In the epic 2000 movie Gladiator, one man is forced to fight the battle within and the battles around him to save his honor, his country, and reunite with his family. An adventure from beginning to end, the film ends with order restored and hope on the lips of everyone. Chris Hyslop, of Toms River, New Jersey, has fought a battle of his own. One of setbacks, delays, finances, and life in general, he was able to overcome all these obstacles in order to finish a goal he set forth years ago: build the truck of his dreams. Herein lies his story.
Rooting himself in the emerging truck scene in New Jersey, Chris began his journey with an '03 Ford F-150 Harley Davidson 100th Anniversary edition. A good foundation without question, however the truck wasn't battle-ready to compete with the fullsize trucks in his category. Training, in the form of truck modifications, quickly began. First on the list was body work as Chris purchased an OE Lincoln Navigator front end. To complement the appearance, a VIS Racing carbon fiber hood was bolted on, along with a DG Motorsports fiberglass roll pan, DG Motorsports Hurricane 6-piece side skirt kit, and DG Motorsports smooth bed rail caps. To really make his truck look flawless, Ron and Dave Lewert of Street Effectz in Union, New Jersey, were put in charge of molding all of those pieces to the Ford body, making them one solid piece. The look is undeniably clean. Not to be outdone with the front end, a Grant Kustoms smooth tailgate skin was applied and the door handles shaved, wipers shaved, gas door eliminated, and the taillights shaved smooth. Ron and Dave then applied the three tones of paint. Jeep rescue green splits Toyota magnetic grey and Ford deep black. The look is intimidating yet sophisticated. Finishing off the battle armor is a black-powdercoated upper and lower billet grille combo, black Navigator headlights, Eagle Eye HID kit, and 42-inch long Custom Classic LED stop light molded into the tailgate with AVS load adjuster.