All 87 to 93 IDI Guys What Do You Think???

[Supercab79]

Boy this post should set a lot of peoples hair on fire. As you can see by my sig I own one of each a 6.9, 7.3IDI turboed, and a 7.3PSD with a fair amount of mod's. All 3 trucks run everyday if needed, are inspected, all have 110,000 miles and are within 15,000 miles of each other and all 3 are in great mech and cosmetic shape, all run 4:10's and the 93 and 97 are autos. Now before the 93 I was running an 89 7.3 F-250 4x4 5spd and a few gasser in between.

However I want to ask anyone else out there if they too feel the way I do? I'm 32 years old and love 2 hobbies #1 87 to 97 Ford trucks and my newest passion camping with our 1 yr old in our 5th wheel. What better way to enjoy the first hobby than needing it pull the second hobby. Now alittle over 2 years ago for the first time in my life I was able to look into buying a new or newer truck and after having 3 IDI's I wanted something alittle rare and different. Well I NEVER and still don't like the STOOPER DOOTIES (My Opinion) and since I couldn't afford a new 97 back in 97 why not have the newest OBS in a crew cab short bed 4X4 PSD XLT. Well the hunt was on after a lot of time and searching I went 12 hrs to MI to get it and after hearing all the hype about the PSD power I was ready to be wowed. NOT

From the fake gas petal feel to the no more power of the turboed IDI I started down a road of uncertainty thinking, what was all the hype about? Add an 11,000lb 5th wheel and every mod other than injectors and an IC and it still runs high EGT's ans struggles. Now don't get me wrong unloaded around town it is fun and goes fast. But really doesn't like to Work hard or should I say comfortably.

With all that being said I now find myself with enough money to buy another truck and looking back I thought at this point in my life I would be buying new finally right? Wrong? I have been combing EBAY and the truck trader for a 88 to 91 IDI CC 4x4 to do a frame off resto to. And pull my fifth wheel with.

I can't put into words the pride or the feel of an IDI. Whether it's and old 6.9 or a very respectable 7.3 Turboed the seat of the pants feel is that of pure torque and power and as it may not win a drag race it does whatever is asked of it with ease.

One last side bar I have owned a lot of trucks and only 2 have ever left me on the side of the road a 1979 Chevy once and the 1997 PSD TWICE.

Don't get me wrong the 94 and up 7.3's are great motors and trucks and these are just my opinions but the joy and pride I feel behind the wheel of an IDI is real. So to all you guys still putting around in your old IDI my hats off to you.

Thanks Marc [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ndh]

i'm with you brother! i LOVE my truck! i feel like John Wayne or something when i drive it. a lot of times i don't even listen to the radio when i'm driving because i just enjoy listening to the sound of that idi purring like a pissed off sewing machine lol...

[netzgeist]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm with you brother! i LOVE my truck! i feel like John Wayne or something when i drive it. a lot of times i don't even listen to the radio when i'm driving because i just enjoy listening to the sound of that idi purring like a pissed off sewing machine lol...

[/ QUOTE ]
Same here! I won't say that owning my old truck hasn't come with some work, but with any vehicle that's almost 20 yrs old, there will be things to fix/repair. What I like about mine is that I actually CAN fix it. The fact that it's 100% mechanical (including the tranny) makes it SO much easier to repair (not to mention the parts are cheaper). And yes, the sound is great! One of my co-workers just picked up an '06 powerjoke (with the 6.0). I pulled up the other day in my idi and my coworker commented on how much he loved to hear me drive up in the morning because my engine sounded so much better than his! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif[/img]

[luckys420]

What do I think??? I love my truck. It the first diesel truck that I have owned. However, after driving a '94 cummins for work ( it was wrapped in dodge sheet metal) I would have to say that if your looking for new, and by that I mean more power, you should get your selk a good, possibly rebuilt cummins. and put it in your truck. youll ave all the power you need and a nice truck to ride in...

[kipamore]

It's extremely interesting which vehicles you fall in "love" with and which ones you don't. It certainly isn't rational. When I see a Corvette or a '57 Chevy I don't feel anything. Ferraris and Porches are nice and everything but don't do a thing for me. But show me a Valiant station wagon and I go ape. And, of course, everybody is completely different and entirely unpredictable on what they really dig.

But we live in a very unique time right now. Things are structured such a way that if you decide you like the IDI, you in fact CAN have one for dirt cheap and keep it for the rest of your life. The differenece is the internet - getting parts and support for an old oddball machine is a click away. Think of what it was like before the net! Imagine trying to get a rear CV boot for a 1951 diesel Benz 4 door. In 1970! In Iowa. At night. During a snowstorm! You'd have more money in long distance phone calls than you would in the car. Forgettaboutit.

And if you have to fall in love with something, you picked a good one. This ain't no 20k between rebuilds Peugot! This ain't no 5mpg dual quad Desoto Hemi. Wear parts are as common as it comes, and there's less of them and they are DIRT cheap. Furthermore there will NEVER be a time when you can't get them. NEVER. If I can still get Nash Metropolian parts (which I can easily on the web) then you will never want for IDI parts. Even if Ford and International go out of business, there will still be parts galore. Sweet.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the IDI and the old Cummins will become the small block Chevy's of the future. If a large chunk of the soccer moms convert to diesel (which I think they will in the next 30 years) then the hot rodders will pick up on the mechanical oldies. That narrows it down a lot, and I think the IDI is the ticket because it fits in the space of any V8, and it's heavy but not so heavy you couldn't slam it into a Chevelle or Merc or Model A (or a Corvette or 57 chevy for that matter). Can you imagine what a great hot rod that would be for some future 22 year old? Some kid who's used drywall screws to mount a cheap turbo IDI into a 67 New Yorker Station Wagon! He gets 30mpg, run low 14s, and just for kicks he's got a winch on the front bumper. He's exempt so he runs NO MUFFLERS - strait pipes. His girlfriend takes all his money, so he runs used motor oil and transmission fluid as fuel, along with some kero, some stolen lard, and some home heating oil. He can rebuild his own IP as easily as his ancient counterpart could rebuild a carburator. Instead of a bunch of fancy stuff, his toolkit is a $20 Sears job that he got for christmas. He doesn't even need a multimeter! Just a test lamp! How cool is that. His buddies have a fleet of similar rods - IDI jeep, IDI Honda Accord, IDI Crown Vic done up like a cop car, IDI Astro minivan, IDI Miata, and IDI Mustang LX. I dig it.

Kip On Truckin'
-bored on a sunday-

[Supercab79]

Now thats the type of reply I'm talking about. I love this site I love the fact that other people are out there that love something as much as I do. I love that in 3 hrs 4 of them took the time to voice their opinion. And all about an IDI to boot.

You know since I started to camp I really didn't think about how great these IDI's really are. Everyone is so focused on going faster or getting there 10 mins before the next guy. Well now all I can say that when you stare at a pyrometer on 1100 and trans temp at 200 for 4 staight hrs it takes some of the fun out of a trip just trying to keep up to the speed limit. And wondering when the chip or the CPS is going to Crap out. Well lets just say that all the miles in the IDI are set the cruise and sit back and enjoy the drone of the motor humming along.

I guess the days of over building and under powering are over and so are the days of a million mile motor run on 8000 mile oil changes and walmart filters and burning anything combustable in the tanks.
AHH I guess it's only progress YAHH right----IDI TILL I DIE-----

Marc

[Nitrochris]

Thanks! Good read. I have an 89 regular cab that has very low miles for it's age. It is like show room condition and I love it. People at work think it's an ugly gas hog. I just look at them and shake my head. They are clueless. I always drive with the radio off and my wife is like " aren't you going to listen to something?" I say " I am" "I'm listening to that engine hum, doesn't it sound good?" haha I am thinking about taking the muffler off of it and putting in straight pipe. Will this hurt anything or make it too loud?

[celticthor]

I love my 88 IDI even though I still have some mechanical issues to fix its by far the the most fun to drive (I have driven every diesel from a 85 Peterbuilt with a bulldozer motor to all the new diesels) and to answer the question to the guy wanting to put a straight pipe, put in a exhaust system with a cutout that way if you dont want to wake up people in the middle of the night you can run it easy and the exhaust will come out the tailpipe but when you get on it, it will come out the cutout and it will sound like a big block dragster

[sojerguy]

So what exactly do you have against us 94 7.3 IDI factory turbos??? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

I mean we have larger diameter push rods and have more power, but other than that ....
ahhh [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img] its an inadequacy issue! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]

My apologies for not catching on right away. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Just being a wise a@@. Guys this thread just changed my mind. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Since I'm looking at another deployment to the sand zone in about 120 days, I WAS considering on moving the truck. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]

No longer. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/phoney.gif[/img]

Thanks

[dslmechanic]

I am a huge fan of the idi motor and so is my wife I offered to buy her a new psd and she told me I could keep the truck and the payment and she would pay for the divorce. Tell me she aint a keeper. I have a 94 idi and I am planning a total restore in the spring 07. my wife drives her ever trusting 93 idi with over 300,000 and has told me to start planning a total restore on hers in 07. just to let you guys know we enjoy our old wagons versus the new I drive an 06 super duty and I give my boss a hard time abuot how gutless it is on take offs I don't care what anybody say's you can make the idi run better and longer than the new ones . keep the hammer down on the idi's.

[MyDTpickup]

I put way more money into my truck then it may be "worth" but to me its worth all of that. I enjoy building truck to my own specs and 6.9 and 7.3 Diesel power is still my hands down favorites. aint nothin like the IDI.

[agnem]

What's wrong with the 83 to 86's? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] I assume since it sounds like you haven't owned one maybe that's why you didn't include them in your spread. Either that, or you didn't like the way they looked. Nobody has loved the IDI longer than us 83' guys. Nearly a quarter of a century and still counting.

[MyDTpickup]

My 86 owns my 88 by a long shot

[Supercab79]

I wasn't picking out anyone I just didn't put them in because I wasn't posting down in the 6.9 page. Just an over site. One of the guys with a 94 said the same thing. Again just an oversite. My favorite thing about the 80 to 86 models was the gauge cluster and the thin grip steering wheel.

All these posts are great guys thanks!
Marc

[Garbage_Mechanic]

I drive an 86 F250 6.9 every day 80 miles. I dont want a new truck either. Most people are suprised by the performance and crisp shifting of the C6 trans. It's all stock except the soup bowl and Banks 3" exhaust and y pipe. Just did a 1,000 mile trip and got almost 17mpg with wind, mountains and not driving slow. Don't want a new pickup.
I went out of my way to find the 91 in my sig, instead of newer one. It gets used every other day this time of year to fed the cows on the other ranch.
My wife got her first personal IDI in 90, ran it untill 300k in 94, got a 90 with Banks turbo. Later I rebuilt it and ported the heads etc. I wish I hadnt traded that truck but we needed a crew cab. It ran strong and got up to 19 mpg. Suprised some people!
I traded it on a 96 PSD. We were disapointed with the performance at first. The 90 and 91 both outran it. BUT now that I have modded the PSD, there is no comparison. It will run harder and not blow up. But there is a lot more complication and cost.
A Ford with a mechanical Cummins is a dream vehicle too. More durable than IDI, more power potential. Have to try that once I guess.