I am nearing the end of my list for my truck to get it all set where i want it. That means that I will be pulling a 7.3 from the yard to build. I would like to be able to push decent power but be able to have it tuned down to be a good daily driver as well(good on fuel). is that reasonable? it will start with a full rebuild (if there is a kit out there that has everything in it thatd be nice if you can recommend one?) I plan to go .10 over(hopefully i find an engine that thats all it needs) Get a ground cam, injectors t500(or other recommended) some turbo (recommendations?) then to go with that i will need a better fuel system. The tranny that will be behind it will be a zf5/6(going to pull one as well) with either a triple disk or double disk clutch behind it. tuner will be a php hydra for simplicity.

Does that sound reasonable? what should be added? what do you recommend? what are things to look out for?

Also I would like to see the engine do 500k miles after the rebuild.

 

Riffraff has a good build kit. Options for piston machining and ceramic coating as well. A 38R is all you need for turbo unless you need over 500hp. The rest you seem to have thought of.

 

Riffraff Diesel sells nice rebuild kits and many other items needed for a project of this magnitude.

What do you intend to do with the truck? Tow? Kick around town? Open road? Farm implement? Rock climbing?

Power level: Mustang munchin' is out of the question when you want the truck street-friendly - but the truck can hark down a ricer or two for breakfast without being all twitchy and smokey. 400 HP is the upper end of a reliable truck that can pass any pokie on a two-lane grade with ease. Of course... the lower you go, the more reliable it will be. I have a race tune with my configuration that has been known to dish up 400HP - but I never use it. My DD tune has a max HP of 375, and my tow tune lands me somewhere around 300 HP.

Turbo: Do you want it to be Ford dealership/mechanic friendly, or do you want to have a high-performance turbo on there that is easily serviced and has parts widely available. I ask this because the drop-in 38R is expensive and can't be rebuilt - but it looks like it belongs in there. If you switch to a T4 turbo mount, you have serious money-saving options, but the Ford guy will wig out if he looks at it. His Ford book doesn't have detailed instructions on how to deal with it.

 

A couple of things to think about and this depends on you HP goals too. If your looking at anywhere around 400-500 HP, here's some parts you should consider doing at a minimum for a strong build, DD/Tow rig and week end play.
1. Factory Forged Rods.
2. ARP Head bolts.
3. Fire Ring kit is a good idea here.
4. RR return
5. Hutch & Harpoon mod
6. Good Fuel pump, I think it's a bosch you want.
7. 38R is great Turbo for this build.
8. 238/80 Injectors.
9. Supporting mods, AI, Exhaust, Tuner, Down pipes, IC boots, EXBP mod & pedestal, 4" exhaust, gauges,
If your plans are to go beyond 500 hp you will have a some changes to this list.
Such as
500/550 HP:
250/100 Injectors
HV LPOP
H-11 suds on Heads & bottom end.
Billet stud girdle
Billet rods
Mahle Pistons or Equivalent.
I'm sure there's more that needs to be on this list, just a few things I can think of.
Some of the items on this list might be a little over kill for the builds, but I always over build, it's cheap insurance in my opinion.
And from 550-600
300/200 inj
Fuel Sump system with 5/8 to Fass system, split T to 1/2 to the heads,(removing fuel bowl)
Head work/Port Polish 3 Angle cut Ford valves W heavier springs Manly/Beehive etc.
Crower Rods
Ceramic Coated pistons
Dry Film coat pistons skirts, all internal bearings and wrist pins.
BTS HPOP/Gen3
After market Intercooler
PP on the block fill.
With a bigger turbo like a GTX 4294r and tuning this build will put if not at 700 hp, dang close to it.
Just some ideas for yah.

 

Wow!! Good Info. I didn't want to overload the guy. Lol. Just a note. Mahle pistons are the stock pistons, and really there are no improved ones. BUT, Riffraff offers ceramic coating, and having them machine the lip off before coating drastically increases the dirability and heat range of the piston. Reasonably priced too. As far as I know, Riffraff is the only one offering the ceramic coating. I may be wrong.

 

The truck sees only occasional tow of a 6k boat trailer. Other than that id like to be fast. Id like to be able to able to keep up or pass my friends built thunderbird. I think that may be unrealistic as that should hit a 12 second 1/4. Itd be nice to throw it in front of a sled at a point and do decent but for the most part its daily driver a little offroad and some farm work as well.

Ideally id get a race tune a sled tune a tow tune and an econemy tune. And be able to do all well.

What about valves and valve springs since the riff raff kit does not include those? I like the riff raff kit and will be going with that unless a better option presents itself.
I do all my own work aside from machining. So the turbo can be anything

The 6637 filter, Bellowed up pipes, 4 in down pipe and 5 in exhaust are being fitted.

 

The Riffraff kit is the same as fords rebuild kit. Its for a stock build. You have to buy the upgrades to go farther. Its all what you really need and want. I wanted 500hp, so did the full pull. Valves, springs, seals, arp bolts, connecting rods, bearings, cam, lifters, seals, porting, injectors, machining , turbo, fuel systems, oil systems etc etc etc. Call Clay at Riffraff, and he will gladly listen to what you want, and his suggestions are experienced and golden. He basically designed my motor, and I got my 500hp+

 

Not making a sales pitch here, but 400 hp is not to be scoffed at - it's the torque at that power level that puts a stupid-*** grin on one's face. Let's see that Thunderbird deal with 800 ft/lbs of torque.

 

Nate w Unlimited Diesel can help you out with most of what your looking to do, Injectors, Crower Rods,Mahle Forged Piston's-coated & DFL-Delipped w Valve reliefs cut and all the Bearings & Wrist pins DFL'd, Fire ring kit, Valve's, springs etc, You can talk to Matt at GH for the cam and Tuning. He is in my Opinion, the best tuner out there. One area I will caution you about is the Heads. DONOT assume that your local engine builder can build your heads for this truck. This is not a gasser. The head PP work is very different and requires a guy with knowledge on these heads, there isn't much room for mistakes. Don't waste your $ doing a 6637 on this build. With what your looking for you will suck this filter in. Get an AFE washable air rade, AEM type filter. Not sure where your located, but I can't stress enough, do your research, make your phone calls etc. I too do all my own Mechanics, but I wasn't able to do my engine build this time around. JMO on some things here. Hope this helps yah out.

 

I smack 2015 Mustang GT's all the time on my hot tune. Got a bit more than 400 though. Hehehe. Its all in the launch though. Its hard to keep the tires on the ground with all that power. I have to feather it until 3rd gear lock up or it breaks loose. Another reason I can't wait to finish this dually conversion. More, traction!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ole Stinky can still lay it down, huh Rich? LOL very cool..

 

Im in Pennsylvania. The build will be sort of over time so i can send stuff out. The truck is on the road and will be until its time to drop the engine in.

When you say airrade do you mean something that drops into the stock airbox??? Or like one that does the same as the 6637 like a "cai"?

 

Give Clay over at Riffraff Diesel a call on it. They just machined a set of 7.3L and 6.0L Mahle pistons for me as well as did the ceramic coating and a set of Manley billet connecting rods which I like much better than the Crower, not to mention the price is a little better on them.

On thing to remember is make sure your whole build works together. It is easy to listen to 100 voices on the forums (of which 90 have never even done this build) and end up with something that isn't what you want. Talk to Clay, he is great about helping you stay on track for your build, and unluck like some other companies I buy 6.4L parts from he doesn't try and upsell you. Heck he talks me out of stuff sometimes, lol.

 

I'd be willing to bet that most engine/Machine shops work with a shop that does the coating. This has been my experience anyhow. Some call them by different names, Coating XYj blah blah blah.. I had mine done by swain tech, and they are proprietors to their secret coating, it came with a decoder ring, a 2 way raido watch, that the rotating time bezel on the watch can spin at high rpm's and can cut's thru 1" rope, while a grappling hook/pin can be shot out from the side case of the watch pin, should I have the need to pull a chevy out of the mudd. LOL... Hee hee hee.. No offense fellas just having some fun.. Yeah I saw it on a James Bond movie.. (Sean Connery)

 

The build is not hard at all. Mine was my first diesel build, and it was a piece of cake. The gassers I've done were harder. Just pay attention to detail, and torque specs and be real clean. Parts are heavy, so be careful. Use a good machine shop for your bore and balancing. Rest is easy. Don't be scared , its fun!! The heads can be done at any head shop, just be sure you provide the grind profiles for them as they are vastly different to a gasser. The valves are different too, so make sure you buy the right ones and exhaust and intake are different, even though they appear identical. Valve grinding the old valves is ok, but if your adding horse power not recommended, and really not a good idea as they barely handle the heat already. Thinning would weaken them. New is best.