David Lott buys junk. Well, actually, he tends to look for what others may think is junk, yet he views it as opportunity.
Not too long ago, while cruising on eBay, he came across a 2000 Ford F250 diesel truck with just less than 381,000 miles on the odometer. Thinking a chassis that new had to still have some value to it, Lott purchased the truck for $3,300. He hooked up a trailer and went down to pick it up, planning to part it out and salvage what he could.
"This was a truck that had been well-used," Lott said. "It was in pretty tough shape. But I thought I would just pull off the good parts and sell the rest for scrap metal."
Lott said as he looked it over, it actually looked fairly structurally sound. "So we turned the key to see if it actually ran," he said. It took some promptings, but it finally fired up and rather than towing it back to his shop, Lott drove it back.
Once he got it to where he could thoroughly go through the engine, Lott found that by replacing the injectors this old junker might actually have some more miles left in it. All it needed was a little attention to fix some of the abuse it had received over its 381,000-mile life.
Finding parts for a Ford 7.3L Power Stroke wasn't that hard for Lott-that's what he does for a living. "Everything we do here at Diesel Innovations involves the 7.3. That's pretty much who we are and what we know," he explained. Lott's shop, located in Houston, TX, is chock full of parts stripped from Ford diesel trucks. The three bays at his shop are packed with projects in progress. He spends his day fixing, tuning, modifying and fabricating for 7.3 Power Strokes. He also spends a great deal of time on the internet-looking for good buys and cruising the various diesel truck forums visiting with other diesel truck enthusiasts.
"I find that it is good business chatting with other diesel owners," Lott explained. "I can help them solve problems and that often leads to sales."
ONE MAN'S JUNK
As Lott continued to fix up the 2000 F250, it became apparent that there was a lot more potential for it. He replaced the seat with some captain's chairs he had stripped from another truck, exchanged the front grill, added traction bars for better stability, threw on a new coat of paint . and the eBay truck started to look like something you would want to drive.
"The only things we put on this truck that didn't come off some other vehicle were the paint, tires and wheels," Lott said.
"Once we got it running we took it to the track. It turned in an 8.7 in the eighth mile," he said. This, coming from a truck that was destined for scrap metal. "We figured we'd work on it a little more and see what we could get out of it in the quarter mile. This truck has got some potential."
WAY OF LIFE
Diesel trucks are a way of life for Lott. And Diesel Innovations is more than just a business-it's his family . literally. He spends his days working alongside other members of his family. His wife, Amanda, is the bookkeeper/accountant. Lott's son, David Timothy, spends a lot of time under the hood of the trucks wrenching and tuning. Then there is his daughter-in-law, Jayda who helps around the office and answers phones. And during the summer, Lott's 16-year-old daughter, Samantha, also works at the shop.
Even the non-family employees, like Troy Alfred who was been with Diesel Innovations for the past seven years, are treated like family.
Lott started Diesel Innovations in 1999, but his fascination for diesel engines actually began in 1994. "When I started messing around with 7.3s, I really didn't plan on turning it into a business," he explained.
Diesel Innovations consists of two types of business-building custom trucks for those who want work done on their vehicles and selling parts online. "We do a good part of our business making custom parts for people," he said.
Lott knows the 7.3 Power Stroke thoroughly. "We specialize in the 7.3 because we drive them every day."
Lott drives a 2000 F250 Crew Cab Power Stroke; Amanda drives a 2002 F250 crew cab short bed diesel; David Timothy drives the 2000 F250 eBay truck; Jayda drives a 2002 F250 Power Stroke; and Samantha drives a 2002 F350 crew cab short bed diesel.
"When we bought Samantha's truck, she wanted something pretty big. But she was expected to do as much of the fix-up and tuning as she was physically capable of doing," Lott said. He said it's good for the entire family to be familiar with the workings of their personal vehicles.
"This was a pretty big truck for a small-framed girl," Lott said. "And she can go through a tank of diesel pretty quickly." And at today's prices, Lott is encouraging his daughter to keep it parked a little more often.
KEY TO TUNING
Lott said the strength of Diesel Innovations is its ability to solve problems and tune the 7.3s. "Most guys like the power and will tolerate a few little quirks if their truck is putting out some major horsepower," Lott said. "However, women tend to nitpick things to death until their vehicle runs just perfectly and smooth."
So for Lott and his son, tuning for power is a natural, especially when they spend so much time at the track. But for his wife, daughter and daughter-in-law, they are constantly tuning to take out any stutter, cough or jerk in the engine's performance.
"When people call in with a problem, chances are that we've already solved it with one of our own vehicles and know exactly what to do," he said. And with the women's input, Lott is capable of solving even the most minor problems.
If something isn't working, rather than just bolting on new parts and hoping that solves things, Lott tries to isolate the problem and rule out what it's not before throwing money at it. On the eBay truck he had an IPR sensor go bad. Although he knew that was the problem, he made certain of it by troubleshooting everything else before putting on the part. His philosophy: It saves money and it solves the real problems, not just masks them.
Diesel Innovations' projects involve more than just work on basic street vehicles. Lott has an F250 diesel truck he has built for the race track. "Actually, it started out as my driving-around truck . but it got too nice and too valuable to put on the streets," he explained. Lott also has built a chassis for drag racing, which is still a work in progress. And he is also working on a 1995 Ford Bronco that he's converted over to diesel and is in the process of putting a 2005 suspension under it to beef it up for the weight of the diesel engine.
"I think when I'm done with the Bronco, it will be a real nice vehicle to drive around town," Lott said.
For now, Lott will continue to buy junk and try to find the value in it. He'll continue to improve on the vehicles he drives and help others with tuning issues as they crop up. Because for Lott, it's not just a job, but another opportunity to do what he does best.