When we first saw the truck,...
When we first saw the truck, it was completely stock, except for the roof rack and Recon LED mirror and taillights.
One of the best and worst times is preparing a vehicle for the annual SEMA show. Late nights after long days combine with endless waiting for parts to arrive. It’s a sight to behold sometimes, and we have been part of the chaos for years. Thanks to Marco Najarro of Monster Hooks, we were invited to attend the installation of more than a dozen companies’ products as he was preparing his truck for the show.
Marco enlisted the help of Nic Germano at Outkast Kustoms in Newark, California, to gather all the parts and get them installed and functional. Having worked with Nic numerous times, we were all too familiar with his cool shop located in a fire station built in the early 1900s. We were excited to be a part of the build and see how close to the rendering they could get.
How Did it Work?
It’s always tough to determine how good something is when comparing new to new. Marco’s ’11 F-250 hadn’t even worn the tiny spikes off the original 20-inch tires, yet here we were replacing all the suspension and changing the wheels, tires, and brakes. In light of that fact, the new Top Gun Customz Black-Ops coilover conversion rode better than the factory setup. The company did a great job on the internal damping choices. Out back, we could barely notice the added spring from Atlas, and it rode no better or worse than the original. One modification that did stand out was the Hellwig sway bar combination. Adding lift plus tire height can make for a tipsy ride, but Hellwig kept it all under control. Under the hood, the new AFE open filter had a barely noticeable gain in noise. The roar of the SS-M16 Interco tires masks any and all other noise. There is no doubt that a large set of mud tires is under the truck. It’s all we could do to not be lulled to sleep by the sweet hum.
01. The first things to be...
01. The first things to be removed from the 6.7L diesel were the factory batteries.
As far as the rendering is concerned, Marco and Outkast Kustoms nearly nailed it. Both of the Fusion bumpers and the grille shell were originally planned for a pass through Hydro-Dip to be coated to emulate the look of carbon fiber. They were all too big for the machine, and we are happy things turned out the way they did. The satin black has the menacing look we love to see. Although, we’re calling it finished here, Marco has plans for a tuner, exhaust, and some yet-to-be-released traction bars from Top Gun Customz. By the time this magazine sees print, the late additions will have been handled. We will be looking for Marco and his Monster Duty at SEMA, along with a matching Chevrolet HD. Stay tuned for our coverage of the event to see the F-250 fully completed and to find out how the Chevrolet HD came out.
02. A pair of Optima YellowTop...
02. A pair of Optima YellowTop batteries—capable of holding cranking power through a wider range of extremes—was installed in place of the factory batteries.
03. No power upgrades were...
03. No power upgrades were planned as of print, but an AFE Stage 2 cold-air intake system was added for when the urge and the pocketbook could meet.
04. The factory filter was...
04. The factory filter was barely dirty, but it had to go. A couple of clamps and 60 seconds were all it took.
05. Over at the workbench,...
05. Over at the workbench, Nic had the filter adapter cinched down with the supplied hardware.
06. The intake seal is oversized...
06. The intake seal is oversized and ensures the intake tube is not the restriction. With the piece in place, the AFE intake tube was set down.
07. We followed the previous...
07. We followed the previous step with the powdercoated heat shield.
08. Once the filter was wiggled...
08. Once the filter was wiggled into position, Nic grabbed the MAF from the OE intake.
09. It was only a matter...
09. It was only a matter of installing a new seal and two screws to get the MAF handled. While the electronics were hooked up, we admired AFE for including a place to clip the factory underhood coolant piping.
10. You can get a better...
10. You can get a better look at the clip in this photo.
11. Moving right along, the...
11. Moving right along, the time came to deal with the heft. These Fusion bumpers are solid steel and require some help to move around. We grabbed a buddy…or two.
12. Fusion supplies new brackets...
12. Fusion supplies new brackets that mount right to the factory frame horns. They are slotted to allow some positioning of the bumpers.
13. Two buddies later, Nic...
13. Two buddies later, Nic was rolling around making sure the guys got their workout in for the day. The Rigid 10-inch LED lightbar can be seen mounted in the center of the bumper.
14. It was the same story...
14. It was the same story out back. With the factory rear bumper removed, the Fusion brackets were swapped in quickly.
15. Marco’s truck came with...
15. Marco’s truck came with backup sensors, so we were sure to swap them before calling in the muscle to install the new bumper.
16. We needed strong friends...
16. We needed strong friends to hold the heavy bumper in place while Nic did his best break-dancing routine on the floor.