BLUE BLOODED

POWERTECH DIESEL’S 2017 SUPER DUTY WALKS A THIN BLUE LINE

The most effective trucks are the ones that tell a story, with ideas, ideals and a sort of history behind them. Only then does the truck really take on a life of its own. There are no limits—except those temporary ones imposed by time and money, of course—to the amount of modification any one vehicle can be subjected to. But there’s also a not-so-subtle line between crafting a truly unique, meaningful one-off ride and cobbling up a glorified parts hanger.

Therein lies the great challenge in building a showpiece for the annual SEMA convention. At its core, a SEMA show truck is a vehicle for promoting a company or group of companies’ products and services. But the most successful trucks go that extra couple miles to lodge themselves surreptitiously in the viewer’s brain so that images of it continue to flicker through the showgoer’s cortex long after the carpets at the Las Vegas Convention Center have been rolled up and the lights have gone down.

So it is with this 2017 F-350 Super Duty project spearheaded by Powertech Diesel superintendent Brent Willsey. Willsey is a familiar enough name in the industry, having built diesel-powered project trucks (as well as cars) professionally for more than a decade.

Of course, Willsey’s initial focus is on promoting business, and the finished piece as it sits before you was made possible through a collaboration of trusted partners in the truck-modding business,