It’s safe to say that we all remember our first truck. For some, that might have been a beater that barely got us around town. While it did serve a purpose, eventually, it probably ended up being sold or even wrecked. Then there are guys like Cody Blount who was able to not only get a cool truck that was perfect for everyday transportation, but an F-350 that became much more.

“I bought my ’96 XLT F-350 while I was in high school,” says Cody. “It was already painted and looked good. It also had a decent set of wheels and tires and was bone stock.”

Cody’s F-350 as it looked when he purchased it.

All through his school days, Cody did what any high-schooler with a cool looking four-by-four would do, he drove his truck every day. It was a means of getting where he needed to go. Eventually, his time in high school came to a graduated conclusion and it was time to grow up. However, that didn’t mean anything bad for the truck. In fact, it meant life was about to get a little easier.

“Since graduating a few years ago, I decided to get a new daily driver so I could make my truck a weekend cruiser/show truck,” Cody says. “It was already painted when I bought it, and I haven’t done anything to the paintwork since I’ve owned it. The colors are Oxford White and Royal Blue metallic.”

But, although the body was in good shape, that doesn’t mean Cody didn’t want to add a few upgrades to the drivetrain. According to Cody, “the transmission has billet input and output shafts and I upgraded the clutches and added a billet triple-disk torque converter. The front and rear differentials and gears are still the factory parts. I added an 8-inch lift from Sky off-road and the wheels are from Hostile and measure 26×16. The tires are 38×15.50 Fury MTs.

Although it looks “seasoned” the Power Stroke in Cody’s F-350 is more than able to get the job done.

The original seats in this F-350 were in “decent” shape, but Cody wanted to do something he had never seen before. To accomplish that, he sourced a “new” set of front buckets and center console from a ’96 Ford truck he found in a salvage yard. “I swapped out the rear bench seat for a set of captain chairs with a flip-up center console,” says Cody.

The under-hood area is stock appearing, but the Power Stroke does benefit from a few upgrades. “I added a Terminator Engineering 500 HPOP fuel pump and 180cc injectors,” Cody mentions of the upgrades. Cody also mentions he added a 5-inch exhaust and a Power Hungry Performance Hydra Chip.

Not many enthusiasts are lucky enough to have started with a first truck that was able to withstand the abuses a young owner can dish out. Fortunately for Cody’s F-350 not only did it survive those early years but will be around for many more.

“This truck has always been a dream truck of mine,” Cody quips. “For that reason, I decided I was going to build it to what I wanted because I intend to keep it forever.”

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