Ren’s NorCal Ford F-150 – Bagged on Big Wheels

Posted by Kevin Whipps on Jul 4, 2010 in Featured, Muscle & Style | 0 comments

It was March 2004, and Ren Robinson of American Canyon, California was shopping around for a new custom truck to build. He did some research, and after a while realized that there weren’t many 2004 Ford F-150’s out there, so he decided he’d build one. Just a few days later, he picked up a bone stock burgundy crew-cab, and got going on it. Some 22’s, a 4/6 drop, a pair of billet grills and an exhaust later, Ren rolled into a show, expecting the trophies to come pouring in, trumpets playing in the background, hailing him as the new king of all things custom. Instead, he heard the loud sound of air evacuating from valves and the distinct sound of frames slamming down on concrete. This was not going to be the day he expected.

A little setback like this wasn’t going to get him down. Instead he made a few phone calls and a few days later, he was ready to begin anew.

The journey starts at SIC Motorsports in San Jose, California, beginning with an altitude adjustment. The control arms, springs and shocks were yanked out and tossed, and in their place went a set of AirRide Shockwaves, DJM lower control arms, and Total Chaotic heavy duty titanium upper control arms. Those upper arms have a uniball with a misalignment spacer instead of the balljoint, which allows them to kick back at some wicked angles without binding,letting the truck lay frame up front. All that work kicked the wheels into the engine bay, but to keep it all looking stock under the hood, they lifted the stock fenderwells three inches.

Out back, they bridged the frame and made mounts for AirRide 9100lb bags that were mounted on top of the axle. The whole system was done with ½-inch line, ½-inch AirRide valves, dual Viair compressors and a pair of chromed 6 gallon tanks. Keeping an eye on the system is a digital AirRide control panel, and a SIC Motorsports switch box. With all that work on the suspension, the booty 22” chromies had to go, so he ditched those and got a set of 22X8.5” Intro Twisted Vista 6’s, and mounted 265/40 Nitto’s on all four corners.

He had to be ready for the car shows now, right? Sure enough, Ren hit the scene and he was looking pretty tight, but wasn’t pulling any heavy jewelry home yet. What was the deal? Now he noticed people rolling around with custom paint, and he knew that graphics were next on his list. After getting a good referral from Dan at F.B.I., Ren decided to meet up with James Cashman of Cashman Customs in Concord, California. The two discussed ideas, and Ren showed James a few sketches of what he had in mind. After the meeting, it was time to go to work.

Ren wanted a clean look, but he didn’t want to move up a class because he had done too much. James kept it simple by shaving the tailgate handle and emblems, then smoothing out the stock door handles and painting them to match the graphics. Since the truck was still pretty new, and the stock toreador red looked clean, they decided to base the graphics on the stock color. The truck was painted using House of Kolor products, including Kandy Tangerine, Cinnamon Pearl, Candy Apple Red, and metallic silver. No detail was left untouched, even the bridge cover was decorated to match. By the time the truck was done, it was a whole new ride.

You should know by now what was next, another visit to a show, another new idea, and this time, his wife Rose brought it up. “You know, you might as well take it to the top,” she said. That woman is a keeper.

The interior was a whole new land for Ren, and it started by going back to Cashman Customs for some custom paint. James took the stock door panels, smoothed them flat and sprayed them the factory toreador red with some wicked tangerine pinstriping.Next, it was off to Larry’s Custom Upholstery in Napa, California to stitch in some red leather into the seat inserts. The whole family helps out with this truck too, as evidenced by the purchase of chromed interior pieces by Ren’s son Chris. Throw in some aluminum floor mats, and a Colorado Custom Climax steering wheel, and it’s a formula for a show winner, right?

Now it was time for the stereo, but it’s never just about the sound these days. Any cool truck has to have monitors everywhere, and Ren’s ride is no exception. It all starts with a double-din Kenwood DDX-7015 DVD Monitor head unit. The DVD portion feeds a video signal to a pair of Eiger Vision 5.6” monitors in the headrests, and a Microvision MTV-7SW mounted in a drop down off the headliner. For speakers, Bazooka mids and highs cover the front, while Eclipse’s run the rear doors. There’s also a JL Audio stealth box hidden under the seat, next to a pair of JL Audio amps; an e4300 for the mids & highs, and an e1800 for the sub. Motor Music of Concord, California hooked Ren up with the setup and the install for the Ford.

It took a long time, but Ren finally did make it to that show. That show was the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Now it’s time for the trophies.

Ren would like to thank his club Acrophobia, Clint & Nick at SIC Motorsports, Robert Espajo at Motor Music, and a special shout out to his parents, his son Christopher and his wife Rose.