Listen up Guys/Gals I am starting this thread for people to throw some ideas at me to for making a tribute truck to my Stepfather.

I'm working with a 97 short bed F250 7.3 crew cab 4x4. This was a truck my stepfather purchased for me when we were working together in the hay fields and used to haul hay to a lot of places in FLA.. I Had to go back to real job in 08 and after that someone else was using it ,and well lets say they were less than kind to my Truck. In 2010 He passed away due to complications of heart failure. after that the truck was just sitting. Anyway people lets have some ideas. I dont want to radical I still want to drive on a daily basis. I want to keep the white body with gold trim I think it has a clean look.

 

Well, if I were building a tribute vehicle, I'd put it back the way it was when he was still with us. Sorry about your loss by the way. You could make it completely the same on the outside, but maybe pep up the motor a little so its more fun to drive. Anything he would have wanted or liked I'd try and include.

Have a good time with it, and keep us updated. Pics are nice!

 

Welcome to FTE!!

Sounds like an awesome project. I've never been in on a tribute build, but I would probably try to include some details highlighting things that he loved while keeping the appearance of the truck it was while he was still with you. It should be a fun project and we are more than happy to help you along the way.

 

Sorry for your loss.
I agree with the above.
Whatch out for Travis. He likes to spend others money. Lol

 

Thanks for the responses, POP was about his power and torque when it came to his trucks. The stock look it is then thanks again guys

 

I lost my father in 2010 also. Sorry for your loss, I know it's not easy. Was there anything that you guys had ever talked about doing to the truck? Any kind of mods that he had thought about? If so, try to do some of those things maybe. And when the truck is finished, maybe have a small "In Memory Of" plaque or sticker or something on or in the truck some where.

 

If he was about power and torque, we can definitely help you with that. You just decide how far you want to take it and how your going to use it. If your going to tow with it, you'll need to build it a little more with that in mind than purely for speed. 300, 400, 500, 600, heck 700+hp, we can help you. LOL

 

See when Travis post you can feel your wallet start to shrink Lol

 

Yea I see what ya mean with the wallet. I just had to replace the high pressure pump and now i believe the glow plug relay is bad I don't hear it kicking in and out with the key switch. And as far as the in memory plaque I'm ahead of ya on that one. I had one done on my daily driver the truck is green with gold trim f150 lariat 4x4 and my dad was a gun collector so I had a tribute plaque done in gold with a old antique 45. My stepfather raised me since I was 4 so I feel he is due something just as honorable, with the exception we did a lot of agriculture work together citrus and hay clearing land and what not. I don't want to do the old johndeer thing. I am thinking maybe a small lift changing the 16.5s to a 17 or maybe 18 and something simple 33 or 35 tires then make a plaque on the back glass in the gold trim with some kind of agriculture theme. I don't know much about building horsepower with the strokes I have always built street cars and one bbf 460 in a half ton f100 I had so keep the ideas coming I'm listening.

 

How are you going to use the truck? Just a cruiser? Tow pig? Maybe beat up on some ricers and sports cars here and there?

For starters, get you a 6637 intake from Clay and a turbo back exhaust system of your choice. You have many options on exhaust. 4", 5", dual stacks, single stack, duals behind the tires, etc.

Then comes gauges, which I usually also buy from Clay. Either Autometer or ISSPRO are great gauges. If it's an auto, you NEED pyro, boost, and trans temp gauges. If it's a manual trans, you don't need the trans temp gauge. Other gauges you can add are oil temp, water temp, a second pyro for the other bank of the engine, fuel pressure, or a scan gauge. There are 4 gauge a pillar pods available, steering column pods, and other gauge mounts available if you want to put more than just the 2 or 3 normal gauges in it.

Once intake, exhaust, and gauges are done we can look at making the driveline hold extra power before coaxing some power out of the engine. If you have an auto, a built trans or a ZF5 swap is in your future at some point if you do want more power and reliability. If you have a manual trans, all you will need to do is upgrade the clutch to handle more power.

Start with that stuff once you get the current problems with the truck fixed. First priority is obviously get it fixed and reliable again if it's been beat on like you say it was.

 

How about some pics?

 

I think I want to keep the auto tranny we went through about 3 before we had a custom build done on it. And custom tranny cooler as well its purdy stout. Even pulling a 36' gooseneck tailed with 20 round bailes of hay she would jerk from gear to gear. Bullet torque converter and all the lines were increase in size for more flow and the farels removed from the fittings. I believe it has a five ton tranny cooler is what we were told. But the guy that did it guaranteed it to out pull a standard. I already have the custom exhaust out to some six inch tips behind the tires. I do want to do the pillar mount gauge pods. I want to be able to see everything going on with the truck. I have 5k airbags on it as well cab controlled, but don't like the placement of that gauge. I liked what one of the members did on here with the king ranch interior too that was tight.

 

If your confident in that transmission, put about 450-500hp in front of it and see how stout it is. LOL. If anything is going to show you whether the trans is strong or not it's power. Now whether or not it's going to out pull a standard, ehhhhh IDK about that. LOL A well built auto can be better than the ZF5, but we're talking $4000-$5000 transmissions at that point.

 

I got to get out of here, my wallet is getting hot! This sounds like a great build. I hope you the best of luck on it. I have a fair number of stock parts for these trucks, so let me know if you need anything to get it back together. We need pictures though....


.....or else we think you're just trolling.

 

A scan gauge will let you keep an eye on trans temp, oil temp and a lot of other stuff.