Build day – · Cheyenne, Wyoming

RIVALA 7.3 Powerstroke built from the block up for a 1959 Ford F600

One truck. One engine. Built once, built forever. A 1959 Ford F600 that hauled lumber out of Laramie, reborn around a 7.3 Powerstroke that will outlive everyone who touched it. Gold block, red stripes, no shortcuts. Follow it from bare block to first start.

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400–450Crank horsepower goal · 215 as found
–Days into the build
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Where the build stands

Gold is done, red is happening now.

0% complete
Core foundDealers Diesel reman 7.3, OBS blockDone
TeardownHeads off, rotating assembly out, every part photographedDone
Parts in discussionRods, pistons, cam, valvetrain, injectors, oiling, girdleOngoing
Machine shopFamily Machine, Denver: bake, blast, bore, deck, line honeUp now
Powder coatBlock and heads in metallic goldNext
AssemblyLong block built and balancedPlanned
Chassis4x4 conversion on the original F600 frame, built 4R100Planned
First startThe day the Faithful hear itNo deadline
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The goal
AS FOUND · 215 HP GOAL 0 500
400–450crank horsepower, built to tow

The game plan so far

Over-spec on purpose, because reliability is the whole point. Nothing here is set in stone: make something better and it gets a look.

Block and bottom end

A forged, girdled, line-honed foundation. Carrillo rods, coated pistons, a steel main girdle, high-volume oiling, and welded piston cooling jets, all built around a block that has to outlive the truck.

Valvetrain

A billet Stage 2 cam on new roller lifters, new rockers, thick-wall pushrods and heavy springs. Quiet, hydraulic, and strong enough that it never becomes the weak link.

Cylinder heads

Fully rebuilt heads with stainless valves, hardened seats, stainless injector cups and a competition valve job, sealed by ARP studs over multi-layer stainless gaskets.

Fuel and high-pressure oil

Split-shot injectors sized for a quiet cold idle and all-day towing, fed by an upgraded high-pressure oil pump, a lift pump and a regulated return.

Air and exhaust

Thick cast manifolds, billet intake plenums and a wastegated S300-class turbo. Enough air for the goal without giving up low-end drivability.

Cooling, electrical, finish

A radiator sized to the F600, a full electrical refresh, real gauges, ARP hardware throughout, and a block and heads in 49ers metallic gold.

Selected current pick, always open to a better onePending waiting on a measurement or a final pickPlanned in the plan, not yet specified
See the full build list

Why Rival

Named after a jersey worn exactly once.

On January 4, 2026, the San Francisco 49ers took the field against Seattle in a uniform nobody had seen before: midnight black, red stripes, red numbers outlined in gold, a gold facemask. Nike called it the Rivalries uniform. They wore it one game.

The truck came with its own story on the door: "Deal Lumber & Const. Co., Laramie, Wyo., FR-5-4866," hand-lettered in 1959 and still readable through sixty-plus years of Wyoming weather. A working truck from the start.

This engine carries the same colors for the same reason. It's a one-of-one, built by Jake, aka El Coyote, a diesel technician in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on his own time and his own dime, because the 7.3 is the engine that made the Powerstroke name and a 1959 Ford F600 deserves one done right. Every part on this page was researched, compared, and chosen by him. Rival is the one that gets to show off.

Metallic gold block and heads. Red accents. A black engine bay to make it all pop.

Latest from the build

From the build log. Newest day first.

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Latest photo

On the bench

Every photo from the build, newest first. Tap to enlarge, arrow keys to flip through.

Get involved

This build is better with more eyes on it. Two ways in.

Got an idea? Send it.

Seen a part that belongs on a 7.3? Run one of these setups yourself? Think the red should go somewhere specific? Send it over. The best ideas from followers end up in the build log with credit.

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Make parts for a 7.3? Here's what you get.

Rival is a one-of-one 7.3 Powerstroke going into a 1959 Ford F600 that will daily drive, tow, and show. Every part on it is named in the table above, so your part lives on this page for as long as the truck does.

  • Your part photographed on the bench and at install, logged with the part number
  • Your logo on the Rival build site, and a line in the permanent parts list with your name on it
  • Tagged posts at unboxing, install and first start
  • "Selected" means current pick. The right partner can change a pick, and the change gets written up with the reasons

The audience is real and growing, not huge. Ask and you get honest numbers. No hard deadline on this build, on purpose, and a straight answer on timing when you ask.

Why partner with RivalEmailInstagram

Faithful colors

The exact IDs, so the powder coater and the paint booth hit the same gold the helmet does.

49ers Red
HEX #AA0000
RGB 170, 0, 0
Pantone 187 C
Accents, placement TBD
49ers Gold
HEX #B3995D
RGB 179, 153, 93
Pantone 872 C Metallic
Block and heads, powder coated
Midnight Black
HEX #0B0B0C
RGB 11, 11, 12
Pantone Black 6 C
The engine bay itself

Red and gold are the 49ers' official brand values. The gold is a metallic, which is why the helmet reads the way it does, and why the block gets metallic powder.

The fine print

The full build plan, the daily log, the order list and the machine shop work order.

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