Scraping the Seas of the Roads

Not Two things that will always move people forward through tough times and turmoil are inspiration and dedication. Sometimes you have to lean on those traits to get where you dreamed to be. If I told you that you were going to fail from the beginning, would you keep pushing forward? For Steven Dalton of Warner, Oklahoma, his resounding answer would be “Yes, absolutely!”

Since Steven was a child, he had been wrenching in the garage with his father, building and restoring older trucks. Once he turned eighteen, his dedication shifted from the older-school restomods to a more new-school custom truck style. Admittedly, Steven was more into C10 trucks since that’s all he knew in the garage. But when it came time to venture out on his own builds, he preferred a much lower stance. He started out with a Chevy S-10, but that quickly went awry. He entrusted a local shop to body drop the mini-truck, but, unfortunately, they hacked the entire build by cutting the cab and harness, which made the truck undrivable.

Steven’s first entry into the lowered truck world was a failure, but he vowed that wouldn’t stop him. He began researching truck magazines like Street Trucks for building info and differentiating proper builds from incorrectly built trucks. Of course, there is a slight stigma when it comes to buying someone’s custom truck over building your own custom truck. The advantages, however, are always saved money, time, and your patience. Everyone reading this knows how thin your patience can get when you get something wrong or have a setback in the middle of working on or building a truck. Steven worked smarter—not harder—by seeking out something he had never owned before nor thought of owning. His decision was to get something big and complete to avoid failure.

Equipped with the knowledge from the pages of Diesel World, he began his search and found Daniel Cumby. Daniel was known in the truck world for several of his custom builds gracing the pages of almost every truck enthusiast magazine around. Having his own shop, Daniel knew the quality and passion it takes to put together a flawless work of art. Daniel was in the process of building a 1999 Ford F-350 dually that was sure to be a head-turner with the creative expertise he harnessed over the years.

Once Daniel completed the dually, he enjoyed it for a bit and then did the next best thing, which was allow someone else to enjoy it. He posted about it on social media, and that’s how Steven and Daniel came together. Steven never had something this extensively built, so it became more of a courting process. Steven traveled to Texas and stayed with Daniel the whole weekend while they worked out the details, and he learned about the truck and fell in love with the Ford F-350.

Once the dually was transported to Oklahoma, it was given a second life, with Steven driving it and enjoying it daily. After a few events, it was taken to a truck show in Pocola, Oklahoma, where he felt he met the truck club that would become his family: Sunset. “It’s such a great group of guys and girls,” Steven tells Diesel World. “I felt at home within minutes of meeting them.”

Steven wishes to thank the loving guidance of his father, Steve Dalton, for instilling in him the proper dedication and inspiration that would lead to his greatest purchase. A special thanks goes to Steven’s love, Krista Dedering, for all her support and understanding. Thanks also go to Gary Davis of 405 Audio in Moore, Oklahoma, who added some louder tunes to the truck by way of a new Sony head unit and Audio Dynamics door speakers. Of course, the largest amount of appreciation goes to Daniel Cumby because without this man’s master building skills, Steven might still be getting burned by shops trying their hand in body dropping trucks. The Yacht was built for chopping seas and scraping reflectors.

1999 Ford F-350 Dually

Owner
Steven Dalton
Warner, OK

ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN

• Ford 7.3L
• Sinister Diesel air intake
• Hot and cold pipes
• Upgraded alternator
• Coolant reservoir

Chassis & Suspension

• 1988–’98 front clip with Nfamus control arms
• Slam Specialties bags
• Air Lift air management with height sensors
• Rear 4-link setup

WHEELS, TIRES & BRAKES

• 24-inch custom-cut Alcoa wheels
• 295/30 R24 Lexani tires

Body & Paint

• Corvette Zeus Bronze paint by Patrick Reid
• Grant Fab roll pan
• Shaved wiper cowl
• Custom sheetmetal front bumper

Interior & Stereo

• Custom dashboard, door panels, and shotgun handles
• Captain bucket seats front and rear
• Custom console with sub box
• Custom headliner with dome light and starlights
• Vintage Air climate control
• AutoMeter gauges
• Custom-cut steering wheel from KutWorks to match the Alcoa wheels
• Sony head unit
• Audio Dynamics door speakers
• Four 8-inch MTX marine speakers located in bed
• Two 12-inch MTX subwoofers in console
• MTX amps