Saving Skin

What Kyle bought was a painted roller that had seen a good amount of fabrication done to the exterior and was now skinned in the vibrant hue of Tangerine Pearl, a color used by Chrysler between 2003 and 2008. “Having a nice paintjob definitely cut down on my costs and it’s usually the first compliment I get on the truck when people see it.” Once in the garage, the new owner quickly worked on getting this “roller” rolling and moving on its own power.

The basics of the build start with the frame. “I used the stock rails and added a Mustang II independent front suspension from Classic Performance Products. The truck has Viking double-adjustable coilovers up front, and a scratch-made, home brewed four-link suspension with Viking coilovers out back.” Tying it all together in the rear is a fully built Ford 9-inch stuffed with 3.70 gears.

Kyle worked with the included rack-and-pinion system and used the OEM S-10 disc brakes that came with the kit up front while keeping the stock drums out back. Once he had his stopping power upgraded, he went ahead and installed a square set of U.S. Wheel 510 Smoothies in 20×8 at the corners. Because of how low this truck rides, Kyle stuck with medium-width 225/40R20 tires to help keep the chance of rubbing to a minimum. The stock black paint and included chrome caps finish off the classic look.

Power Surge

Once the truck sat the way he wanted it, Kyle moved onto the engine bay. “I had previously purchased a complete long-block LQ9 from a good friend of mine that came out of an ’03 Cadillac Escalade. I got it for the paltry sum of $800. I tore it down and replaced the seals and gaskets and then refurbished, cleaned, and painted every part of it. The finished powerplant was completely rebuilt with all-new pistons/rods/bearings and was balanced. I then put a BTR Truck Norris cam in it and put it all back together. In its present state it’s bored 0.030 over and makes roughly 500 hp.”

From there Kyle started adding some more custom touches underhood. “I wanted a unique engine cover, so I fabricated that out of sheetmetal. I also made the motor mounts, the remote mounts for the coils, and fabbed up the intake for the LQ9.” Once this LS beast was ready to run, the owner built his own exhaust set up. He started with C5 Corvette headers that were modified to clear the motor mounts. The exhaust is then continued with a 2.5-inch stainless X-pipe, leading to a pair of Corsa Crate mufflers, which give Kyle the tonal note that he desired. All the curves in the exhaust pipe were done by making pie cuts not mandrel bends.

Like stated before, Kyle bought a truck with a fully finished exterior that had a few modifications done to its sheetmetal. “The past owner frenched the taillights and antennae, added an aftermarket tailgate, shaved the handles, and installed the running boards and a roll pan.” With the exterior taken care of already, it gave Kyle more time to work on other smaller projects that needed attention on the truck. One of those was fabricating his own V-8 grille emblem. “I designed the emblem in SolidWorks and cut it out of a solid block of stainless steel on the CNC machine at work.”

My Way

To finish off the build, Kyle moved to the interior. “I scored a pair of buckets from an ’08 King Ranch. Next, I installed a Holley 3.5-inch LED dash to keep track of the vitals. The door panels are pieces that I also made from scratch. I designed and fabricated the oak and aluminum steering wheel, which twists a modern ididit column. I think the wheel is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.” Adding to the overall appeal of the truck, Kyle laid out a wood bed made of red-stained dark walnut, accentuated with chrome spacer strips.

Once completed, Kyle wasted no time getting his new ride out on the road. “After driving 1,000hp cars on the track, this truck runs with a significant power drop, but it’s got a perfect power-to-weight ratio. I can blow the tires off in First and hook in Second and it’s all-usable power that doesn’t try to kill you when I take the truck out. And, for the record, I drive this thing everywhere … anytime, anyplace, any condition. It’s no trailer queen.”

As far as his workmanship, he’s pretty damn proud of what he’s accomplished. “I’ve done all the work and fabricating on this truck (minus body/paint) in my single-bay garage on jackstands, I’m an engineer by career but have access to the machine shop at my work and have made every single part I can from raw material scratch.”

Thanks go out to Kyle’s dad, Don, for helping out on some of the tedious things where another set of hands was most appreciated. “I got my love for working on cars and trucks from watching my dad and my grandfather, Herbie, while they worked on cars as a side business at my grandfather’s house. I’d hand them tools and take rides on the lift. They are responsible for my passion for building motorized rides.”