Offroad ‘96 F250 DD/tow rig build

I’ve always loved these trucks, I’d been looking for one for a little while and found this one cheap enough to make it worth the work it needs. I know you all hate me for this but it’ll be a good thing for Daisy, she’ll get some much needed down time and repairs. I never meant for Daisy to be daily driven and I have been doing it for almost a year now. She’s a project truck that got put on hold as soon as she was driveable. Now I can finish up things that I’ve wanted to for a long time and address some of the newer issues.

This truck was stolen, recovered, left at the impound yard and sold as a lein to me for $1300. Trucks like this (mid 90s, 200-300k miles) in the southwest sell for $10-15k depending on condition. I figure I can build the truck I want for under $10k and have a reliable daily driver that will get better fuel mileage and tow more than the Suburban. It’s definitely a project, the interior is pretty beat, the front suspension is worn out and it needs a set of injectors. I’ve been collecting engine parts for a week or so and I’ve got a bunch of stuff on the way.

The specs as it sits:
1996 F250 extended cab short bed 4WD
292,000mi
7.3l powerstroke turbo diesel, bone stock
ZF 5speed manual transmission
Some kind of Borg Warner transfercase
Dana 50 TTB front axle
Sterling 10.25” rear axle