Guy here did that and put a propane tank in that space. Works well he said!

 

Sounds like a little envy in your post Sure, you can install a basic chip or programmer for some decent gains on an otherwise stock truck. That is the great thing about electronic control. But, anyone with even a shred of mechanical knowledge, a little money and this forum (or DieselStop, or OBN) can do the same thing with their IDI. It's a different means to the same end.
But, the guys with both kinds of engines that are making the big power have done their research, experimented with what does and doesn't work, and keep building for more. Look at how many 7.3's that Dave went through before building his 6.9.


An IDI making 250 rwhp or a compound turbo'd 5.9 making 1000 hp? Both are pretty damn impressive, if you ask me. Although I wouldn't own one, the Duramax is awesome right out of the box and downright nasty when they are tweaked.

Here's the difference with this truck. Even with a built IDI, it is still only a $7-8K truck, tops. The Cummins really makes it stand out and is unique. From what I can see, the swap looks to be really clean and well done. And lots of money spent in the right places. It is probably worth near the $14K that they are asking.

Jason

 

I don't particularly like the cummins, but if that swap was done right I would consider a truck at that price even if it is technically an "older" truck.

Although I would probably add 2 grand if it were a 78 crewcab in comparable condition with a diesel. I really have a thing for the 70s fords though.

I did see a really nice 4bt conversion on a 88 up chevy 1500 the other day. Guy even let me take a couple snaps of it and he says its a great setup and is very happy with it.

 

Sure, a fast truck puts a smile on my face! That's all that ever crossed my mind 2 years ago when I was a senior in High School. Burning rubber and burning gas was what life revolved around for a few months. But now trucks have a different role in my eyes since I now rely on my trucks to do work for me. Hauling my landscape equipment, mulch, stone/gravel, topsoil, etc. is a job for a useful flatbed (Just wish it dumped!) not some hot-shot pickup truck.
Trucks laying down that much power are useless except for looking pretty and drag racing. I won't even say the word Duramax, those pieces of garbage are worth more in scrap metal witht heir aluminum heads. From Duramax owners I've spoken with...1/2 have positive feelings and 1/2 have negative feelings. Negative feelings because of computer/electronic code issues, fuel system issues, and overall expensive trucks.
Put a load and actually do work with it, and it'll break the rest of the truck...proving to be unreliable due to too much power.
I joke with my buddies, "What good is all that horsepower if the driveshaft is broke and it can't move itself?" They usually show me up by rolling coal and leaving me in a cloud of black smoke, making me look like a fool.
But, I get them because they're such pansies that they won't even work with their trucks so the truck they call "old and gutless" does all the labor. My slow truck won't break any land speed records, but it WILL ALWAYS keep on puttering on. Not fast, but it ALWAYS gets the job done. I am now addicted to the IDI engine and some fancy high-power Cummins is useless to me. The cheap, simple, and effective IDI gets the job done.

 

If i had the money and resources, I bet i could build an IDI that could compete with the new Duracraps and Cumaparts. Im chock full of ideas, just lack the fundage lol

 

that still impresses you? i cant pick up a 8lug, diesel power mag or even scan on youtube without seeing a dozen of them. new ones i had not seen before. it stops being impressive when theres a million of em out there.

 

yeah.im with you.but this whole setup here is a play truck.no ones going to buy it because it would make a good work rig.
i wanna know how they make all the $ for the fuel to burn.
i set mine up to maintain the best fuel economy i could while transforming it,which i feel dang proud of btw.
the less overhead = the more $ we pocket per job BlueOvalBud.

let your buddies spend all their $ in fuel with toy trucks.in the end,your the one that's going to have something.

 

I'm impressed by the ones that can keep it up for more than a quarter mile

 

Sure, the world is flooded with them. But when you have one under foot, it'll put a smile on your face every time. Even at 1/2 of that power level.

Jason

 

give me something different over "oh, just another one of those" any day. id rather have a jetta tdi swapped into a 70's dautson pickup with slicks then to see another obs with a cummins

 

I guess the whole cummins swaps/buildup can get tiresome after a while with so many out there. Personally I like this one better:

YouTube - 1970 DMC Cummins Diesel Monte Carlo smokes tires

If I were to build some sort of horsepower or drag racing monster, it wouldn't be a pickup truck. Too tall, too heavy, and too wasteful. Not saying it couldn't be done because it has - many times, I just feel that to make a pickup into some sort of weekend drag racer is a bit of an oxymoron since thats not what they are designed for.

Doesn't feel right to be building a truck that isn't earning it's keep anymore.

 

You know, you can have both a truck that gets decent mileage and is reliable and still makes plenty of power to put a smile on your face or suprise someone who doesn't suspect what's under the hood. Stock or mildly tuned.

Sure, they are useless for everyday use. But so is a 7000 hp Funny Car. But it doesn't make them any less impressive.

The very early D-Max's did go through some growing pains, but so has the PSD, Cummins and even the early IDI's. How much more of a problem have the D-Max heads been compared to say, the 7.3's cavitation issues? There are a lot of them on the road. I know guys that have anywhere from 60K to 600K miles on their Duramax's, modded and stock. And the majority of them are happy with them. And from the amount of high horsepower modded trucks out there that are being daily driven and used, they don't deserve the reputation given by some.
Computer and electronics affect all late model diesels (I think the #1 spare part recommended for 7.3 PSD owners to carry is the engine position sensor). Same with fuel systems. Many of the issues with late model diesels are related to the lack of knowledge by new diesel owners on how to take care of them.

My IDI was considered expensive back in '93, too.

With the right driver, you can have lots of power and not tear anything up. But it's not for everybody. There are guys that I work with that can be given 600 horsepower, rarely break anything, and make drive tires last forever. And then give another guy a turned down BCIII with 350 hp and they twist drivelines, break axles and rearends every day. And funny thing is, the higher horsepower trucks get consistently 2-3 mpg better fuel mileage.


Maybe it's just the guys you hang around with. I know several guys that buy new trucks every few years and immediately put them to work. Hauling, pulling and abusing them every day. I know of one hotshot hauler that loaded his Dodge to just under 50K lbs GCVW and made an 1100 mile run with it. This truck is getting worked like this every day. Think an IDI F-Super Duty can match that every day, and not go broke?

The original point was not really about high horsepower though. It's that having a reliable, powerful, OE engine transplant in a nice truck isn't a negative. And there is no reason that you couldn't buy that truck and put it to work tomorrow. No matter what the job is.

Jason