Nowhere on this great planet of ours are there as many high-end recreational off-road machines as there are in the good old USA. Staking a claim to this is Southern California. Home to a large percentage of these functional machines, Ford Super Dutys make up a good portion of this country's off-road movement.
Rick Wright of Riverside, California, has done this '01 4x4 Super Duty the right way - encapsulating the ideals of American tradition. The extravagant truck has all the ingredients to execute the assortment of missions Rick engages in. Whether it's towing a buggy to the sand, a boat to the lake, or just hammering around town, this truck does it all.
The Wright way has been a successful family tradition for many generations. At just 29-years-old, Rick has almost 15 years of experience in the automotive industry. When he was just 15, he and his father opened a high-performance VW store in their hometown. Rick progressed into building racing transmissions for many applications. On top of his job, he loves restoring old VWs and tinkering on Dune Buggies. Through all his many toys coming and going, this Super Duty is the one toy that has remained in the starting line up. It's a tough package to beat: reliable, powerful, and attractive, this Ford has earned its keep.
The suspension install came from his friends at Custom Motorsports. It's team is a stand-out key player in the Southern California truck upgrade market. Up front the truck rides on a Fabtech 10-inch lift. The bulk of the lift comes from the high arched leaf springs. The revamped leafs are backed up by a pair of Fox Racing Shocks and an extended shock tower. The kit is budget tunable with a variety of available shock options from Fabtech shocks to high-end racing Fox Shocks. However, the fact that the Fox dampers are completely rebuildable and tunable makes the shock life span longer than most trucks. With the lift in place, the front driveshaft was replaced to accommodate the new angle and lift.
The supplemented height in the rear suspension came from a fresh set of leaf springs. In the back of the truck, he decided to lift the truck 8 inches rather than 10 inches in an effort to alleviate the stock stink bug position. With the lightweight of the rearend, only one Fox damper was required per wheel. With the added spring height, the fresh dampers bolted up nicely within the confines of the stock configuration. A pair of Fox steering stabilizers ensures an easy-to-drive 8,000 pound truck. Traction has never been an issue in any terrain since the installation of the 38-inch Super Swampers wrapped on a set of 16.5x10-inch Weld Typhoon wheels.
Inside the cab, Wright kept the integrity of the stock plush interior, but opted for a bling-bling sound system. The 1,400-watt stereo simulates a rocket launch as the volume pushes the decibel envelope. The main blast comes from a pair of 12-inch Kickers fueled by a set of Crossfire amps. An Eclipse faceplate completes the system with a Clarion DVD player. In the dash, all the controls are at the pilot's fingertips. Clear for take-off, this truck is ready to rock.