Brian Montgomery of Pearland, Texas, was an avid motorcycle rider, putting more miles each year on two wheels than most of us do on four. If he wasn't riding a bike on a racetrack or riding through the scenic roads of Texas and Arkansas, he was working on one in his garage. For twelve years Brian rode and raced motorcycles until a sequence of events fell into place that led to a life-changing accident. Retracing a stretch of road to check up on some fellow riders in his group, a car turned left in front of Brian. The result of the accident was several broken bones, including three vertebrae. Brian was told he would never walk again.
Less than a year after the accident, he pushed himself through physical therapy ahead of schedule, and Brian began his driver education. The instructor had him behind the wheel on day one and Brian quickly picked up on the hand controls, relishing in the independence that he had been without for so long. Soon, he had a set of temporary hand controls mounted to his Tacoma and was driving himself to work.
With plans set to install permanent hand controls into his brand-new '08 Nissan Titan, Brian knew that it would only be possible to get in and out of the truck if it were a bit lower. By "a bit lower", Brian really meant, "laid the heck out". Brian didn't have to go far to find the guys that could build his Titan right. You see, Pearland is just south of Houston, home of Ekstensive Metalworks. If you've read Truckin' before we don't need to tell you that Bill Carlton and his talented staff of fabricators are known for building the impossible.
A set of custom control arms and Chevy C1500 drop spindles were mated to the Titan frame to allow for the right geometry with the Boss Motorsports 330 wheels, while the factory Nissan rear axle was narrowed before it was mounted to Ekstensive's trademark two-link and Panhard bar. With the back half of the frame notched and reinforced, the Titan was ready to tuck its 24x10-inch wheels deep into the bed. Well, almost ready.
First the crew at Ekstensive got to work plumbing up the Firestone 'bags and Air Zenith compressors into the AccuAir E-level Air Management Package with 1/2-inch copper line. The touchpad controller and solenoid manifold work with ride height sensors to maintain a level stance. Brian was now able to custom tailor his ride height at the push of a button, but that would have to wait. Kustom Werx took over from there, as the tailgate was shaved and a roll pan was welded in place. The front bumper and interior plastics were prepped and readied before Chris Gilbert sprayed the House of Kolor True Blue Pearl over the Black PPG base with a gold and silver graphic between the two.
An HID conversion kit stealthily...
An HID conversion kit stealthily transformed the factory lights to piercing beams.
Toyo rubber wraps the 24x10-inch...
Toyo rubber wraps the 24x10-inch Boss Motorsports 330 wheels.
To tuck the large hoops, serious...
To tuck the large hoops, serious suspension modifications were required underneath the titan.