2001 Ford F250 7.3 Powerstroke: Dad's truck, 8 years parked

The story

This 2001 Ford F250 used to be my dad's truck, and I got it from him in a straight-up trade. Powered by the 7.3 Powerstroke diesel and backed by the 4R100 automatic, it had been sitting for about eight years when it came home.

Why it sat

Dad had ignition trouble, so he replaced the ignition. Then the starter went out, so he replaced the starter. After that, the truck never started again, and he was done with it.

The walkaround

Most of the damage is cosmetic. A deer ran out in front of the truck one night and left damage I expect to hammer out. There's mildew, peeling paint, some surface rust, a piece of tire tread stuck up in the fender and moss inside the cab. The windshield is cracked. The more serious problem is up top: rust holes running across the top of the windshield.

One click

Under the hood, the engine bay is rusty, but everything is there and hooked up. The replacement ignition had been pulled back out when the problems didn't go away, so my "key" is now a screwdriver turned in the empty lock cylinder. With a new battery, the fuel pump came on, every gauge lit up and the fuel gauge showed a full tank. Turning it over produced a single click.

The missing bolt

The click pointed to the starter. When I dropped it, the starter was loose. There's a mounting spot for a third bolt up top, but no bolt was in it, only the two at the bottom, and the bottom one was loose too. My read is that the starter had been sitting slightly tilted. I found a bolt that fit, with the same head size, and mounted the starter with all three bolts. The oil was about a quart low, which is fine for this. The 7.3 ran.

Full write-up: Starter clicks once but won't crank

First drive

A parking brake that would not release kept the truck from going anywhere until I dealt with it. I fitted a set of used tires that are almost new and took it for a test drive. The speedometer works, and the brakes work, though not well.

Where it stands

My plan was a work truck: fenders, headlight and bumper. The rust holes changed that. Repairing them means a lot of cutting and welding, so this truck needs a new plan.

What every barn find taught me: Getting a car running after it sat for years

See the full start and test drive in the video below.