Trucks on trailers are nice pieces of eye candy, some being the pride and joys of hardworking truck enthusiasts all over the show circuit. But what fun is it if you can't drive it? This question plagues us here at the magazine, because we love the quality of craftsmanship in a truck that never sees the road and is always being flooded with TLC. But, we also love to jump in our custom rides and rip through the gears down the freeways. A dilemma, yes, but a delight for us when we find a truck owner who pays such trailer-queen attention and still loves to put miles on the custom rig.
Such is the case with Mike Payne's '99 Ford F-350 dualie custom, complete with beautiful wheels, trick paint, and a look that scares the life out of trailer queens at all the shows. Focusing on the mentality of enjoying the truck and the buildup, Mike sought out to create a truck that would be show-worthy and still able to be driven to and from work every day. Because of this attitude, Mike built a truck out of solid components that would be reliable and predictable.
To forever change the attitude of his dualie, Mike ordered a complete drop kit from AIM Industries to lower the truck an asphalt-hovering 10 inches in the front and 12 inches in the rear. To accomplish this drastic drop, the front received AIM I-beams, huge airbags, Toxic shocks, and a set of AIM fast valves. Responsible for dropping the rear down is a C-notch, stock leaves, Toxic shocks, and a set of massive AIM airbags. With the great new stance, Mike went on the hunt for a new set of rolling stock. Finding the wheels he knew would complement his rig, Mike added a set of 16-inch Foose Spank wheels wrapped in Continental rubber.
After the altitude change, Mike went looking for ways to better motivate his 1-ton truck. After ordering new Rearend Specialists gears for his truck, Mike installed the new 4.56 gears and went looking for even more performance. Dropping his truck off with Scotty over at Minute Muffler, the new 2-1/2-inch high-flow exhaust and catalytic converters exiting through 3-inch tips under the driver-side rear door were installed. With better flow and better gearing, Mike's rig was running smooth and strong, but still lacked the flash he desired from his truck. He knew that paint and bodywork was the answer, but did not know where to take his prized possession - enter Doug Alexis of Tracy, California.
With the truck in Doug's capable hands, Mike's dualie received several body modifications, including a billet grille shell, a smoothie bumper, a smoothed tailgate, and a Sir Michaels roll pan. The truck looked great, but Mike wanted more. To suit his needs, Doug added front clear corners, rear AIM taillights, and a Gaylord's lid. Now Mike was satisfied and couldn't wait to see the new paint. Doug applied the House of Kolor Blue Pearl as a base for the white pearl, brown, and yellow bones and skulls that extend from nose to tail. The dualie looked mean and truly evil, and Mike knew it was now time to move into his specialty, the interior.
Mike went to work creating a similar theme on the inside of his rig and built all-new door panels made of gray tweed and gray suede combining the trick tribal flames. The dash received the full tweed treatment, a 7-inch monitor on the passenger side, and a carbon-fiber-look dash kit. Looking around the interior, Mike also changed the headliner, carpet, and console. Chris Foster of Auto Sound Specialist, in Hayward, California, was recruited to finish the interior with a bevy of audio and video products. In went an Eclipse motorized DVD head unit sending signals to an Eclipse equalizer, which then sends the tunes to two Arc Audio amplifiers. These amplifiers supply power to four 10-inch subs in the rear seat and to speakers housed in custom kick panels. Mike controls the direction of Pur Evul by turning a 13-inch Colorado Custom Fire steering wheel.
Several shows and many trophies later, Mike is content in his non-trailered custom truck. He built the truck to enjoy, and besides the look of fear from every other truck owner, he has a great time driving the 1-ton custom.