A Ram, Ford And Chevy Built To Be Driven

So many magazine articles these days focus on outrageous truck builds that it gets hard to step back and take a look at something more reasonable that’s possible to drive every day, use like a truck, but still have a very custom and original look.

Rest assured that there’s a growing movement in the real world of trucks that aren’t lifted 15 inches, don’t have 40-in. tires, carry a few simple powertrain upgrades, and can be conceivably accomplished by the average Joe.

While in Tennessee for the TS Performance Outlaw event, we rounded up three excellent examples of this new, reasonable trend. These are guys who didn’t want giant lifts, mud bogger tires, and cartoonish graphics on their trucks.

Check out these three trucks and maybe they will inspire you to build your own in similar way… or not. That’s the whole point of this custom truck hobby—build it the way you want it.

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The Never-Ending Project

This 2009 Ram will probably never be “done”

“I entered my first truck show when I was 16 years old,” 26-year-old Mount Vernon, Indiana’s Zach Randall told us. “And I won a trophy for 4×4 trucks and that’s when I became obsessed with modifying trucks.” We’re pretty sure he was obsessed before that, but the recognition of a trophy really pushed him over the edge.

Zach’s Ram 3500 Quad Cab long bed is painted a metallic black that’s certainly hard to keep clean, but it’s worth it when the truck is sparkling. Scott Whitehead of But-lerville, Indiana, painted the truck. All of the badges were removed prior to painting to really smooth out the appearance. Smoked LED taillights from Recon Truck Accessories blend in perfectly, as do the smoked cab lights, also from Recon.

Build it the way you want it.”

To get the right look the truck was lifted 6 inches and then 22-in. XD Diesel wheels were installed. Nitto Mud Grappler tires were used for the combination of looks and traction.

The 6.7 Cummins six-cylinder diesel engine was beefed up with the addition of ARP head studs. An S&B intake makes sure plenty of fresh air gets into the engine. A modified Holset HE 351 turbo provides 40 lbs. of boost.

The tuning is handled with EFILive, custom tuned by Anarchy Diesel. An Edge Insight CTS keeps tabs on everything that’s going on with the truck. A 5-in. turbo-back exhaust system from Diamond Eye was ceramic coated in black by LSN Custom Powder Coat for a unique appearance. The factory G56 six-speed transmission uses a Kentucky Clutch single disc.

If the truck doesn’t seem to be getting enough attention, Zach can toot his Kleinn air horns and make sure he’s on everyone’s radar.

Of course, Zach is not “done” with this truck, he has plenty of plans for it in the near and distant future. He actually owns a set of AMP PowerSteps, but just didn’t have them installed in time for our photo shoot. Traction bars were being fabricated for the truck as well. Also in the works is a custom stainless steel box that will house the air compressor and air tank for his train horns. The lid has the name of the truck (Disorderly Conduct) laser cut into it with blue LED accent lights behind it.

Down the road Zach is planning to work on improving the fuel system with bigger injectors, putting a larger turbo on the truck and upgrading the stereo system. The goal is to get the truck to a point where it’s able to participate in sled pulls and drag races. Zach throws out his thanks to Outlaw Diesel Performance, Biehle Motorsports, LSN Custom Powder Coat, and Kentucky Clutch because, without them, the truck would not be what it is today. UDBG

Specifications

2009 Ram 3500 6.7L Cummins

Performance additions:

• ARP head studs
• S&B intake
• Modified Holset HE 351 turbo. Makes 40 psi of boost.
• EFILive tuning by Anarchy Diesel
• 5-in. Diamond Eye exhaust
• Kennedy single-disc clutch

Exterior modifications:

• De-badged with new custom black metallic paint
• 6-in. lift kit
• 22-in. XD Diesel wheels
• 37-in. Nitto Mud Grapplers
• Recon smoked LED taillights
• Recon smoked LED cab lights
• AMP Research PowerSteps
• Kleinn Air Horn

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Budget Brawler

This 2014 Ford was carefully crafted

At just 23 years old, John Roberson is the owner of Outlaw Diesel Performance in Greenfield, Indiana, but that shouldn’t be surprising as he’s been tinkering with trucks since he was 16 years old. His shop carries thousands of aftermarket parts for Power Stoke, Duramax and Cummins owners, plus they do anything from routine service work major performance overhauls at ODP.

“Like most people,” John told us, “I was on a budget when building my dream truck.” He added, “While it was still expensive, I saved more than $5,000 by purchasing a Premium XLT model to save some money over the Lariat and Platinum models.” This way, John could build the truck the way he wanted it.

“I wanted this truck to be the ultimate daily driver and tow rig.”

He couldn’t let the truck stay at the factory ride height so he installed a complete 3-in. lift kit from Rough Country. With more room in the fender wells he then added a set of 35-in. Toyo Open Country M/T tires on 22-in. BMF Novakane wheels. AMP Research PowerSteps make it easier to get in and out of the truck.

For powertrain upgrades John kept it simple. He put on an S&B cold air intake and a 5-in. aluminized Flo-Pro exhaust system with a 6-in. stainless steel tip. Then he added an H&S Mini Maxx tuner to bump up the already ample horsepower and torque. But John didn’t go any further with the power upgrades so he was able to retain the factory transmission.

Appearances are important to John so he spent a lot of his time and budget on making the pickup more personalized to what he wanted to own. For example, he took the headlights out and split the housings open, then painted them black and installed LED headlight bulbs. At the rear of the truck John smoked the taillights with a mixture of black and clear coat, then put Recon Truck Accessories smoked cab lights and LED turn signal markers on the Super Duty. A 40-in. LED light bar was installed in the front bumper (he had to remove the tow hooks) and John uses the Ford factory up-fitter switch to turn them on and off.

But he didn’t stop there. John color-matched the grille, bumpers, badges and handles. It nearly looks like a factory job and many people have no idea how much work went into the color matching.

Inside the cab, John installed Katzkin black leather on the heated seats and Weather Tech floor mats. He upgraded the speakers to Kicker and added a few LED interior lights too.

The truck is “done” but John is thinking about some future mods like One Up Offroad traction bars and a Transfer Flow fuel tank. But we’re willing to bet that won’t be the last parts he gets for his F-250. He may have to find a way to expand the budget a bit. UDBG

Specifications

2011 Ford F-250 6.7L Power Stroke

Performance additions:

• S&B cold air intake
• 5-in. Flo-Pro exhaust system
• H&S Mini Maxx tuner

Exterior modifications:

• Rough Country 3-in. lift kit
• 35-in. Toyo Open Country M/T tires
• 22-in. BMF Novakane wheels
• AMP Research PowerSteps
• Recon smoked cab lights and turn signals
• Rigid Industries 40-in. LED light bar

Miscellaneous:

• Katzkin upholstered seats
• Kicker speakers
• Ride Rite supplemental air bags

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Dreams Do Come True

This 2011 Chevy is just what the owner always wanted

Rich Strube has built a lot of trucks in his time. First when it was his hobby, then when it became his profession through Richie’s Truck & Auto in Hicksville, New York, about 20 years ago. As the owner of a shop that builds trucks, Rich needs to make sure that he and his wife drive around in something that gets attention and makes it clear that his shop has the skills to build high-quality vehicles. So, what Rich chooses to do with his trucks is scrutinized a bit more than the average guy on the block. He’s very careful to pick out excellent quality parts that work in harmony with each other. As Rich is quick to quote Albert Einstein, “The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.” Rich is always careful not to go too far. He strikes a balance with his trucks that continues to impress.

Rich bought the truck for his wife to carry the three kids around in, make parts runs for the shop and the occasional drag race (yes, she races it). The truck has been on the dyno and it has driven cross-country three times (there’s 85,000 miles on the odometer).

In the quarter-mile Rich has gone 89 mph in 14.2 seconds. Not bad for an 8,900-lb HD pickup truck.”

To make sure the Chevy’s front end keeps pointing straight down the highway Rich installed a set of Kryptonite tie rods and he also custom fabricated a set of 2-in. DOM 0.250-wall traction bars that are 7.5-ft. long. They have poly links on the ends.

The truck had to be lifted, no doubt about that in Rich’s mind. So he turned to Cognito for the company’s 7/9-in. suspension system. He had it powder coated red before installing it and that really makes the Cognito parts stand out. Rich painted the caliper covers to match the truck too. Fox 2.0 shocks with remote reservoirs smooth out the ride and look great doing it. With the truck up in the air Rich put a set of 18×9 black Fuel Maverick wheels that were then wrapped them with a set of 34×12.5-18 Nitto Terra Grappler tires.

The Duramax LML diesel engine puts out about 980 lb.-ft. of torque and 486 horsepower at the wheels and Rich is happy to explain how he got to those numbers. First, he put on an aFe Stage 2 intake system, and a Mishimoto intercooler. Then Rich installed an intake manifold from DHD and a 150 TI lift pump from FASS. Rich uses an H&S Black Maxx tuner/monitor in the truck and has also added a Snow Performance Stage 3 water-methanol injection kit. The Allison six-speed automatic transmission was upgraded with a slew of Sun Coast parts, all finished off with a 4-in. dual exhaust constructed out of 409 stainless steel from MBRP.

The Crew Cab short bed pickup has a T-Rex grille with a billet Chevy Bowtie emblem in black for a touch of class. The front bumper was upgraded with the addition of four Rigid Dually lights, while the rear bumper was fitted with Rigid SRQ backup lights on the bottom.

More Rigid lights were installed under the rails of the bed for illuminating the box at night. The bed was also sprayed with Rhino Liner to keep it from getting scratched.

Another good reason for building trucks just like his customers want to own is to better understand how the parts work and how they can be improved. As Rich was explaining this to us he quoted Confucius, “Hear and you forget; see and you remember; do and you understand.” Well, Rich certainly understands trucks. You can quote us on that one. UDBG

Specifications:

Performance additions:

• Multiple Sun Coast
• transmission upgrades
• DHD intake bridge
• aFe Stage2 cold air intake
• 150 TI FASS lift pump
• H&S Black Maxx tuner
• Snow Performance water-methanol injection
• 4-in. MBRP exhaust
• Mishimoto radiator
• Mag-Hytec differential cover

Exterior modifications:

• Rigid LEDs everywhere
• 7/9-in. Cognito lift kit
• Color-matched suspension parts
• 18×9 Fuel Maverick wheels
• 34-in. Nitto Terra Grappler tires
• Kryptonite tie-rods
• Rhino lined bed
• T-Rex billet aluminum grille
• Recon smoked taillamps

Miscellaneous

• Truxedo tonneau cover
• Harmon Kardon and Sony Xplode speakers with a Bose amplifier

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