership I head with the saleman and then after much ado I come out and empty out the Chevy and transfer all our stuff over to the Enterprise... I made the salesman take the Enterprise over and fill up one of the tanks because I said I filled up the Chevy before coming down here and I'll be danged if I have to put fuel in the new truck on the way home.... if I have to put fuel it in to get home then I'm not buying it - end of story... he protested but agreed to fill up the rear tank....

We then headed over to a local eatery and had supper and when on home...

I got my diesel dually and she got her crew cab...

when I got home the next day I called another buddy of mine and said you need to see this thing.... he came over and shoved his head under the hood and said "I can't wait until we can get our hands on this" talking about doing a rebuild.... well 2.5 months later I called him and said "remember when you said you can't wait to get your hands in the motor..... well we get to I think the head gaskets are gone"... we found out after replacing the head gaskets that it was cavitation................ at 60K miles folks.... yes 60K original miles it failed for the big C.......

The Enterprise was traded in from the first owner because the tranny failed and while it was sitting in the bay being checked out she was wandering around the lot and spotted a new crew cab dually (fire engine red) on the lot and fell in love with it, so she traded the E in while it was in the shop... they finished up putting a new tranny and torque converter in it then rolled it out on the lot for sale. That was in late Aug of 98....

Sherman was born on Sept 25th of 98 so I had The Enterprise for almost a month when Sherman arrived... Over Christmas shut down of 98 Aaron and I were replacing the first of many engines to come for The E....

So basically I blame my diesel addiction on Sherri... If she hadn't of harped on needing a crew cab I would probably still be driving a gasser... wait I am driving a gasser..... oh well never mind that....

 

[crashnzuk]

When I got my Dodge, I needed a truck that I could pull my Samurai with and got good enough mileage to drive daily. I am a life long Dodge man, so it had to be a 1st gen Cummins. I got lucky and found my truck through a guy at work. I told him what I was looking for and he said I know a guy with that exact truck. It belonged to a family friend of his and had 85K miles on it. It was a really nice, gently used truck with the early 90s flaky paint the only problem. That was 6 years and 80k miles ago. I now have a truck camper and swapped the sami for a Jeep and the ol' Dodge keeps on.

My dad's truck was just a fluke. He told me he wanted a diesel 4x4 truck with a manual trans and an extended or crew cab. I was looking at newer trucks, but I found this truck on Craigslist while randomly searching for "crew cab". It fit all of his criteria, was clean, had LOTS of new parts(including the engine, GV, and bed), and the price was right. I checked it out, sent dad pics (he's in Idaho), and then made the deal. The truck needed a few things, and he is still working on getting the last few done, but he is quite happy and I think a little proud of his shiny IDI crew.
Travis..

 

[82F100SWB]

I've had diesel in my blood since I was a kid, grew up around logging and farm equipment, it was just sort of a natural progression... I talked my uncle into buying a 00 PSD truck when he replaced his 92 F150, got to drive that a bit, and was hooked. Bought my own 00 in 04, sold it in 05 after I decided I didn't want expensive front end components or a computerised engine to deal with, and picked up my IDI for $300 and did a body swap on it.. The rest is history.
As for the Cummins, a buddy of mine had a nice 91 in high school, it was mostly stock, silver, 4" lift, 35's, and I pretty much decided I had to have one like it. When it finally came time to buy one, I looked at 2nd and 3rd gens, but, the mechanic in me decided kingpins, leaf springs and a 205 were the way to go.
The truck I happened to end up with belonged to a friend of mine since 2002, and was replaced with a 96, which the front end has proceeded to fall apart on numerous times(Cummins + V plow = bad news for a 2nd gen front end)

 

[CDX825]

When I found out people were running diesels on WVO and it struck my interest. I wanted to do the same and wanted a truck and it had to be a Ford because thats were my grandfather retired from.

Me and my dad were out browsing the local car lots one night and came across an 83 diesel F250. The thing was a dark blue and in mint condition witch is rare for a truck its age in ohio. I fell in love with the body style and after researching about the engine I knew I had to have one. Well we went back when the place was open only to find out they had sold the truck but I was bound and determined to get one.

After about half a year later and looking everywhere I found my truck on ebay. The auction only had a few hours left on it and there were no bids. The truck was located a few counties south of me in a town I had been to many times. I called the guy about it and told him I wanted to come check it out and take it for a test drive. Well the next day I went and checked out and took it for a test ride and it was perfect. Gave the guy some money to hold onto it until later in the week when I could come back and get it and the rest is history.

 

[Tarantula]

Recently I was looking for a 4x4 vehicle to play around with I also wanted a simple vehicle that I can work on myself. I looked at Toyota landcruisers, Ford Broncos, and a couple of other trucks. I ran across a 1983 F250 with a 6.9L diesel engine in it on craigslist. It ran very well with no smoke and reasonable power. The cab and bed were decent (not much rust) so I bought it. I had never driven a vehicle with a diesel engine before.

I learned to drive in a 1976 ford f250 4x4 that belonged to my grandfather so you could say I have a sentimental streak for old ford trucks. My father owned a 1964 ford truck for a long time, then he bought a 1978 ford bronco when they first came out. I have driven toyota pickup trucks for 20 years and I am tired of them. The IDI diesel is simple as is the rest of the truck ( I love how it is all mechanical, NO COMPUTER) . It is going to need a bit of work but I hope to enjoy fixing it up.

My wife already calls it a money pit and does not like to go anywhere in it. She likes refined modern vehicles. I like a truck that rides like a truck!

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Well heck I started with a big V8 car that I made handle like a Mustang, then I got a fullsize stepside that I built to run like a ***** ape and still be capable of 20 mpg, then I went up to a lifted 4x4, so I figured that for my next vehicle I wanted something different - had my 4x4 on CL for sale or trade, this guy e-mails me and asks if I'd be interested in his 1990 F350 diesel dually that was also for sale or trade on CL and that he was asking for the same price I was asking for my 4x4. So I went to see it and at first I wasn't too impressed, interior and engine bay were clean but she had lots of rust, and since my 4x4 actually decided to start running right I kinda abandoned the idea of trading her. Then a week later she started acting up again, so I decided enough is enough, called up the dude with the diesel, when I got there he had it all warmed up for me and one tank was full, we swapped titles and went our separate ways. You gotta understand that I didn't know anything about the IDIs at that point, I just thought it was a cool truck. Well, it's been well over a year now, and while I still regret trading my stepside for the 4x4 to this day I never regret trading the 4x4 for this rattler - she's very reliable, gets great fuel economy, drives nice (this thing is like glued to the road really), and come on, you just can't beat the looks of training wheels and a regular cab, it just means business Oh, and she came with a very nice bed cap, makes her look even better.

Now comes the funny part - my buddy Jake liked my truck so much, he had to get an IDI of his own, which just so happens to be a truck that we got from one of our fellow Oilburners here, Jeremy (Pipeliner 86). Said truck has now been repainted navy gray, and Jake drives it more than he does his Neon and Mustang combined

 

[Sycostang67]

Since I was a kid, I had always loved the sound of a diesel engine. I used to get the classifieds and other magazines from truck stops to cut out the pictures of the rigs to hang on my walls. It's kind of weird that I grew to like cars/trucks so much since nobody in my family did. My biological father used to tinker, but we left him out east when I was 6 and cant remember anything he worked on. I do hear horror stories from my mother though.

I used to beg my dad to buy a CC dually diesel. He was more worried about MPG's and having to replace 6 tires instead of 4. My first truck was an 83 F-100, 2wd with a 300/4spd instead of the 78 chevy 4x4 with the 350/350. I really did grow to like the ford though. Every truck I have owned afterwards has been a step bigger.

I had been rolling in my 85 F-250 for the last few years, got it from the original owner with 109k miles. At 130k I decided to swap in another motor since it was burning/leaking so much oil. I got a reman motor from CL, put in a cam, timing set, intake and bigger carb. Fired it up and had no oil pressure. I was so put off I just said to hell with it. I cashed out some of my 401k and went diesel hunting. I figured this would be the last time for quite awhile I had enough money for a decent truck. I asked around online, got lots of positive response about IDI's but never heard much about the early PSD's. I found my truck on CL about 1 hour away in super clean shape with only 117k miles. I've only put about 6k miles on it so far, hopefully will get many more.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

It's kind of weird that I grew to like cars/trucks so much since nobody in my family did.

Haha, I know what you mean - my family hates diesels, while to me there's no better smell than that of a freshly fired-up diesel on a cold morning Then when I started driving for the logging company in the summer before my senior year in high school my mom thought I was nuts to try to make a living running up and down the mountains, but my then-girlfriend thought it was the coolest thing in the world when I brought the tractor home (big Scania with two drive axles and a lift axle in front of them, super-singles on the lift and steer axles, 10 auxiliary headlights up front, and this whole thing painted in bright yellow with the wheels matching!) and insisted on me driving that every time we went out She also figured out a diesel makes a great alarm clock, rattling under her window in the morning My IDI now is a quite the downsize from there, but tell ya what, for just running around I'd rather have something that don't get 6 mpg on a good day and that takes 10 minutes to park in a city area. And... she likes the IDI too... altho come to think of it she pretty much likes every diesel there is out there... silly cowgirls