By: Andrew Tanner
If you have spent any amount of time on or around campus, then you have almost certainly seen Philip Reinhardt’s big black Ford dually. With a large MAINE sticker on the back window made to look like the AC/DC logo this truck is nearly impossible to miss. This truck is equipped with the 7.3 liter International T444E, also known as the “Powerstroke,”, hooked up to a 5-speed manual transmission. The F-Super Duty is the predecessor to the F-450 and is a 1.5-ton truck. Reinhardt, a junior from Tenants Harbor, Maine purchased his 1997 Ford F-Super Duty in 2013 and began to do the necessary work to make it his own. Reinhardt bought the truck from a local construction company where it had been utilized as a mechanic’s service truck. It had a very heavy service bed on it complete with toolboxes, an air compressor and more, which he promptly removed in lieu of a flatbed he built himself. The mechanic within the company who used the truck was a personal friend of Reinhardt’s father. After the mechanic passed away in 2008, the truck sat unused until 2013. This is not his first car, but it is the vehicle that he has driven the most. At 238,000 miles Reinhardt has clocked 70,000 himself since 2013. Since his ownership the truck has been painted, had the front end rebuilt, extensive engine work performed, had dual exhaust stacks installed, and even had the frame replaced from the cab back due to rust issues. Out of the long list of upgrades, Reinhardt says that the upgraded diesel injectors and custom adjustable tuner chip, the slightly larger turbo, and water methanol injection are his favorites. This truck has also had the rear gears changed to 3.73s for better highway cruising. Of all the vehicles he owns, this one is his favorite. “I’ve lived my life in that truck for four years now…back and forth across the country 10 times at least,” says Reinhardt, “It’s a ton of fun.” All of the work that has been done to this truck has been performed by Reinhardt himself or with the assistance of a more experienced friends including the black paint. He has no intentions of getting rid of this truck and is enjoying it as his daily and tow vehicle.
