When Armando "Manny" Torres bought his '01 Ford Super Duty, the plan was to just haul his boats from the lake and back. Then, just like every other vehicle Manny has ever bought, it snowballed into the truck you see here. Manny, definitely not new to the customization scene, was known pretty well in Florida for having built numerous show-winning cars. From Mustangs to Camaros,Manny has built it all.
Manny started out with some 24-inch rims and then two more sets of 24-inch rims, until he finally decided on a style that he liked. We can see why he is on the Christmas card list over at Sinister Customs in Orlando, Florida. Little did the guys over at Sinister-or even Manny, for that matter-realize that this was just the tip of the iceberg for what was going to be one of the most customized Super Dutys to ever roll on our nation's highways.
Manny has always been known for one thing on the Florida show circuit,and that was having a bad-ass stereo. In fact, Manny's last show vehicle, an Olds Cutlass, took Best Stereo honors at Slam Fest, one of Florida's premier car shows. Needless to say, just a simple head unit installation was not going to cut it. So, Manny was off again to Sinister Customs for some extra bump in the F-250. Just like he did with the wheels, Manny couldn't leave well enough alone. He had to keep going bigger and better, until he got the system you see here. Manny was fine and good for a while, rolling in a Super Duty with some serious bump inside, pulling his boat. But, that's when hem realized he was getting passed by a lot of the diesel tow pigs on the way to the lake. Manny couldn't be left behind, so he headed back over to Sinister Customs for a Vortech supercharger and Zex nitrous kit that would help him "keep up with the Joneses." Though Manny finally had the truck to pass the other guys and a loud stereo to catch their ears, something was still missing, something to keep their attention once,the other guys heard him coming.
The plan was to take the truck in for a simple update to the factory paint, nothing really major, just sprucing up what Henry Ford's factory had intended. But, once Manny got the truck in the shop, he realized that he should go all-out while he was in there. He might as well do the body mods as well and save a trip back just to do what he realized he would want later. When Manny got the truck out of the paint shop, he realized that the truck still had too much of a wheelwell gap above those 24s, so he rolled it back over to Sinister for a 3/5 lowering job to really set him apart from all of the lifted Super Dutys pulling boats to the lake.
Manny is truly the type of person this sport is all about. All of us have had that one-maybe more-project that has snowballed into a monster.You probably think Manny would be content having one of the baddest Super Dutys on the east Coast, but by the time we caught up with Manny to shoot his truck he had already sold it to his good friend, Brent gandy. When asked why he sold it, Manny could only say he had plans for something better. You can bet we will be there to capture it in pictures once it is completed. It still wasn't a simple sale for Manny because Brent had to keep wrestling the keys away from him the whole time we were there. Manny definitely accomplished what he intended to do with this truck by building one that he could drive every day then hose off at a show and get everyone's attention no matter what they were into.