Like a great number of us, Chris Ovrebo started fabricating in his garage building bumpers and light bars for his previous Ford Ranger. Soon, he began working on his friends’ trucks, which lead to building bed cages and suspensions. Currently living in northern Colorado via the Air Force, Chris is originally from Southern California where he spent most of his off-road time running around the sand playground known as Glamis. Sadly, during the big Glamis weekend of Thanksgiving 2006, Chris suffered a broken back going just a touch too big flying over the dunes. The accident led him to being medically discharged from the military, and shortly after he relocated to Colorado.
The stock Vortec 350ci V-8 is still running strong with over 200,000 miles racked up. The
He had no intention of letting all that keep him from the dunes. Searching online for his next project truck, he located a ’97 Chevrolet 2500 Long Bed truck with 173,000 miles on it that belonged to an underground drilling company used as a load hauling truck. When he went to pickup the truck, the drilling company didn’t have the original pink slip, but he decided to take the truck home anyway. After searching for seven months, he was able to track down the original owner and obtain a proper pink slip to transfer the title.
Enthusiasts like Chris are what OFF-ROAD Magazine is all about; hardworking guys who get their hands dirty and don’t let anything stop them from achieving their goals. When he submitted photos of his truck and we heard his story, we knew it had to be shared. Chris built this ’97 Chevy in his garage using years of trial-and-error engineering, some back-breaking labor (bad pun—sorry, Chris), and a ton of heart to put this truck together.
No, the ’97 Chevy didn’t come with I-beams. After years of working on Ford Ranger suspensi
And that’s always more fun to read about, isn’t it? As cool as the multi-hundred-thousand dollar trucks are, most of us can relate to countless hours of pain-in-the-ass work on our own trucks and the pride that comes with knowing that you turned the wrenches to bring your creation to life.
Specs
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| Vehicle: | ’97 Chevrolet 2500 Long Bed
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| Owner: | Chris Ovrebo
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| Chassis: | Shortened 2500 chassis, 1.75-inch DOM full rollcage
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| Engine: | Vortec 350ci V-8, K&N air filter, Flowmaster muffler
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| Drivetrain: | E-150 Ford 9-inch, Powertrack locker, 4.88 gears, 31-spline axles
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| Suspension: | Front E-150 beams, rear custom three-link, King coilovers, Bilstein bypasses, F.O.A. airbumps
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| Steering: | Dual swing-set, Grant wheel
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| Brakes: | Front E-150, rear GM 1/2-ton
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| Tires/wheels: | Hercules 315/75R16, BFG KM2 spares
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| Other Parts: | Jaz fuel cell, Kragen 7-inch HID lights, Simpson belts, JC Whitney seats, Hannemann fiberglass
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| Favorite Off-Road Area: | Glamis
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King 2.5 dual-rate coilovers and F.O.A. 2.5 airbumps allow the front end to travel 18 inch
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Over the past few years, Chris has entered his truck in various Tuff Truck competitions. H
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Chris found his Ford 9-inch rear axle housing in a junkyard that was pulled from a ’87 E-1
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The 32-gallon Jaz fuel cell is seated between a pair of BFG Mud Terrain KM2 spare tires. C
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Seated between the custom center console is a pair of JC Whitney Garage Fab Series seats w
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Hannemann 5-inch-wider-per-side fiberglass fenders and bedsides provide ample protection a
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The rear suspension uses a triangulated three-link that allows the rear end to swing a ful
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By Jordan May
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