Ford F-150 Roadster - Speedztuur

While Steve was busy with the front half of the Speedztuur, the bed was put into the hands of Gaylord's fiberglass masters, who normally spend their days designing the best-fitting tonneau covers in the industry. They were instructed to shave the front and rear steps so that the bed sides would flow more freely from top to bottom and front to rear. They also had the task of working in a Pro-Fit fuel door, shaving the taillights and glassing in a one-off roll pan. They performed this feat in record time, and the body mods were finalized when Steve welded up the tailgate handle. With the clock ticking, the truck was trailered down Paramount Boulevard to Auto B Craft for final bodywork and paint. Don Danhoff, ace body man and head of special projects at Auto B, tied up the loose ends and blocked the F-150 to perfection inside and out before the PPG Red paint was sprayed. Plenty of PPG clear followed, and when the color-sanding and buffing process was complete, the Speedztuur was returned to Gaylord's looking more like the rendering than anyone could have imagined. Paint-matched lightning side skirts were installed, Along with a paint-matched Gaylord's X-2000 tonneau complete with Speed Bumps.

The hard part was out of the way, but at this point, it was a race to the finish to complete the truck. The engine, suspension, and audio/video were being worked on simultaneously to meet the deadline. The truck was brought nearly 10 inches closer to the ground with a complete system from Air Ride Technologies, which employs the Shockwave setup for the front and a four-link in the rear. Air Ride also supplied the two 3-gallon tanks, the Viair compressors, 3/8-inch air line, and its digital switch and gauge package. Intro Vista II wheels measuring 20x8 and 22x9.5 inches were chosen and wrapped with Toyo Proxes tires measuring P255/35R20 and P305/40R22, but not before AP Racing six-piston calipers and big rotors from Stillen were bolted to all four corners. Under the hood, any plastic shrouding or trim that could be removed was, and it was all smoothed and painted red to match the exterior. The inner fenders were discarded and Steve fabricated new ones out of sheet aluminum. The engine itself was treated to a Kenne Bell twin-screw supercharger producing 6 pounds of boost and a custom-bent Gibson 2-1/2-inch dual exhaust, putting the Speedztuur's horsepower numbers up around 400. Adding contrast to all the smooth red plastic is a True Billet engine dress-up kit from GCA Enterprises.

During all of the suspension and engine mods, Audio Craftsman of Walnut, California, sent a mobile unit to handle the stereo and monitor install. Installed in the center console is an Eclipse head unit to run the Audiobahn amplifier and component speakers. Audiobahn also supplied the video monitor, which was recessed into the console, and a DVD player. An Intro Vista steering wheel was installed before the truck was delivered to Radi's Custom Upholstery. There, Andy Radi and crew recarpeted the floor in dark gray and covered the seats in leather with gray suede inserts. They also covered the unpainted half of the door panels in matching suede and built the headrests from scratch to perfectly fit the contour of the Speed Bumps. The truck literally was being loaded onto the trailer as Radi was finishing up and the Speedztuur was on its way to Vegas, where in addition to dropping the jaw of nearly everyone who attended SEMA, managed to collect a nice little pile of awards, including the SEMA Ford Product Excellence award. The truck even sparked a reunion of sorts, when kustomizing legend George Barris stopped by to see what all the fuss was about, and realized the radical red roadster was a product of Gaylord's, a company that got its start 55 years ago in Barris' own shop, where Bill Gaylord, Sr. used to create his world-renowned padded tops. It's the little things like that that make guys like us proud.