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Clifford

The Big, Red, ’06 Frame-Swapped Ford With A Compound Turbo 6.0L And 800 HP…

At first glance, Chris Miles’ 6.0L-powered ’03 F-350 looks like it’s been treated to an ‘05 front clip—a common upgrade among early Super Duty owners. But once you get a bit closer it quickly becomes apparent that there is much more at work here. After you spot the coil springs and the radius arms up front, you notice the ’14 tailgate, tail lights, and rear bumper, the ’08 mirrors and—if you take a look in the cab—the ’05 dash and seats. “I like everything about the ’05-newer Fords,” he tells us. “This truck was lifted when I bought it and it rode awful, so after I came across a good deal on a donor ’06 me and my best friend, Mike, got started on a complete frame swap.”

Under all the hot and cold-side piping in Chris Miles’ compound turbo arrangement, a battle-ready 6.0L Power Stroke sits in his ’03 F-350’s engine bay. The Warren Diesel-sourced long-block features a torque plate-honed block, a polished and balanced OEM crankshaft, Callies forged (Ultra Assassin) rods, coated Mahle factory replacement cast-aluminum pistons, and a Stage 2 camshaft from PSP Diesel. A set of PSP-ported and O-ringed, cast-iron heads have been treated to high-rev valve springs and anchor to the block via ARP Custom Age 625+ head studs.

Modern Frame, Suspension, And Looks

As the frame and axles were placed under the ’03 body, Chris performed a few inevitable upgrades. Among them was a set of 2-inch Rough Country coil spring spacers to level the truck, a Powertrax Lock-Right locker in the rear 10.5-inch Sterling for guaranteed traction, and PMF traction bars to ensure axle wrap is never an issue. Gloss black, 22×12-inch XD Grenade wheels, 33-inch Haida mud tires, custom badging, and the aforementioned 2014 tailgate, tail light, and rear bumper changes all served to improve the truck’s curb appeal. And then, of course, there were performance enhancements. Lots of them.

Thanks to SoCal Billet’s S300/S400 kit, installing compound turbos on the 6.0L was a bolt-on proposition for Chris. The atmosphere unit shown is an S480/96/1.32 with a T6 flange turbine housing that wears a turbo blanket. A billet, dual battery relocation tray makes the install possible, and the compounds work with the factory A/C and fan systems—although Chris elected to replace the OEM fan with a dual electric version from Flex-a-lite.

Warren Long-Block

In case you were wondering, yes the 6.0L Power Stroke has been pulled before, but it’s pretty safe to say that the last time it happened was the last time it will ever happen. The reason? Chris sourced a complete long-block from Warren Diesel. His specific build entailed Callies forged rods, coated Mahle pistons, a Stage 2 PSP Diesel camshaft, PSP ported and O-ringed heads, and ARP Custom Age 625+ head studs. A compound turbo kit from SoCal Billet crams plenty of boost through the CSF intercooler, the Odawgs Diesel S3R ported intake manifold, and ultimately into the cylinders. The system is comprised of an S480 atmosphere (low-pressure) charger paired with an S366 SX-E in the valley (high-pressure).

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Holding down the fort as far as the rear suspension and 10.5-inch Sterling are concerned is a set of Precision Metal Fab (PMF) traction bars. The Stage 2 units incorporate gussets welded to the bottom of the 1.75-inch (.250-inch wall) DOM tubing for added strength as well as a unique look. The truck’s untouched rear suspension retains the factory ride height.

A Healthy HEUI System

To support of a set of 225/75 injectors from Holders Diesel Performance, Chris pieced together his own regulated return and fuel supply systems. Things get started with a Bean Machine sump at the factory tank. Then, using a factory lift pump off of a 6.7L Power Stroke, fuel is pulled through a Baldwin water separator, the aforementioned 6.7L pump, and then a Cat fuel filter before heading for the injectors. The regulated return system is regulated to 65-psi via an adjustable Aeromotive regulator. Because the injectors are conventional units and not hybrids, Chris upgraded the high-pressure oil pump to one of RCD Performance’s Thumper II units. The Thumper II HPOP is supported by a billet low-pressure oil pump (LPOP) from Warren Diesel.

Along with the ’06 frame swap came the desired ‘05+ coil spring and radius arm front suspension. Here, you can see the 2-inch Rough Country coil spring spacers Chris added to level the truck up. Of course, it’s also hard to miss the 4-inch, 304 stainless steel downpipe attached to the massive S480 atmosphere turbo, which routes inside the passenger side frame rail.

Road-Ripping TorqShift

Keeping his transmission build local, Chris had Certified Transmission of Omaha fortify the 5R110 automatic. Coined its Road Ripper 3000, it’s held everything Chris has thrown at it so far‚ which is saying something for a truck that weighs 8,200 pounds on a quarter tank of fuel. Chris did add a four-disc converter from Diesel Performance Converters (DPC), a 13-inch billet front cover unit with a 2,200-rpm stall speed that he says matches the S366/S480 compound arrangement perfectly. Truck Source Diesel, by working its magic inside the TCM, ensures the five-speed slushbox’s shifts are always on-point.

In the valley, on a 6061 pedestal and with heat-wrapped 304 stainless steel up-pipes linking it to a set of BD Diesel exhaust manifolds, sits an S366 SX-E. The T4 flange S300 sports a forged milled compressor wheel (66mm), a 73mm turbine, and a .91 A/R exhaust housing. The S366 SX-E/S480 combo forces 60-psi of boost through a CSF intercooler, and Chris reports he has zero problem cleaning up the 225cc, 75-percent nozzle injectors he runs from Holders Diesel Performance injectors.

The Big Payoff

Pieced together in his home garage over the winter of 2021-2022, Chris would get home from work, eat dinner, visit with the family for a few hours, and then chip away at the truck for several hours each night. It’s the kind of owner-built story we love to hear, the type of story that helps inspire countless others to dive into a fresh build or finish the one they’ve already started. The payoff for Chris is that all of the late nights and money has resulted in one of the more unique Super Duty’s you’ll come across, and with what is likely one of the most powerful 6.0L Power Strokes you’ll encounter as well.

Chris brought the ’05-newer theme into the cab as well. His work here entailed a complete ’05 model year dash swap and installing heated, leather seats from an ’05 Lariat trim Super Duty. Up closer to eye-level, you’ll find the Edge Insight CTS3 monitor Chris uses to keep tabs on the engine, transmission, turbos, and fuel system.
Going beyond the ’05-’07 timeframe, Chris installed a pair of power fold mirrors off of an ’08 model Super Duty. For those that don’t know, this isn’t exactly a “quick” conversion to pull off on an early Super Duty. And even though Chris doesn’t tow with his ’03 as much as he used to (he now relies on a 6.7L Power Stroke for most of that), if he ever does need to hook onto a trailer these mirrors will make his life much easier.
After passing through the 4-inch downpipe and exhaust system that’s routed under the cab, exhaust makes its final exit via an 8-inch stack in the bed. Further late-model Super Duty upgrades visible here are the tailgate, rear bumper, and tail lights off of a ’14. Also notice the ’08-’10 rear differential cover.

 

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