As diesel fanatics, we understand how simple it is to make big power numbers, so beating up on the gas-powered crowd never gets old. Especially when we know we can gain four or five times as much power for the same amount of money. This brings us to our latest low-buck build, which pits our '97 7.3L Power Stroke against a '96 5.8L gasser. We'll give you one guess as to which one made more power, both stock and afterward...
Baselines
While we realized our 7.3L already had a displacement edge over our 5.8L, factory horsepower ratings were close, at 225 for the Power Stroke and 210 for the gasser. With this in mind, we took both vehicles to DC Performance's dyno in Los Angeles for some baseline rear-wheel numbers. At the wheels, the gasser made just under 150 hp at 3,700 rpm and the Power Stroke laid down just under 160 hp at 3,000 rpm. Torque numbers were 246 lb-ft at 2,900 rpm for the 5.8L, and 281 lb-ft at 2,600 rpm for the 7.3L. This was a good start, as both horsepower and torque numbers were pretty close. And, when calculating drivetrain losses of 25-30 percent, both vehicles' factory power ratings at the flywheel seem pretty accurate.
Budget Power Stroke
Hunting down a clean, old-body style Ford is getting harder by the day. Some enthusiasts have already labeled them classics in the diesel community. Getting an F-350 similar to ours from a private party will probably cost you at least $7,500, while you should expect to pay around $10,000 at a dealership. While not cheap, you get what you pay for-a tough, proven truck, and the bulletproof 7.3L. So, maybe you're in college, high school, don't want a huge payment or insurance bill, or maybe you just don't want to let go of your old-body style workhorse because it's been so good to you. If any of these circumstances apply to you, then this is your story.
 Our 7.3L's first dyno run...  Our 7.3L's first dyno run at DC Performance yielded 159.84 hp at 3,000 rpm and 281.86 lb-ft of torque at 2,600 rpm. Calculated with our long-bed, crew cab's endlessly long driveline, a 30-percent loss supports the truck's factory 225hp flywheel rating. |  Our parts list consisted of...  Our parts list consisted of a TransGo shift kit, gauges, three-pod pillar, TS Performance six-position chip, 4-inch MBRP exhaust and Stage 1 injectors (and yes, there are four more than are shown here). If you're an old-body style Ford follower, chances are you've heard of Bean's Diesel Performance. Except for the shift kit, Bean's provided us everything we needed. |  First, we took our F-350 to...  First, we took our F-350 to Inglewood Transmission in Fullerton, California, to get our TransGo shift kit installed. TransGo offers both an E4OD-HD2 kit and a Tugger kit for the 4R100, which is compatible with the E4OD. We opted for the HD2 kit, as the truck rarely tows anything. |