I found a truck on Craigslist that I'm looking into (have not seen in person yet).

1994 F350. The seller claims to be the son of the original owner.

He said it's "made for DRW but has single wheels" (bed is a single wheel bed, so I'm not sure what made for duals means..)

Since it's a 94 I asked if it was the turbo IDI or powerstroke and his response is
"Direct Turbo 7.3 Cummins"

(I've never heard of a 7.3 cummins so even if it is a Cummins I'm suspicious on that)

I said I'd not seen a Cummins in a Ford, and asked if he was sure it was a Cummins not an International, and he said it's a Cummins and that his dad special ordered it that way for hauling heavy equipment. He didn't have a picture of the engine on hand.

I ran the VIN on decode this and it shows as a "7.3L V8 OHV 16V TURBO DIESEL" which I'm still not sure if that would be a powerstroke or turbo IDI, but I'd think if it were a non-standard engine the VIN would have some indication.

Does anyone have any idea what could be the deal? I'm assuming it's the normal 7.3 Navistar and he's just confused but I'm just wondering if this could be a really really special truck.

Thoughts??

 

Yeah he don't know what he's talking about.

OR, thinks you don't know what you're talking about, and is trying to BS you into thinking it's special.

Direct Turbo? Yeah... no.

 

I ran the VIN decode on the Ford website and it says International...

Any way to tell from the VIN if it's a Powerstroke or IDI? It's vin code F. My understanding was that in 1994 you could get a NA 7.3, Turbo 7.3 IDI or "Powerstroke". Did the 1994 Powerstroke still have the "Powerstroke" badge right under the F250/350 badge?

It's an attractive price and 100k miles. I'm guessing he just thinks diesel=cummins.

I'm looking at 2 94's now, one definitely has a "turbo diesel" badge which I'm assuming means it's the IDI, and the other looks like it has the "powerstroke" badge (the one with the factory 7.3 cummins lol)

The turbo IDI is 300k miles, and missing A/C components, 4x4 ext cab F250
the (I think) Powerstroke is a F350 2wd crew cab with 102k miles and "everything works like new"

both are the same price. I want 4x4 but a 1994 with 102k miles and everything works like new at this price ($5k) seems hard to pass up.

Any reason to avoid a 1994 Powerstroke?

 

Ha ha ha!!!! That seller is so full of ___________ it's not even funny...

 

yeah,the guy just doesn't know,that's all.
not everyone is well versed with diesel brands and sizes etc.
vin F = 7.3l power stroke.

no.there is no reason to avoid this year psd engine.

the '94 your looking at w/ 100k sounds well worth 5k.
(with that said,i would never pay this much for a 2wd truck.you can't expect him to just give it away either with no miles on it though and if it's as clean as 100k miles should be.)
the turbo idi truck w/ 300k is likely not worth over 2k.

if you need 4wd,not just want it,then wright off both these trucks if the vin code F truck is 2wd and keep looking.

 

All 95 F-250/F350/F-superdutys DIESEL go an INTERNATIONAL 7.3
NO CUMMINS in a light duty truck. ONLY F650 and large had that OPTION of a 5.9 or 8.3.
Cummins never made a 7.3

You could get a naturally aspirated IDI(vim M),
A turbo IDI(vin K),
or a Direct injection Powerstroke(vin F).

Those were the ONLY choices for a diesel

The passenger valve cover(on a power stroke) will say INTERNATIONAL and 215hp

As fir the fender badge. 94s had "turbo diesel"(Vin F or K) The powerstroke badge did not come out till 95

Also. The 94 powerstrokes were ONLY offered with a MANUAL trans. the engine was not"smart" enough to run the engine and auto trans

 

Cummins to my knowledge never made a 7.3L they made an 8.3L I believe that was used in medium duty trucks. F650 up.
But talk about a BS job. So built for dual with a single bed??? So they wrecked the truck & put on a single axle bed on????
I would forget this truck unless it is FREE.

Craig

 

Thanks for the vin engine breakdown, that is very helpful! Actually both trucks were psd, but the 4x4 sold presumedly close to the asking price. I have decided to not look at the 2wd as I just think I want 4x4 and don't feel like converting.

A 94 turbo 4x4 ext cab for $2k? I wish I lived in that market. $2k around here gets you a 88-90 that needs work. I paid $1800 for my current truck. A nice psd with 200k approaches $10k here, probably why that 94 sold in 2 days even with 300k and no a/c