How 'bout a 6.9 international ? Almost a ford engine. way cheaper to buy and easier to set up than a powerstroke, and thicker cyl walls than the early 7.3. Just a thought. Nothing against 300's or FH V8s. I love them too.

 

I like the idea of putting a modern international engine in those fat fenders. the down side to that is it would take a f250 donor( prefer running), an taking the whole 4wd drive train. something like 95-97 powerstoke vehicle are in a reasonable price range. Both axles would have to be narrowed most likely. It might be easier to drop the body on the f250 chassis at that point. I would like something DI and trubo'd from the factory, not the ones turbo added aftermarket.

Im not a deisel guy, however and old Ih truck with a modern deisel would turn heads.

From what I have read alot of the powerstroke versions have quite a few problems.

 

A 7.3 would be your best bet for a powerstroke. Very reliable engines.

 

A 7.3 with 2wd tranny would be a good candidate, but I dont think they made alot of them that way. Maybe the IDI non turbos they did. But as said before not as desired.

 

I dont think the dually trucks were available in 4wd back then so any dually with a 7.3 would be a candidate. The only problem is that they used a signal from the rear end for the speedo so i dont know how you would get your speedo to work .

 

Im willing to do whatever. but this is her truck, and most importantly her money. the 4.9L I6 is a cheap and durable engine, it is hard to turn that down. the one i saved had weak oil pressure at start up, which means the pump is going out or the fibro gear is plugging up the pick up screen. With 108k, most likely new pump and a metal timing gear the engine could be running again. As long as the bearings look good with the feeler gauge, while the pan is off. Keep it efi with the E4od, or rip off the efi and mate my extra zf to it.

 

'92 from the factory 7.3, 5spd ZF man tran, dually. Paid 3500. a couple years back with 88,000 miles. I know all 3 PO's. Hard miles, but an excellent truck. I should have put my '59 cab on it instead all I have been through with my diesel conversion in that. So they did make them, maybe not a lot of them.

 

Talked to some IH guys. One in particular who did a 7.3 swap.cutting away most of the inner fenders, a dog house for 8 inches of clearance through the firewall, and a well over $1k custom radiator. Doesnt sound like the 7.3 will be a good swap for this truck. Makes me have a sad face.

 

How about a 4 banger Cummins? It'll fit with less modifications, they can use a transmission from an inline 6 Cummins, and they're easy to work on. Not to mention the aftermarket is full of stuff for them.

If you're gonna go with a diesel swap of any kind, check out www.4btswaps.com. Keep us updated!

 

yeah 4bt is an option we are both interested in atm. Supposedly a stock radiator can cool the 3.9 and this truck has a new oneand appears to be aluminum.

 

We got Big Red in the garage. It pretty much takes up the rest of the garage lol. One thing we agreed on real quick is the widow makers have to go. I got the drum/hub off the fronts. As well as the drum backing plate complete with the brake shoes etc( never tore the brakes apart ) Down to the king pins currently.I need to borrow a good heat wrench to assist in taking the pins out. Other than that pretty smooth so far.

What we are going to do is remove the drum from the hub. Turn down a casting line on the wheel face and drop holes for 8x 6.5 pattern. Going to try and lug mount some rotors on the back side of the hub flange, just as the drums were attached. Then make a bracket that use the 4 holes for the drum backing plate bolts for the caliper bracket. ( guessing the bigger Effies could or already do the same thing. 6x7.25 pattern OMG).

Still havent taken the wheels off the rear end yet. Havent dropped string for WMS to WMS. But drum backing to drum backing is 58". And the IH corporate axle has some pretty wide drums. I imagine a dodge or ford dana axle will fit nicely back there.

I was hesitant at first, but I am starting to appreciate this truck. I think the 2wd 8 lug is going to be a win for this old beast. And yes the sd220 still runs. We still want diesel. 4bt down the road kinda thing. Hard to turn away from this $100 300 I6.