Tart up the 650 all you want, you still have a gutless truck with the steering wheel in your lap, an obscured air gauge, obstructed (and unlit) cruise control switches (doubly so with the coulmn-shift slushpump), half-baked "gauges" with no numbers (and the oil "gauge" is an idiot light with a needle), seat belts that get tighter and tighter with every bump, a weak heater that nonetheless roars like a subway train on high, and a (non-adjustable) shoulder belt that cuts neatly across the throat. Again, I rank the 65,000-mile 2004 650 I drive at my new job only slightly better than the million-plus-mile 1979 International S1700 wrecker (if the IH had integrated A/C, rather than a Sears add-on under the dash, I'd rate them as equal). Also, with steel springs all around, the IH doesn't ride any rougher than the Ford, despite the 650's rear air suspension & much-longer wheelbase. The Ford has an air-ride seat, but it isn't much of one: the travel is much too short, leaving me with the choice of slamming down against the floor or slamming up against the lap belt. I prefer the IH's vinyl bench. At least it doesn't try to compress my spine on every expansion joint.
The C7 ACERT (3126?) is a total dog, barely able to hold highway speeds when empty, bordering on dangerously-underpowered when loaded. It's also much tougher to start cold than the IH's well-worn DT466.
I'd rather call up Vintage Air to retrofit an International than try to turn a sow's a** into a silk purse by tarting up a gutless F-650.
Edit: The C7 ACERT is absolutely pathetic. The 650 is as underpowered as the 1972 F-800 with a gas 361FT. It tops out about 10MPH faster (another driver swears the 650 will run 75 empty), but isn't any better than the 800 (governed at 67) otherwise. I'd rather have a 5.9 Cummins...at least getting more power out of that is easy.
