New Jersey Man Scraps Truck After State Deems It Illegal Due to Deleted Diesel

Turns out New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection trolls Facebook Marketplace looking for illegally modified vehicles, including deleted diesel trucks.

Enthusiasts have been modifying their vehicles to extract more power from them since the very birth of the hot rod movement, and that trend has continued with modern-day trucks, too. These days, we have a plethora of modifications available that help increase horsepower, torque, and even fuel economy, and many of us have done precisely that. However, the world of the deleted diesel – or powerplants that have had emissions equipment like their diesel particulate filters and/or EGR valves removed – is one that’s been targeted by the EPA in recent years as it attempts to crack down on these types of modifications. Unfortunately for New Jersey resident Mike Sebold, he was singled out and ultimately decided to quite literally destroy his Ram pickup as a result.

This sad end to a long saga began months ago, when Sebold listed his truck for sale on Facebook Marketplace, noting that it’s powered by a deleted diesel engine. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) apparently came across the post and flagged it, promptly sending Sebold a letter that essentially gave him two choices – either return his truck to stock or scrap it. What followed was months of back and forth between the two parties.

Sebold tried to plea with the state to allow him to convert the truck for off-road-only use to serve in competitive situations, but DEP continued to inform him that this wasn’t an option. He even sent his license plates back to the state to prove that he was serious about not driving it on public roadways. While some would simply say that returning it to stock is the wise choice here, Sebold noted that it would cost him around $10,000 to do so, which isn’t economically viable, even for a truck like this.

Thus, he ultimately decided to part it out and then have it crushed, posting the evidence of its destruction to his Facebook page. Even for a Ford fan, it’s tough to see something like this go down, because it could have happened to any of us. There are many, many deleted diesel pickups out there running around, and all it takes is one simple word in a social media post to force us to make the difficult decision of either shelling out a ton of cash to “fix it” or destroy our pickups altogether.

What’s particularly interesting about this case is the fact that no one from DEP has ever even inspected the truck in person, which means that had Sebold not noted that it was deleted in his for sale ad, this likely would have never happened. Regardless, we should let this story serve as a cautionary tale, particularly for anyone that lives in a state with stricter emissions laws. While many have gotten away with circumventing those regulations for years now, it seems as if those days are quickly coming to an end.

Photos: Mike Sebold

Join the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forums now!

Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.