With the Firestone airbags fully deflated, the Chassis Tech suspension allows this truck to sit low. Niche Pultec wheels measure 20x8 1/2 and are surrounded by Michelin 245/40ZR20 tires. Rear taillights are APC pieces. The roll pan is from CVD and billet nameplate was done custom for Mike.
Although the 4.2L V-6 doesnt pump out lots of power, it does manage to get great mileage and allow Mike to really drive the truck around town and to the showgrounds.
A clean F-150 on airbags sporting 20-inch wheels is awe-inspiring to many sport truck enthusiasts. Mikes truck is a good example of a budget truck built right.
The interior is spartan, but when was the last time you saw a five-speed pickup truck? APC white-face gauges and billet pedals are the only additions to this truck.
Mike placed the airbag switches into the center armrest. Master Image Custom switches and gauges make it easy for Mike to raise or lower the truck.
Some guys just get it more than others, and Mike Skyles of Clermont, Florida, is one of them. Mike knows that the simple formula of a clean truck plus huge wheels plus a frame-laying stance equals instant attention. No fancy graphics or stuffed-animal displays are necessary to draw a show crowd to Mikes 98 Ford F-150. Stopping people dead in their tracks is exactly what his red sport truck does.
Mikes laid-back philosophy is this: I built my truck because I have a good time working on it, and I like going to shows. Thats an easygoing philosophy, but one that is not as simple to practice as it sounds. Proof that this simple formula is working for Mike is that we had featured his truck once before, and we shot it again after he bagged it.
In fact, Mike has kept it so uncomplicated that the majority of changes to his truck, beyond the chassis mods, could be done in a single afternoon. Exterior upgrades are limited to a pair of Trenz inserts and some color matching up front, and a pair of APC Euro taillights and a CVD roll pan in the rear. The interior mods were also kept pretty basic with an APC Speedglo gauge panel and an Alpine head unit.
Mike saved the sophisticated stuff for underneath his truck. Under the front, Mike used a pair of Chassis Tech 2-inch dropped A-arms and Firestone bags. Out back are more pieces from Chassis Tech including a flip-kit, hangers, and shackles used in conjunction with a custom fabbed C-notch by Michael Page of Clermont, Florida, and another pair of Firestone bags. The 10/12-drop slides down nicely over Mikes set of chrome Niche Pultec 20-inchers and 245/40ZR20 Michelin Pilots.
Next time you think a cool truck takes years to build, with 45 body mods, full custom paint and interior, and thousands of dollars stuffed under the hood, remember Mike Skyles formula and keep it simple.