Feature > Featured Vehicle
Fat Boy F-350
story & photos by Chris Pearson
Brian Adkins has built many Fords in his lifetime, and pulling all those Chevys out of the sand makes it all worthwhile for him. Brian and his buddies have a club called Fat Boy Racing. Bluntly put, they are all reasonably large guys who enjoy motorsports. This 2000 Ford F-350 is built along the same lines.
The truck was built primarily for use at sand dunes on Michigan’s West coast but also participates in truck pulling events. It started out life modestly with a leveling kit and a set of 35s, but progressed over the next three years to eventually have 26 inches of lift and 46 inch Baja Claws. Every modification to this truck is the result of Brian and his friend’s ingenuity and hard work.
Brian made dual 6-inch exhaust stacks out of stainless steel. |
Up front a Dana 60 is filled with a Lock Right and 5.13 Gears. Custom steering knuckles were used to work around the thick springs. |
Brian, with the help of friend Jake McKenzie, painted the truck Oxford White and added Pepsi Blue 3D Flames with silver tips coming up the cowl hood. The original grille was swapped out for one of the billet variety and light up Ford logos were added front and rear along with Euro headlights and taillights.
A 475 hp 7.3L V8 built by Hallas Performance in Romeo, Michigan sits under the hood. It gets air from a custom intake with a K&N and is then sped up by a Van Turbo. Stage II injectors deliver diesel fuel, and propane can be added with the flip of a switch from a Power Shot 2000 system. Spent gasses go skyward through dual 6-inch stainless steel stacks fabed up by Brian and a custom chip, burned specifically for this vehicle controls the computer.
The interior has all the gadgets including a DVD player, Nintendo Game Cube, two televisions, and a Rockford Fosgate sound system.
The Ford Sterling rear end is loaded with an ARB air locker and 5.13 Gears. BDS Shocks and Firestone air bags smooth things out. |
10 inch re-arched BDS springs are located six inches lower on the frame and sit on top of a 5-inch block. Fabritech ladder bars limit the axle wrap. |
Hallas Performance rebuilt the 4R100 Transmission with Sun Coast plates and clutches to handle the extra power produced by the engine. The unit is cooled by a 26,000 GVW B&M cooler. The transfer case is in a custom sub frame to make the driveline work. It was rotated 60 degrees to get an operational front driveshaft angle. Both drive shafts were lengthened by Ann Arbor Driveshaft and give rotation to 5.13 gears in a front Dana 60 with a Lock Right and a rear Sterling with an ARB.
46x19.5 inch Baja Claws were mounted on 16.5x12 Weld Mountain Crusher wheels. Custom shock hoops were made for the dual BDS shock setup and Warn hubs cap the axles.
Brian managed to get 26 inches of lift under the truck through lots of custom fabrication. Some of the lift is attributed to lowering the spring mount locations 6 inches on the frame, but the majority comes from the 8-inch BDS springs that have been re-arched to 10 inches. The rear springs have a 1-inch add-a-leaf installed along with a 5-inch block, while in the the front, springs have 6-inch lengthened shackles with a greatly increased spring pack. Add on a 3-inch body lift and you’re up there. Firestone air bags were also installed to be a bit more forgiving on the springs when the truck comes down hard. They have been mounted in a way not to obstruct articulation. They attach to the frame on top, but are guided into position by pipes that slip inside one another at the spring. This allows up to 14 inches of travel. This lift made custom steering knuckles and crossover steering necessary to clear the tie rods from the springs, not to mention a whole slew of other problems Brian worked around. All of that fabrication paid off when he was able to bolt on 46x19.5 Mickey Thompson Baja Claws on 16.5-inch Weld Mountain Crusher wheels. These tires bring the truck’s sub frame to 30 inches of clearance and the differential to 15 inches.
The interior was not left plain either. Auto meter gauges on the door pillar keep an eye on the power plant while a flame overlay covers the OEM gauges. A Quest Star DVD/CD player or a Nintendo Game Cube feeds out to two televisions and whatever you’re watching comes through loud and clear on the two 10- inch Rockford Fosgate subs powered by a Punch 500 amp. A Cobra CB, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, tow straps, 9,000 lb. Warn Winch and a really high lift jack round out the other gear carried.
