david85
Full Access Member
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.
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.