Practice Makes Perfect
Eric Mcpherson's '70 Ford F-100 Ranger
Zanesville, Ohio
We Say: After failing to complete a body drop on a '93 Chevy Blazer that was later scrapped, Eric convinced some of his friends to let him practice some welding on their rides. Once he was able to fine-tune his skills, Eric decided to attack this '70 Ford. While looking to body drop it, he became very interested in using the suspension on an '89 Crown Victoria that his grandmother had. Since it was just sitting around and not being driven, he persuaded her to give it to him for this project. Thanks to that car, this truck got a nice drivetrain and an IFS that was used to get it down low.
What He Wins: Obviously Eric is good with his tools, so we thought it would be cool to give him a new set. The only catch is that they are made of chocolate. Unless he is working on a chocolate vehicle with chocolate hardware, then these tools are utterly useless, yet tasty to eat.
The 411
Rims/tires: 15-inch from '89 Ford Crown Victoria / 215/75R15 Crown Victoria stock rubber with white stripe
Engine: 302ci Ford V-8 / four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive / '77 Ford Thunderbird A/C converted to an engine-driven air compressor / '78 Ford Bronco 25-gallon fuel tank / 2-1/2-inch exhaust with X-pipe crossover, cut-outs, and Borla mufflers
Suspension: '89 Ford Crown Victoria front clip / custom stock-floor body drop frame from firewall back / '89 Ford Thunderbird independent rear suspension / Firestone 224C airbags on all four corners / 3/8-inch SMC valves / 1/2-inch stainless steel-braided air lines
Body Mods: Factory body with original trim / fresh paint from '84 / custom wheel tubs in the bed
Interior: Raised transmission tunnel / stock bench seat / Gennie Shifter Lo-Stik shift assembly / custom shifter rod with cast iron skull knob
Audio/video: Head unit updated to AM/FM radio in the '80s / stock single dash speaker / MB Quart speakers in doors
Xtreme Dream
Michael Cottrll's '99 Chevy S-10 Extreme
Cedar Park, Texas
We Say: On a budget and inspired by Senior Editor Calin Head's first-gen S-10, Michael jumped on the first S-10 Xtreme he could find at a decent price. Because the water pump went out during his test drive of it, he was able to snag it for cheap. With the money saved, he purchased some custom parts and painted it.
The 411
Rims/tires: 17-inch Eagle 212 / 235/50R17 up front and 255/50/17 Kumho Ecsta RSX in the rear
Engine: 4.3L V-8 / Bosch plug wires / cold-air intake with K&N filter / Hypertech III computer programmer / custom exhaust with Flowmaster 44 muffler
Suspension: GM ZQ8 lowered suspension package / Bilstein shocks
Body Mods: Custom paintjob with Dodge Viper Yellow on top, GM Blue metalflake on the bottom, and a Viper Red stripe to break the two-tone / factory rear roll pan / Cervini SS hood / custom taillights
Interior: Factory seating ditched for buckets from a Corvette
Audio/video: JVC head unit / Polk Audio 6-inch speakers
Murderous
Mike Malcom's '07 Gmc Sierra
Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada
We Say: If you don't have a theme, it's OK because you can just paint everything black and call it, "murdered out." All the cool kids are doing it; just look at what it did for Mike's truck.
The 411
Rims/tires: 24x10 Boss 333 / 295/30R24 Toyo Proxes STII
Engine: AFE cold-air intake / Edge Evolution computer programmer / custom exhaust with Flowmaster muffler
Suspension: DJM 3/6-drop kit
Body Mods: Color-matched front bumper, door handles, grille shell, and tailgate cap / Street Scene roll pan / shaved and relocated tailgate handle / amber front turn signals removed / Putco LED third brake light / smoked taillights / Leer tonneau cover
Audio/video: Pioneer AVIC-D1 head unit / 6.5-inch Phoenix Gold component speakers in the doors / two 12-inch Phoenix Gold subwoofers in a custom enclosure / Audison SRX3 amplifier