Meet Big Brown

[primetime]

Thought I`d post this up since there is`nt a lot going on these days and every little bit helps, right? Story post coming, but are`nt all of mine??

So. I`m never satisfied. I have a real problem with impulse control also. Y`all may or may not remember Big Blue, my 460 swapped, Dana 60 swapped 93 F250 that I built then drove a few years. I love that that truck. Still have it. But Northern Michigan is not kind to vehicles.

In 2016 I bought a 2004 cc/sb F250 with a 6 oh no because it was a good deal. But it was`nt the right truck. The crew cab was great for the room, but a short bed truck is a car with a big trunk as far as I`m concerned lol. And it`s just as long by itself as Big Blue with the plow attached. But I`d wanted to get back into a diesel for a long time, and it was a good deal.

Meanwhile I`ve been keeping an eye out for another truck. I wanted a regular cab. And because I`m an engine snob and don`t want no base engine, and I`m poor, I wanted a 05-10 V10, or an 05-07 6 oh no. I also prefer XLT trucks. And after using my stepdads new v plow, preferably with a v plow. Want much? Nope.

So guess what you don`t see a lot of?

So back around March a dude posted on Craigslist a 2006 F350 regular cab. V10. V plow. XL, 4" lift. No thanks. Then he reposted it a couple weeks later. Aaaand I thought about it for a few days then called him (remember the hard to find part?). Did I mention it was on the other side of the state about 3 hours away? Big Blue was also, and did`nt have an engine. At least this one ran

So the little woman and I jumped in her truck and bombed over to look at it. The next day I beat him up $500 on the price (cost to remove the lift kit) and went back to get it.

So here it is. Several months later lol.









So the tailpipe was in the back of truck and it had a glasspack that pointed up at the floor of the bed. Man that was a miserable 3 hour ride home. For those that don`t know, V10`s are loud and buzzy. Priority 1b, was dealing with the exhaust. 1a was figuring why I could`nt put fuel in it.

So. It`s a 2006 F350, XL with chrome package so it does`nt look like you were a cheap/broke fawker, it has most of what you need, V10, auto, upfitter switches, factory brake controller, cruise, air, tilt, FX4, and 4.10 gears. It also does`nt have stuff that I really like such as power windows and locks, power heated mirrors (man I miss those), carpet on the floor, and a good radio. Luckily for me the guy I got it from put an XLT seat in it, because like he said the factory seat sucked.

He also put a new engine in it. He bought it with 97,000 miles on it with a miss. It`d just had a tuneup (3V remember). He put new plugs and a couple coils on it, no change. Took it to the local Ford dealer and they figured out that pieces of the #1 intake valve were broken off. And quoted him $4800 to fix it. It was $6800 to do both heads while it was apart. They told him $5800 for a new long block. That`s the route he took. Receipts are still in the glove box.

I`ll post some more later. Ninja tired

[dustybumpers]

Nice bit of history
Welcome back!
I have a v10 in my 06 e450. That truck will rock. Loaded or empty, she dont care.
Keep an eye open for gas stations tho.
Mine has a 4.56 rear, so at 70 mph you can watch the gas gauge move even with the torque 5 trans

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[Jasperrc]

Good looking' truck!

[fatherdoug]

Nice!

[primetime]

Thanks guys. It is a good looking truck. It gets a lot of compliments I can`t take credit for. The color is kind of unique. A lot of people mistake it for gray. I did when I first rolled up on it.

Charlie. Yep, the 3V V10s are no slouches. it`s very responsive off the get. I`ve towed 14,000 lbs with it and I thought it did just fine. Mileage? Well, I haven`t checked that really. We don`t buy one ton trucks with the big gas engine for their fuel efficiency though, do we? It did get 9.5 on a 200 mile Thanksgiving Day cannonball ball run to rescue my uncles V8 Durango that broke down 100 miles from home. I didn`t think that was too bad. it was a harder pill to swallow than I thought it would be going from my 6 leakers 18 mpg back to 10-12. And inspite of the weight disadvantage, the 6 oh no feels faster and is a little more fun to drive if you are into sliding them around corners on occasion.

So how about some more pics? We all love pics.


Sitting at work the morning after I got it home.



A load of hard maple slab cut offs from work. Stuff that was too big to fit in the chipper. I love that I can take this truck out into the woods and put two face cord of hardwood in the back and it doesn`t faze it.

I`m not too sure about the exhaust sound though. Nothing beats a V8 as far as I`m concerned. It did sound pretty wicked though with the Dynomax Race Magnum and 3 1/2" tailpipe with 14,000 lbs behind it.

[john112deere]

Originally Posted by primetime

Thanks guys. It is a good looking truck. It gets a lot of compliments I can`t take credit for. The color is kind of unique. A lot of people mistake it for gray. I did when I first rolled up on it.

I've always liked that brown.

[dustybumpers]

Our 06 f 150 crew is that color. It's amazing how many people call it gray...
I love the color!

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[primetime]

It sparkles quite nicely in the sun when it`s clean. Hard to keep it clean living and working on a gravel road, but I can`t stand white trucks either, so. Gotta give up something.

[primetime]

A few mornings last week it was making a banging noise moving after sitting. I figured it was the just calipers freezing up due to the mild winter we`ve been having. Then I noticed a grinding while stepping on the brakes at a stop sign Saturday in town. Sure enough the inside pad on the left rear was down to bare metal and chewing up the rotor.

Did I mention I put new calipers, pads, and rotors on the rear in July? And that it was after the parts store I get a discount at in town was closed?

Tore it apart Sunday morning, caliper is fine, brake hose is fine, cannonball 20 miles to the next town over to get a rotor and a set of pads. I had the stuff for the oil change it was due for and did that as well. Stepdaughters car got an oil change also. All that and some other stuff shot my first day off in three weeks in the tush lol.

We also got 6" of snow dumped on us Sunday, so Monday after work it plowed three drives plus ours.

[primetime]

I checked the fuel mileage just for grins. Keep in mind I leave the hubs locked and the plow on. The plow is knocking on 1,000 lbs door, plus there is 500 lbs in the bed for ballast. One tank with no plowing was 8.4, the next with plowing was 7.9. It warms up for maybe 5 minutes in the morning leaving for work, and I`m not in the habit of leaving stuff idle outside stores unless it`s 10 degrees or below.

That`s a solid 1.5 better then Big Blue. Big Blue also had the dubious honor of achieving 3.6 MPG during a snow event that dropped about 10" on us several years ago lol.