1999 Ford F150 - Best Laid Plans

Sometimes things don't go as planned. When Robert Sandoval's father bought this '99 F-150 in 1998, it was supposed to be a work truck; and it was, if only for six months. Robert took the reins when he was 16 and had modest plans for the truck. He went through a few paint schemes and was enjoying the pride of owning a custom truck, but one trip home from work changed all that. A broken driveshaft left the truck sidelined, so Robert decided that if he was going to spend some time under the Ford, he might as well body-drop it.

Robert began at the firewall and worked his way back, cutting the stock frame to accept 2x4-inch rectangular tubing and leaving the floor pan practically untouched. The leaf springs weren't going to give him the look he wanted, so Robert fabricated a three-link suspension of his own design, then mounted 2600 Firestone 'bags to the Ford's axle; identical 'bags are found up front. The result: rockers on the ground and the ability to hide a sizable amount of the 22-inch Tyfun wheels and Nexen tires.

While he was perfectly capable of taking on the suspension work, Robert wasn't a seasoned painter, so he turned the bodywork over to Madera Glass & Body Shop in his hometown of Madera, California. Before the House of Kolor blue and silver were sprayed on, the windshield squirters, taillights, door handles, and tailgate were shaved. Two 10-1/2-inch LED taillights from AVS were flush-mounted near the top of what was once the tailgate to stay legal. Since a smooth roll pan was welded in, the license plate was mounted on an actuator to retract into the passenger side of the bed.