A Ford Ranger Named Elton
Coker Rod Shop’s Timeless Tiny Dancer
WE SPEND QUITE A BIT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST WONDROUS MYSTERIES— WHAT DO CUSTOM VEHICLE BUILDERS BUILD FOR THEMSELVES? While know how and money might not present as much of a disadvantage to a capable fabricator as much as available time would, it always leaves us wondering what an established builder might buy and invest valuable resources in as far as a personal ride. Certainly, the paying customer does come first, but when the right time comes, a guy’s gotta create something for himself, right?
Nathan Coker (no relation to Coker Tire fame, but super interested in a collaboration) of Winchester, Tennessee, is a name you may already be familiar with by now. Nathan already has some amazing builds under his belt, namely his ’56 Chevy shop truck that debuted at SEMA in 2018, but before he opened the doors at Coker’s Rod Shop in 2015, his inspirations came in many different forms.
“When I was a kid, my family was always into vehicles,” he says. “I loved Lowrider magazine and got into mini-trucks from there. I always wanted to be in one of the magazines and have strived for that quality ever since.”
Once the mini-truck bug bit down on Nathan, it took quite a hold on him. He has owned a bunch of Ford Rangers in the past, but it was really the square body style that he wanted to sink his teeth into.
“I traded a ’95 extended cab Ranger for this ’86 Ranger straight up back in 2003,” he tells us. “Back then, it had already been traditionally body dropped about 6 inches, and I drove it all the way back home after I traded for it.”
While that ride may not have been the most comfortable, Nathan fully planned to do something about it and redo the truck at some point in the future. He didn’t know exactly when he would have the time do get to it, but he figured the right moment would come—maybe. Hopefully.
Things didn’t happen on the truck for a while. It took about four years for Nathan to get serious about the Ranger’s next life phase.
“Since the truck had been previously modified, I felt it was best to start fresh moving forward,” he says.
This truck has since been through multiple revamps under Nathan’s watch, but for some reason or another, they stalled out. But he never was able to completely give up on it. He had a vision for the truck, and felt that he could get there under the right circumstances.
Nathan is a body and paint man by trade but has since become comfortable with metal work and LS swaps and is now able to offer his customers a more extensive menu of services because of it. Aside from benefiting greatly from his education and work experience, he also honed his skills while working on his personal projects. In 2014, he finally got to the other side of the tunnel with the Ranger, as he ditched the previous traditional body drop for a more favorable stock floor setup. The suspension system was upgraded wherever Nathan saw necessary, and under the hood he prepped a small block ’90 Ford Mustang 302 that was dressed and custom airbrushed by his talented painter pal Scott Huskey. The realistic wood grain is one of the Ranger’s most memorable highlights that tends to stick with onlookers long after their first glance.
To better make a lasting first impression, Nathan, along with a good group of friends, sculpted the Ranger’s exterior to represent its new lease on life. Aside from a handful of carefully selected accessories and a ton of bodywork, Nathan chose two paint colors— PPG Porsche Riviera Blue and
Ford Crème Brule—that make for a timeless combination. The airbrushed chrome effect trim by Scott Huskey, once again, makes for a winning finishing touch.
Even though Nathan was able to capitalize off inspiration and carve