Dallas Gair of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, started sending photos of his Ford F-350 to 8-Lug Diesel Truck magazine many months ago. He was hoping to get into the Bragging Rights section or maybe even convince us to do a photo shoot with the truck for a full feature.
The thing is, Dallas' truck was definitely worthy of a full feature spread in the magazine. And the photos he took were professional quality. It didn't take much convincing on his part to talk us into the full feature. We requested a few more detailed photos and some info on the truck and the package was ready to go. We slotted it into the January '09 issue and organized the pictures, gussied up what he had written about the truck, and prepared everything for publication.
And then we got the sad news that the truck had been totaled in a wreck. Here are his words, "I recently purchased some new 41x14.50-R22 Iroks and new black 22x14-inch KMC XD Diesel wheels for my F-350 to replace the chrome wheels for winter. Two days later, I crashed the truck and the insurance says it is a write-off. My truck never even got to see itself in your magazine. The rubber nubs are still on the tread of the tires! I also recently did the 100,000-mile maintenance-coolant flush, changed differential oils, transfer case oil, and tranny oil, and installed a Mag-Hytec tranny pan. I have to talk to the insurance adjuster tomorrow. It sucks to see all of my last 2 1/2 years of time and money sunk into a truck that is written off. Oh well, at least I'm alright. I am already planning my next truck."
These words contrast sharply with what he wrote to us just a couple of months earlier. "Last weekend I went to the diesel drags and sled pulls at the NADP August Blackouts, Castrol Park, Edmonton. There was plenty of black smoke and burning rubber as well as trucks breaking from trying to pull the sled. I had my truck entered in the show 'n' shine on Saturday and I forgot my camera. I could have taken lots of great shots there, but, oh well. There was a very nice '08 F-350 Harley dualie with a Kelderman air lift that took First prize. It was at the World of Wheels in Calgary and he is hauling it to SEMA this year. Quite a few of the NADP guys liked my truck because I use it every day and keep it in great condition. There were lots of people taking pictures of my headlights. I wanted to send you these pictures ASAP, before any other truck showed up in a magazine with the exact same lights in the bumper. I hope that you like some of the pictures that I have sent. I can't wait to see my truck in 8-Lug. I will be sure to buy a few extra copies of that issue."
The '06 F-350 was jacked up 14 inches with a Rize Industries four-link suspension lift. Keeping the four-link smooth up front was a pair of King 2.5 coilovers with remote reservoirs. Damping the steering was a pair of stainless King 2.0 shocks. The rear of the truck was lifted with 10-inch-lift Atlas leaf springs, Firestone airbags, and blocks. Four King 2.5 remote reservoirs and Rize traction bars kept the rear of the truck stable.
The driveline was tweaked by rolling the transfer case to lower the front driveshaft, and replacing the factory CV joint on the front driveshaft with a high-angle CV joint. A custom transmission brace was needed to accommodate the now-lower front driveshaft. The factory steady bearing was removed from the rear driveshaft and was replaced with a solid one-piece shaft with a high-angle CV joint on the transfer case. The 4.30 gears were kept cool with Mag-Hytec differential covers.