“Snowblind” at a gas station.

By Kelby Morgan

In the year 2000, Ford Motor Company was already producing the best diesel engine ever made: the 7.3L Powerstroke Turbo Diesel. These engines are continuously known for how slow they are; however, they are also known for the ability to pull a house off of its foundation. With 275 horsepower, and 550 lb-ft of torque, the power the 7.3L contains is incomparable to any other diesel engine in a pickup truck.

In America, truck culture is very popular, but not everyone knows much about it. The truck community consists people who share interests in building and modifying their trucks. While most of the people who do this have normal, day-to-day jobs, some content creators make money off of posting videos of their trucks, or other people’s trucks. Truck meets, an event that consists of hundreds of truck people coming together, take place all over the country. This is where people compare and compliment each other’s creativity. Being a part of the truck community, I have always had an interest in building a truck that would stick out from the rest.

In 2023, I was lucky enough to invest in a white 2000 F-350 7.3L Powerstroke Turbo Diesel with the Lariat package, with a manual transmission. Even though it’s 24 years old, this truck is the highlight of my truck-building career. I have learned about making repairs and adding modifications to the truck, both aesthetic parts for looks and parts under the hood for better performance. 

I bought the truck on October 4, 2023, from a 16-year old near Harrisonburg. After bargaining down from $13,000 to $9,000, I knew that this bone stock truck, straight from the factory with no modifications, had an incredible amount of potential for growth. 

After previously owning two white trucks, both named “White Lightning,” I knew I needed to find a new name. When I bought this truck, I was in my Black Sabbath era, and my favorite song at the time was “Snowblind.” Since the truck was white, I knew that this would be a perfect name for it. I liked the song “Snowblind” because of how well guitarist Tony Iommi played his solos and interludes, and how singer Ozzy Osbourne stretched his vocal range while stressing how severe addiction is. The song just sounded nearly perfect to me, so I had to name my truck after it. 

I drove the truck in stock condition for a month until I finally decided it was time for some modifications. My first modification was a new air intake system, so that more air could get to the turbo, creating more horsepower and speed. This was an easy mod to add to the engine, since where it needed to go was very accessible. This made the turbo make more noise and sound astronomically better, with a much louder whistling sound.

Now it was time to make the truck even louder. My friend Harry Parsons, a student from Godwin High School, and I spent about five hours cutting out the whole exhaust system and replacing it with a 4-inch straight pipe exhaust made by MBRP. “Straight pipe” means that there is no muffler on the exhaust, making the truck much louder. After struggling to get the clamps off of the exhaust header, the new chrome exhaust system, with an 8-inch tip off the end, made the truck sound incredible. Adding the exhaust system was definitely a harder task due to how much the pipes weighed, and just the fact that being under the truck while cutting the old rusty exhaust into pieces is not easy. However, the new sound of the truck made it incredibly worth the struggle. I honestly had no idea what I was doing. Using Youtube instructional videos for help, as I often do, I just attacked the project myself, with no prior experience. 

The straight pipes allowed the turbo to breathe more, giving me access to put a chip tune onto the truck. The tune is the most iconic modification added to diesel trucks. Putting tunes on a diesel allows the truck to make more horsepower and “roll coal.” Rolling coal is when a driver will step on the gas and allow the truck to release an incredible amount of black smoke from the exhaust. When I put my tune on, I was finally able to do this amazing trick.

The tune I put onto my truck is called a Hydra Chip. The Hydra Chip is a little clicker that allows you to put up to 99 different tunes onto the truck to give the truck different performance mods. I downloaded six tunes for my truck. My first tune was the stock tune. This tune is just the factory tune that doesn’t effect the truck in any way. The second tune I downloaded was a 1200 RPM high idle tune. This tune is for when it is very cold outside. I am able to set the Hydra Chip to tune 2, and the high idle makes the truck rev up to 1200 RPMs at an idle, so that it warms up faster. My third tune is what I always drive on. This tune is a 65 hp tow tune, which adds 65hp to the engine and also shifts much smoother, even if I am not towing a trailer. However, if I am towing a heavier trailer, like a gooseneck, I switch to tune 4. Tune 4 is an 85hp towing tune, which gives the truck more horsepower to pull the trailer and when hauling a heavier load. My fifth tune is an 85 hp “Daily Driver” tune. I do not drive on this tune due to the fact that I have no need to be pushing an additional 85hp for no reason. Lastly, my sixth tune is an additional 180 hp “Pro Race” tune. I will never drive on this tune due to the fact that throwing an additional 180hp while driving down the road will simply blow my engine to nothing. Having these tunes, however, has improved the truck drastically by giving it much more power and an all-around better driving experience. 

The new tunes created shifting problems, however, causing the clutch to go out. With this situation, I was forced to buy a new clutch and install it. This took a day, but it was a great experience learning how to install a clutch. I installed a racing clutch, which is stronger and much sturdier when I shift through the gears.

“Snowblind” with new wheels and tires.

After the engine performance was completed, it was time for smaller aesthetics. I added a newer style of tow mirrors that come on a 2011-2016 F-350, and a Cobra CB Radio and antenna whip. These smaller mods made the truck look much better, and it also made it easy and enjoyable to be able to talk to truck drivers on the road.

After some easier modifications, I started another incredibly difficult project. I installed my own 3.5 inch Supreme Suspension front-end leveling kit, which raised the truck up 3.5 inches, which, for a vehicle, is shockingly larger than expected. Installing the leveling kit was a 12-hour total process, from starting by taking off the wheels and brake calipers to completely dropping the front axle and adding 3.5 inch blocks under the front leaf pack. Now my truck was high enough and ready for new wheels and tires.

I upgraded to 2016 F-350 King Ranch model wheels and threw on a set of Nitto Trail Grapps size 37×12.50r20 tires. This made the truck shine, with beautiful chrome wheels and meaty tires. 

My next addition to Snowblind are some new headlights. I decided to add headlights that are made for a 2005-2007 F-350. Knowing that I have a 2000 F-350, I knew that the 05-05 headlights would not fit. However, I took this challenge, and with the help of YouTube and my wrenches, I was able to complete the headlights in a little over seven hours. These took longer than expected, due to me having to spend so much time cutting out the original housing that held the old headlights in. With help from my dad, we finally got the beautiful new chrome headlights to match the chrome bumper. 

Now that it has more power and looks glorious, Snowblind is one of my greatest accomplishments.

All photos by Kelby Morgan.