Here we are, almost a full year into ownership of this little truck and look at it now. You'd never know it was once a fleet owned vehicle that spent its days chasing parts. With economic times as tough as they've been, we bought this truck on the cheap, like $3500 cheap . with hopes of showing you 7.3L Power Stroke guys that this platform isn't dead yet. There are still plenty of aftermarket products out there for these trucks, you just need to know where to look.
We started this build-up in the February issue of Diesel Tech, not really knowing at that point where the road of performance and cosmetics would lead. We just wanted to turn our XL model work truck into a fun little daily driver, something with some style and plenty of pep under the hood. First on the list of upgrades were the basics, AFE Stage II intake, Hypermax 5-inch single exhaust, and a full set of gauges from Autometer.
In the April issue we took the look of the truck a little farther, with another front-end upgrade, some new 20-inch wheels and tires and some Stage II injectors from Hypermax Engineering, along with their H2E turbocharger system.
The third installment of the build brought around some big cosmetic changes. We bolted on a full fiberglass cowl induction hood from Cervini's Auto Design, a Larado Roll-up cover from AgriCover, and sent the truck off to the paint shop for a new two-tone look. We also upgraded the fuel system in the truck with a Regulated Return system from ITP Diesel and an AirDog FP-100 fuel preporator system.