If you are shopping for a Ford Super Duty, the odds are good that you might end up with a Power Stroke diesel engine. Ford’s Power Stroke diesels have battled back and forth with Ram and General Motors diesel options to serve as the most powerful and the most capable engines in the consumer market. Based on the importance of the Power Stroke diesel in the Super Duty, it is hard to imagine a time when there was no diesel option for the F-Series, but it actually wasn’t that long ago.
The first factory-built Ford F-Series with a diesel engine was offered for the 1983 model year and it wasn’t a Power Stroke. Back then, the Ford diesel truck engines were built by International Harvester. The first diesel F-Series engine measured 6.9-liters and offered 150 horsepower and 285 lb-ft of torque. There was also a stronger diesel option that year with 170 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque.
While mild by today’s standards, those early Ford F-Series diesel engines unlocked a whole new world of working abilities to the consumer market in the F-250 and F-350.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.