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with the truck. He is obviously still nurturing that love affair 16 years later as he continues to put his passion for diesel performance into the old girl. Through the years the truck has been babied, only driven on the sunny days, washed anytime it saw rain or snow and has been through quite the transformation, in both looks and performance.

Around 2005, Gibson got hooked up with then Wide Open Performance of Sandy, Utah, where owner Zane Koch and his crew really started to amp up the performance of that 250-hp 7.3L Power Stroke. The stock engine was upgraded with some Stage II 180cc Hypermax injectors, a Hypermax high-flow intercooler kit and a custom turbocharger from Bell Turbo was mounted on a Hypermax T4I install kit. To ensure there would never be transmission problems from the stock automatic, it was rebuilt and upgraded by Brian’s Truck Shop of Lead Hill, Arkansas. Custom internals, performance valve body and triple-disc torque converter was going to be more than enough for whatever power level the truck ended up at. Wide Open also installed a bigger transmission cooler and lines from a V10 Super Duty truck. The truck made a very respectable 400 hp with that combo, but the massive lift and tires were killing the drivability and Gibson was ready to make some changes.