BLUE BEAUTY
the shop while the truck’s body panels were being hauled to the auto body shop to be painted—then we married it all back together the night before we left for Vegas.”
Attention to Detail
The truck’s metallic custom blue was applied by TJ Ryan of Johnson Auto Body, located in nearby Tolland, Connecticut. TJ would also paint match the Fusion bumpers and customize the truck’s grille, headlights, badging, and tailgate. According to O’hara, the reworking of minor factory components that make it into all of his SEMA builds has indirectly started a fad in the SEMA build segment. “No one really used to do anything with the OEM badges or grille or emblems,” he says. “We started doing that back in ’12 and created a trend where people are now taking the stock stuff apart—now it’s a thing.”
High-rise Super Duty
Offering the best of all worlds— optimum articulation, travel, and traction—is a four-link front suspension system developed by Rize Industries. By making use of Fox 2.5 coilover remote shocks, complete with dual-rate Eibach springs, the custom four-link effectively raises the Super Duty’s ride height 14 inches. As for the rear suspension, a pair of custom leaf spring packs from Atlas Suspension grant an extra 12 inches of lift. The added altitude makes clearing 40-inch Toyo Open Country mud terrains mounted on 24-inch American Force Zone wheels a cinch.
Little Fuel, a Little Air— 700 HP
Knowing the 6.7L Power Stroke could handle a 100-percent increase in power without breaking a sweat, the common-rail V8’s internals were left alone. Instead, an extra 350 hp would be found through fuel and air mods. First, the factory turbocharger system was replaced and the Garrett VGT scrapped in favor of a fixed-geometry 67mm S400 and T4 mounting system from Maryland Performance Diesel.