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[94F350Fred]

Hey’all, I have been doing a lot of reading on your forum and want to start off by saying what a great bunch you all are. I’m very excited to have found this forum and really appreciate all the information. So thank you and thank you for reading my first post and for any feedback.

I finally did it! Last week I got me a diesel and this truck is bad ass to say the least. It’s a stock 1994 F350 XLT 4x4 Crew Cab with a 5 Speed Manual, 7.3 IDI Turbo and an 8ft. bed! I got this truck for what I think is a good deal at $3,800 with 270K miles. It’s not necessarily an amazing deal but I was particular about what I wanted.

As you can see from the pics below (I'll add more asap) the truck is in good shape but needs some work and I intend on sprucing it up and making it look and run great. What is hard to tell from the pics is that it has been sitting and baking out in the sun for a long time and the clear coat is practically gone.

I know it has no major rust problem (little surface rust) and I drove it from San Angelo, Tx to Orlando, FL (about 1,400 miles) with no problems at all. Mechanically speaking (at least from what I can tell as a home wrench twister!) the truck is in great shape. Did not burn any oil nor did it overheat. No oil leaks and ran at 75 - 80 miles/hour with ease. After the long drive it started up from the first try although from time to time I get a bit of smoke.

With that said, I would like to know your thoughts on what I should consider doing to this truck and specifically from a mechanical and performance stand point. Any heads up I should know about or be proactive about.

From what I have read so far, I need to be looking into an air intake, down pipes and a dual exhaust system, ATS turbo upgrade, pyro, increase boost, and fuel. I want to have these things done but don’t know if the 270K mile engine, transmission and sun backed rubber parts can handle it.

Assuming you were to have a reasonable repair and spruce up budget (limit is before wife burns you and the truck... lol), on what kind of things would you invest in?

Wow, sorry for the long first post but you’all know what you are talking about here and would love to hear from you.

Thanks in advance… Fred