Starting his detail business with his wife, mom, and dad, Robert Linn of Banning, California, never gave up on his dream to one day own a successful shop. After seven years and plenty of his mom's kitchen towels, Dingmasters in Banning is now a one-stop paint and body shop. In order to celebrate and bring more customers into the shop, Robert decided to build a show truck to display his custom work. Just like his business has grown, this '03 Excursion has evolved into a full-fledged rolling shop advertisement.
Mickey Harris and Simon Evans...
Mickey Harris and Simon Evans airbrushed the velociraptor dinosaur and bed of flaming skulls onto each side of the truck.
Beginning with the shop '03 diesel 4WD, Robert immediately tore down the suspension and replaced it with huge Atlas lift leaf springs. Dual Bilstein shocks on each corner help cushion the stiff ride. The nearly 2-feet of upward advancement allowed him to clear 46-inch Michelin tires, which were mounted onto 20-inch Scorpion off-road wheels. With the truck up in the air, Phat Fabrications created a one-off roof rack for the top of the Excursion. Mounted on the rack are five PIAA off-road spot lights. Making it easier to hop into the cab, Kodiak steps were installed. All of these mods just made Robert more eager to paint the big Ford.
Rolling the huge rig into the Dingmasters shop, Robert applied the DuPont Orange and White two-tone paint scheme with a blue flame, which masked off the two separate hues. Mickey Harris and Simon Evans (viewable at paintbysimon.com) then stepped in and applied their airbrush talents to the project. First they sprayed a velociraptor dinosaur running over a bed of flaming skulls onto each side of the truck. After going wild with the paint, only one thing remained: the interior.