Four-wheel steering makes...
Four-wheel steering makes the Tonka truck look more like Bigfoot than an F-150.
In case you're confused, yes, this is a new '04 F-150; and, yes, those are 53-inch Michelins; and, yes, one wheel and tire is hovering above Mother Earth. Built in an astonishing 3 weeks, Justine Reece dumped all of his money into a project labeled '04 Tonka. With four-wheel hydraulics, 2-1/2-ton Rockwell axles, and a kickin' audio/video system, we think the engineers at Tonka are going back to the drawing board.
Driving the truck around Woodstock, Georgia, for nine months, Justin got a serious case of the stock truck blues and immediately began a truck build that saw his FX4 F-150 go from boring to borderline insane in less than a month. Recruiting the expertise of Southern Off-Road in Alpharetta, Georgia, he and the team devised a plan to make his F-150 do things Ford didn't know possible. Tearing into the Blue Oval, the guys removed the entire suspension setup and began building something we had never seen before.
Locating a pair of Rockwell 2-1/2-ton military axles, the heart of the underbelly was secured. While the four-link was being built in the rear, another four-link was custom-built for the front, along with a one-off subframe. Wanting maximum adjustability, Justin went against the norm and contacted Nowack Industries, of Bigfoot fame, for a set of custom hydraulics, front and rear. Keeping the fluid to these hydros under high pressure are custom-bent stainless hydraulic lines. Sticking with the custom theme, Justin also ordered a set of spindles from Nowack to accommodate a special set of 20x12-inch Spaz double-beadlock wheels designed to support massive 53-inch-tall Michelin XL tires. With tires of such size, USA 6x6-inch 1-ton disc brakes at the front and the rear were also installed to stop the rolling mass. Mocked up and looking like it might work, the Southern Off-Road team went ahead and welded, bolted, and secured everything together. One flip of the hydros later, and without any hesitation, Justin's rig quickly went from 38.4 inches tall to a walloping 52.4 inches tall. Bringing out all the stops, the guys flipped a couple more switches and before they knew it, one rear wheel could easily be lifted up into the atmosphere, three-wheel-style. After a quick disassembly, the parts were powdercoated yellow and plated by Goodrich Technologies. Amazed at how the suspension came together, Justin looked to spice things up on the inside.