DANIEL SAYRES LEARNED FROM DIESEL EVENTS TO TRANSFORM HIS OWN 2000 F-350

Twenty-six year old paint and body man, Daniel Sayres, from Washington, West Virginia has had his 2000 standard cab Ford 7.3 liter F-350 since he was 16. It started out as his high school transportation, took him on his first date with his wife, Kayla, and then through their years of travel across the eastern United States. The truck became important to him as he fell in love with the diesel enthusiast lifestyle, despite performance diesel not really catching on in his area. As he got to a point in his life where he could begin to do some custom work to his truck, Sayres knew the visuals wouldn’t be a problem. In his line of work, he was positive he could craft exactly what he wanted in his lifelong truck. But when it came to the mechanics behind the diesel rig, he did not have much experience. His love for the growing motorsport and for his trusty F-350, though, would not let him give up on the venture as he set out to attend any diesel event he could find and soak up any information he could. With advice and knowledge scoured from every show his side of the Mississippi river that he could get to, he developed the ideas that would marinate in his mind over the years. With help from his friends and family as well as support from Custom Images Auto Body in Waverly, WV, Sayres set out to transform his truck into a whole new machine.

In his chosen career, Sayres was able to craft an outstanding look to his ride before he dug into the mechanics of the Ford. He was not going to be satisfied with just a new coat of paint on his machine, so he set out to do some sleek modifications and updates. After he bought an OEM replacement bed for the original box, he set out to work in some custom elements. In the rear, Sayres fit and mounted a 2008 Ford tailgate to add a sleeker look as well as an update with the modern Super Duty logo embossed into it. He then converted the front bumper to fit a 2005 model and swapped in smoked Harley Davidson edition headlights. One of his modifications that stand out the most is the hand built billet grille with a custom housing and a Cobra emblem mounted in the lower driver’s side corner.

As the look was coming together, Sayres had plans to take it to another level with a Harvest Gold paintjob and custom laid painted graphics. What many may take for a vinyl graphic neatly laid on the sides of his ride, is actually paint. After he spent months of his free time after work disassembling and repainting everything on the truck, Sayres laid out his custom stripes inspired by the classic Boss Mustang look with his own diesel oriented touches, taping it off completely by hand before he sprayed it and covered the truck in a slick glossy clear coat.

Completing the look of the aggressive street performance truck are the Fuel 20×12 wheels paired with Yokohama Parada Spec-X 285/50R20 tires. To tighten up the upgraded tires hold on the pavement, Sayres also outfitted the rig with custom traction bars. With a finished product on the outside, he would now begin to turn his attention to retooling the rest of the machine.

For the interior, Sayres didn’t want anything to flashy. He installed a 2004 Harley Davidson edition dash bezel and plumbed in switches for his front brake line lock and torque converter lock-up control. Sayres also installed an Auto Meter gauge pod as he learned how vital it was keep track of his engine’s stats when he built up his performance. A Memphis 12-inch subwoofer and 1500 watt amplifier were installed to bump up the stereo, but were wired into the factory head unit to keep a clean and understated look to the interior.

After training with the diesel gurus of the east, Sayres was ready for his first plunge into the mechanics of his F-350. His first purchase was a performance rebuild for his 4R100 transmission handled by the experts at Brian’s Truck Shop in Lead Hill, Arkansas. To bolster the drivetrain, a 6.0L Power Stroke trans cooler and a Precision triple disk torque converter were also installed to complete the transmission upgrade and make sure it would handle anything he threw at it. But as Sayres began the upgrades, the fever for more kicked in.

Once he took time again to soak up more knowledge from countless diesel events and the friends he continued to gain in the industry, Sayres was ready to delve into the heart of his F-350. He had plans for a streetable performance machine and when he pulled up to his house one night, the next two months of free nights would be spent with his truck under the knife in his home garage until he reached his goal. Sayres installed Full Force 250-200 injectors and a Marty’s Aeromotive 1000 fuel system. The intake manifold was upgraded and an Irate T4 manifold was installed to make room for a larger turbo. Airflow out of the engine was maximized with four-inch exhaust and was routed into a seven-inch stack coming out the front passenger side of the bed through the tonneau cover. For boost, Sayres installed a Borg Warner 467.7 turbocharger to replace the weak factory charger. After the TS Performance 6-position module with Gear Head Tunes was installed and setup, the Power Stroke was putting out around 600 horsepower and 1200 pound feet of torque. But Sayres couldn’t leave the engine at that, so he made sure its looks were up to snuff by painting the valve covers and intercooler pipes to match the truck.

Coming down to the wire, Sayres wasn’t sure he was going to get the truck completed for the 2015 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza. But coming together with his friends, he was able to wrap the truck up and get it down the road. The machine proved its mettle on the 14 hour drive as it made its way from West Virginia to Indiana for the Extravaganza. And once it arrived, it did not find a little racing action outside of Indi-anapolis…and it most definitely did not stay door to door with a Dodge Challenger Hell-cat… All in all, Sayres was happy with his transformation as he showed it off at one of the biggest diesel events of the year. He looks forward to the future of the truck as well, with nitrous, lowering, adding CalTracs to bite the track better and a fuel cell in the bed. The up-coming year of events looks bright for Sayres’ old friend of an F-350.

After a decade long relationship with the truck, Sayres built up his knowledge of the diesel industry over the years and finally got the chance to make his beloved truck into everything it deserved to be. He successfully transformed the former high school runner into a street performance beast ready to take on any road trip while blasting the doors off nearly any rival. A true testament to the motor-sport he couldn’t help but fall in love with. UDBG

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