Sky-high four-bys are the norm nowadays and standing above the crowd is becoming increasingly more difficult. So, how do you spruce up an already mesmerizing lifted rig? Attaching a color-matched aqua rod to the chrome drop hitch is a great start. Take a gander at this month's Water Toys feature spectacular for a look at the answer. Ford's Super Duty is an already incredible truck, but with added flair and a Dana rocket taking up the rear, the combination screams, "Look at me." We're looking, alright.
Starting at the leading end of the parade is Michael Patrick's '00 Ford F-250 V-10. Featuring just enough chrome and color to get noticed, it does not exude an overdone cheesiness that plagues the lifted truck scene. "Just for fun," Mike says, is the reason he built the truck, and fun is what we like. Mike's blue flame special is sitting up in the atmosphere thanks to 8 inches of tire-clearing lift provided by Fabtech and professionally installed by Accessory House of Montclair, California. New front springs mate with lift blocks in the rear for a level playing field. All that lift created rolling room for 16-inch Mickey Thompson wheels, hugged by Pro Comp X-Terrains in large-by-wide P325/80R16. For those of you who don't have the formula, that equates to 36.5 inches of dirt-pounding traction. Slowing the bounce and jounce of such a large tire are Bilstein reservoir shocks, two per wheel. Billet reservoir mounts from Accessory House take care of the additional fluid tubes. Those Accessory House mounts share visual duty with chromed front shock hoops, steering arms, and rear traction bars. Chromed front and rear diff covers are also on hand for undercarriage shine. An after-cat exhaust capped with a stainless tip makes the V-10 sing.
It's not like you could miss the exterior features, but just so you don't, we'll tell you what Mike has on this F-250. At the nose, you'll find a DJ Motorsports stainless flame grille. Clear Euro-style headlights and corner lights blend seamlessly into the white and chrome scheme. Just above the grille resides a cowl-induction hood. Following in the shiny division are a billet fuel door and chrome Euro taillights. The triple-plated drop hitch only rides on days with the boat attached. Gelcoat-matching candy-like blue flames spread fire from the nose to the windshield, as well as bring heat to each side of Mike's hauler.
The interior is a much more sedate and simple layout compared to the rest of the truck's features. The factory gray cloth is set off by a hint of toys and sound. In the dash lies a brotherhood of Alpine pieces. A flip-face CD head unit gets a little extra kick with signals from the DVD head. Filling the headrests with visual arts is a pair of Accele's 6.5-inch screens. If the rear passengers decide they don't want to watch the Alpine-signal DVD, there is a PlayStation 2 on hand, under the rear bench. Behind that bench rest Fosgate amps and four 10-inch subs. Fosgate sound emitters are transplanted into the factory door locations as well. Audio Innovations of Glendora, California, were the choice for Mike's audio/video enhancement. They're just the thing to entertain a group stuck on the road headed for water recreation.