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1972 Ford F-250 4x4 Feels Like the Right Highboy After Powerstroke Turbo Swap

In between lots of modern heroes or monsters, such as Ford's 2022 F-150 Tremor or Lightning and Hennessey Performance's 1,012-horsepower Mammoth 6x6 that just went into production, there is always time for a little patina and well-thought personalization, right?
1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era 16 photos
Photo: Ford Era / YouTube
1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era1972 Ford F-250 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel swap on Ford Era
Sure, everyone probably loves how pickup trucks have almost reached their tipping point and after 702-horsepower Ram TRXs and rivaling F-150 Raptor Rs there is no other future but the battery-powered EV one. But that does not mean people are not going to feel nostalgic about older generations or just abandon ICE for being too polluting and way noisier.

Opposite those reactions, many folks actually love both the legendary Blue Oval F-Series and tinkering with their old-fashioned pickup truck. Sometimes, they will even go as far as swapping their OEM gas engines with diesel powerplants to get better mileage, lots of low-rev torque, and a little update on technology. But, on the other hand, the original patina remains a shiny, classic armor to attest to their passion for vintage stuff...

Rarer now and in between lots of projects, Solomon Lunger – the affable and knowledgeable host of the Ford Era channel on YouTube – is back with another one of his cool “What The Truck?” episodes. Interestingly, the latest two features have both focused on F-250s in general and diesel engine swaps in particular. But we feel the 1978 F-250 Crew Cab with a 12V Cummins is not that interesting (we still have that episode embedded second below), as opposed to an earlier 4x4 unit.

The patina-ridden 1972 F-250 4x4 joined the “Highboy” club courtesy of its owner/builder and is now the epitome of a work-in-progress, heartfelt project. The owner will soon add Dakota Digital and Vintage Air stuff to the workhorse interior, but until then, its biggest attraction (aside from the four-inch lift, among others) would be what it hides under the hood.

That would be a clean-looking 7.3-liter Powerstroke turbo diesel swap that came along with its ZF five-speed transmission from the 1997 model year donor. And while the ride-along is rather short, it is still plenty obvious this F-250 loves quiet rides and long, 1,600-mile (2,575 km) road trips to and from events...

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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