Howdy! I have been reading a lot here, and have gone back about 60 pages so far and figured I would say hello.
My name is Tim, I live in the mountains of NC, and am a fanatic for older diesel engines. I have 20 years experience working on them for the Army Reserve, and have been driving them in one form or another for a long time. I am also an ASE certified diesel tech, although that was done just for the Army side. I run a military surplus store for my regular job.
And this project truck is mostly for the store- a truck I can take on the road to pick up stuff I buy. It is a really rough looking 91 F350 Crew Cab dually, but it has a 7.3, ATS turbo, ZF5, 4.10 rear end and a CM flatbed. Only 157,000 miles on it as well. It runs and drives very well, and should be ideal for this. It has all the options I wanted, and the issues are all cosmetic or minor.
My plans are new paint, fix the body work, clean the interior and find a set of newer front seats that will for for more comfort. Any suggestions on what donor vehicles are good for seats?
Some folks say I am crazy and just get a Powerstroke or newer truck. But I don't need any more power than the IDI will have, and I like that I can carry a starter, alternator, IP and lift pump and essentially have all I need to fix it with me short of complete engine failure.
My old work van was a 90 7.3, and the van fell apart around the motor. But I still have it, and now am going to part it out and keep all the accessory parts, and I have a core IP sitting here, so I already have pretty much every spare I need once I get the IP rebuilt to feel comfortable driving anywhere.
My name is Tim, I live in the mountains of NC, and am a fanatic for older diesel engines. I have 20 years experience working on them for the Army Reserve, and have been driving them in one form or another for a long time. I am also an ASE certified diesel tech, although that was done just for the Army side. I run a military surplus store for my regular job.
And this project truck is mostly for the store- a truck I can take on the road to pick up stuff I buy. It is a really rough looking 91 F350 Crew Cab dually, but it has a 7.3, ATS turbo, ZF5, 4.10 rear end and a CM flatbed. Only 157,000 miles on it as well. It runs and drives very well, and should be ideal for this. It has all the options I wanted, and the issues are all cosmetic or minor.
My plans are new paint, fix the body work, clean the interior and find a set of newer front seats that will for for more comfort. Any suggestions on what donor vehicles are good for seats?
Some folks say I am crazy and just get a Powerstroke or newer truck. But I don't need any more power than the IDI will have, and I like that I can carry a starter, alternator, IP and lift pump and essentially have all I need to fix it with me short of complete engine failure.
My old work van was a 90 7.3, and the van fell apart around the motor. But I still have it, and now am going to part it out and keep all the accessory parts, and I have a core IP sitting here, so I already have pretty much every spare I need once I get the IP rebuilt to feel comfortable driving anywhere.
As for other cheap upgrades maybe the injection pump needs to be rebuilt. There are a couple of members here that do stuff like that. A matched set of BB code injectors is going to really help to because the fuel is measured the same in each cylinder. Then getting the engine properly timed by someone you know and trust. Many shops will not time these engines because they don't have the tools or meters. I rent the meters with the proper tools for this timing. Its been very well accepted across the US so far. The Fee is $60.00 and I pay the shipping to you. Take this information to the pm and we can talk if your really interested. I have made up several viedos of this simple timing of our engines and can answer any questions you might have about this. Typ4 sells a great regrind cam thats really great down low with torque above what we have stock. A new cam is around $800.00 from International and around $200.00 from typ4... Cheaper but much better both ways. You really don't need to replace the lifters either because they are needle bearing rollers. You can upgrade the springs to the Comp Cam 910 springs. You don't even need to remove the heads for this. Rotunda made a spring compresser tool that I have and so do many others. I will loan it to you but will not rent or sell it. It means that much to have a tool when you need it or someone else needs it. These engines pistons miss hitting the heads by about 42 thousands at top dead center. So you bring up a piston to tdc and easily replace the springs or seals without dropping a valve into the cylinder. Hope this helps you along the way...
lol Welcome again.
