Welcome To Sleeperville

Inside a Stock-Appearing, 550hp 7.3L

- Mike McGlothlin

Not everyone sets out to perform a general repair on their truck and then proceeds to add 300 hp to it—but that’s exactly what David Beach ended up doing to his ’01 F-250. With the 7.3L Power Stroke’s factory up-pipes beginning to leak, he decided to upgrade to a more durable set, which then morphed into the need for a completely new turbo arrangement in the valley. But then, what purpose does a larger turbo serve without more fuel to go along with it?

Forged Beginnings

In order to know exactly how far he could push things, Beach first had to find out which type of connecting rods resided in the block. And after pulling the pipe plug next to the oil cooler pad, he was relieved to find studs on the rod caps, which meant his 7.3L was equipped with forged steel rods and not the weaker powdered-metal units typically found in ’01-03 model year engines. As far as his horsepower plans were concerned, this meant full steam ahead.

Big Air