Willy Martin's F-350 Is A Regular Best of Show winner, and yet it has almost 70,000 miles on it. how does he get to drive a show-winning truck every day? The simple answer is that he created a solid building plan and chose his builder very carefully. Willy wanted a distinctive, rugged-looking truck that could do a solid day's work during the week while doing double duty on the weekends. The big Ford was designed as a tow vehicle for Willy's show car, as well as being a show competitor in its own right.
The truck's aggressive good looks come from a combination of an '05 front clip, huge 24.5-inch, custom-designed wheels, and a four-link suspension with air springs that provide 11 inches of lift. The combination of Lambo doors and suicide doors underscore the show-winning capability of this heavy hauler.
Willy contacted his old friend Frank Carralero of Red's hydraulics in Miami. Red's has been a leader in hydraulic suspension installations for almost two decades and is now equally proficient in unique air suspensions and large, custom-designed wheels. Willy saw the fine craftsmanship that the shop produced and decided Red's would be the perfect shop to build his dream truck.
Before the truck was even purchased, the initial discussions involved the idea of a big wheel conversion. In order to fit the larger 24.5-inch wheels, however, a lift kit was necessary. When Frank Carralero of Red's priced it out, he showed Willy that air springs would be more cost-effective than a lift kit with the added advantage of adjustability. After a few more details were resolved, Willy showed Frank just how confident he was in his talents, delivering his brand-new truck to Red's facility in Miami.
Mike Gonzales, Ariel Esperon, and Frank wasted no time putting the truck on the lift and removing the original Ford leaf springs. Taking into account that new tires were 42 inches tall versus the stock 31s, the new suspension would have 11 inches of adjustable lift with the new air springs in place. Red's positioned the Dana 80 rearend where it needed to be, then started bending the links, and making mounts to lock it into position. The original front axle, a Dana 60, was repositioned in the same manner. Red's opted for a symmetrical approach, creating a balanced four-link suspension for both the front and rear. The four-link mounts meet in the center and support the heavy-duty, equal length chrome links. Additional cross members were added for strength, and a tubular drive shaft hoop was installed for safety.
Four polished Rancho shocks stabilize the steering, and eight more control the front wheels while a Dana 60 transmits the power. Everything underneath has either been chromed, polished, or powder-coated red to match the exterior.
Several commercial shock hoops were available for the front, but no one made anything unique for the rear. As a result, Red's created matching hoops of its own design for both front and rear. Eight Rancho shocks are used up front-four on each wheel-along with another four as steering stabilizers. Six more polished Ranchos were mounted on a custom rack across the rear of the truck. The sophisticated system incorporates four shocks that are adjustable from the cab, allowing the ride to be finetuned while on the road. A track bar was fitted to the rear axle and the antisway bar was mounted higher on the axle, to clear the four-link.
Originally, the truck was equipped with tractor-trailer spec rolling sleeve air springs, but they proved to be overkill for the comparatively lightweight truck. The springs were replaced with Slam Specialties units, retaining the chrome-plated bases from the old springs for looks. All the air lines are 3/4-inch steel-braided hoses with matching 3/4-inch valves. Air pressure for the system comes from the onboard air compressors with Delinte 285/ two bed-mounted nitrogen tanks as backup. The new springs give 11 inches of lift, a dramatic rise for a truck this large. More importantly, the Ford is still capable of long-distance travel and regularly pulls a trailer. The 24.5-inch Twisted-x wheels were custom-made by Diesel Wheels, a subsidiary of Red's hydraulics. Diesel Wheels started with a forged blank that it shaped on its own CnC machine and then fit the 10-lug wheel with a custom 8-lug adapter.