Hi there,

I was at an auction a few years ago. I was there to help a girlfriend buy a used vehicle. We won the bidding on her dream car and then I decided to have a look around at all of the cars. I saw three Ford 4X4 trucks and I started to look them over. There was only one truck that I was interested in and I decided to hang around the auction to see how much it was selling for.

Well, the first two 4X4s sold for $22,000 each and I was still curious to see how much the truck I was interest in, would sell for. No one was bidding on my dream truck and the price got down to $5,000, so I stuck up my hand and bought it. I never regretted buying that truck. It has been really good to me.

It was a 1997 F350 4X4 crewcab with custom flat deck. It has the 7.3 litre powerstroke turbodiesel engine with a five speed standard transmission and manual locking hubs. The rear axle has an electric locker. The tires were in great shape and so far, I bought a new shifter **** and a K&N air filter for it.

My next step is to remove the catalytic converter and muffler to allow this engine to breathe a little better. I was also thinking about changing the gear ratio to a better highway gear because I don't pull anything with it. I just like driving it. This beast weighs almost 8,000 lbs at the scales. It's a good thing that it has anti-lock brakes. I'm debating whether to go to taller tires or just change out the crown and pinion gears. Anyway, I've enjoyed reading all of the great information at this website and I hope to contribute any information that I discover along the way.

 

Welcome to FTE, another Canadian, eh. Sounds like a great deal on a nice Ford truck, congrats and it`s nice to see that you are enjoying it.
Check out the 1994.5 - 1997 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel forum where there is alot of info on these trucks.

 

I've been spending most of my time on that particular thread.

How's the weather in Saskatoon? Its getting a little bit chilly in my neck of the woods. It's supposed to go to -20C and I don't doubt it. We usually get the Chinook winds in the middle of winter and the grass starts to turn green again. I love living so close to the mountains. Never a dull moment.

The F350 likes the mountains. I like going up the steep grade just east of Field, B.C. All of the traffic is just crawling up that hill and my truck just accelerates the whole way up. Lots of power... The crew cab allows plenty of space for the passengers. The flat deck on the back makes loading and unloading my cargo really easy.

I picked up a small hydraulic forklift for my shop and now loading and unloading just got that much easier. The forklift is one of those push around models that don't take up much space but can lift 2500 lbs to 11 feet high. I have to be careful because the ceiling in the garage is only 10 feet high. This might be a problem one of these days. I installed pallet racks down one side of the garage and now all of the heavy stuff is up off the floor. Floor space is prime real estate in my shop. If I'd only learn to quit dragging home more toys. The latest is a hovercraft project.

 

We`re in for some real cold weather, tonite it`s going down to a windy - 21 C and that`s the best it`s going to be in the next week or so! Looks like in the mid/ lower -20`s
I hear you about ceilings, one of my shops has a 10 ft and the other isn`t much better at 11.5 ft. This is ok most of the time but once in awhile I lift the Bobcat arms too high when I`m lifting something around.
My floor space is getting tight with welders, chop saw, torches and lots of work, storage benches. Along with too many projects laying around, my latest is a 3 year one, a 56 M100 under going a major resto rodding.

 

Man, and I thought that I had a lot of projects. I just noticed the list of vehicles that you are working on.

What sort of welders do you use? I used to own a Mig but traded it in on a TIG. I put the TIG together as a scratch start system using the WeldCraft 200 amp aircooled torch head and the (10 lb lunchbox style) Lincoln DC inverter unit (V100S). Its a little portable 120v 100 amp inverter. I use straight argon with a fixed regulator for the gasflow. The Weldcraft torch has an adjustable **** for controlling the airflow.

I've still got the old Lincoln 225 buzz box around for the heavy stuff.

My oxy-acetylene torches are the Victor, the Henrob and the Meco Midget. I recently picked up a plasma cutter in the metal recycling yard for $30. I was surprised that it only took $2 worth of parts to fix it. What some people will throw away...

 

I`ve got a 220 volt 135 amp mig, a small 220 plasma, a 225 ac/dc and a set of torches so I`m set there, just need alot more time to play.
The plasma I bought from a freind that repairs them, it was brought in for warranty as it had a short in it. It never did get fixed and was left behind for a long while. Then one day Dan had another one in his shop for some repairs so he switched the tip and found out that was the only problem. I got almost a new plasma for less than half price.
Don`t forget to check out the Alberta/British Columbia Chapter, you may like to join it. Also check us out in the Manitoba / Saskatchewan Chapter and the Canadian National Chapter. Happy reading, see you in the FTE forums.