Last issue, we tore into our in-house 2010 Ford F-350 Super Duty to begin the upgrades to our shop dualie. While it rarely makes a magazine appearance, it is often used behind the scenes to haul parts, tow trailers, and make long trips with projects in tow. As we stated last issue, there was one large problem constantly looming over the driver: It was 100 percent stock. For custom truck guys like us, driving the stock dualie is almost like punishment, so we decided to make something more out of our Truck Group team hauler.
We started with the basics: suspension and wheels/tires. Weld Racing stepped in to help us out with its new line of forged dualie wheels. With a load rating of 3,500 pounds on a 37-inch-tall tire, these wheels will last the life of the truck and look good doing it. Keeping traction with the road mile after mile is Continental's latest commercial tire, the HSR1. This combo should last 100,000 miles with proper rotation and inflation. To help us clear the new, larger wheels and tires, we added a 2-inch leveling kit with new shocks from Daystar. Easy to install, the leveling kit will give us the extra room needed, without negatively affecting the ride quality or tow rating. To bring down the extra mass, we installed a set of Orange Stuff brake pads from EBC Brakes. With more pad swept contact area, the thicker EBC pads will help reduce heat, shorten stopping distances, and wear more evenly than the factory brakes.
This update we decided to freshen up the leading edge of the Ford F-350. We did away with the bulky stock grille and installed a solid stainless steel twin mesh grille from Royalty Core. We also swapped out the stock headlights and taillights for upgraded units from Spyder Auto. It took just a few hours to install this round of parts on the F-350, but with minimal effort our dualie is now both safer and looking better. Now that the ball is rolling, we're going to have to decide what to do next!
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty Front View Before
Before: When we began the day, our ’10 Ford F-350 dualie was 100 percent stock. The tires were worn down and needed replacing, which provided us with the perfect opportunity to improve all aspects of the truck.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 01 Spyder Auto Taillight Vs Stock Tailight
1. LED lighting is an integral part of safety, and we wanted to replace the old incandescent housing with new high-tech lighting from Spyder Auto. Using an 8mm socket, both taillight retaining screws were removed.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 02
2. The new Spyder Auto light (left, $222.95 from autoanything.com) is full of super-bright LED lights, whereas the factory light used a single bulb.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 03
3. Installation couldn’t have been any easier. We simply unplugged the factory bulb harnesses and plugged the new Spyder pigtails into them.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 04 Spyder Auto Taillight
4. Once the brake pedal was applied, the LEDs shone brightly and will help everyone see us slowing down.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 05 Headlight
5. Up front, the four factory headlight retaining bolts were removed. For the record, there is one up top, two on the side, and one hiding underneath.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 06
6. To wire up the Spyder halo rings and LED lights ($360.95 from autoanything.com), we needed to tap into the running lights. It’s important to not splice into the turn signal light, or your halo rings will flash every time your blinker is engaged. Using a Power Probe Screamer, we easily found the proper wire to tap into. In this F-350’s case, it was the purple wire with the white stripe.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 07
7. The Spyder lights do not come with wire taps. We had to make a trip to the parts store to buy these inline taps. Once the positive and negative wires from the halos and LEDs were separately spliced together, we could tap into the factory wiring.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 08
8. As you can see, the before and after lighting was dramatically different.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 09
9. The Royalty Core grille is a full replacement, meaning it does not just lay over the factory plastic. This style is ideal, as you will not see the ugly plastic crossbars peering from behind the black stainless mesh. Using an air saw, the plastic grille inserts were cut out.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 10
10. Once the centersection was properly cut, it was pulled free.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 11 Front Grille
11. Featuring solid stainless steel construction, the new Royalty Core grille is one of the beefiest, sturdiest, and most well-built grilles we’ve installed ($1,267.00). The mesh is rock-solid and the sword emblem is different than the usual marketing logo. Simply put, it’s badass.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 12
12. Using an angle drill, a 3⁄16-inch drill bit was needed to drill a hole into the factory plastic for each mounting tab.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 13
13. Screws, washers, and retaining fasteners (which were all included in the kit) were used to secure the grille to the plastic surround.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty 14 Front Grille Install
14. With the unique three-piece design of the ’08 to ’10 Super Duty grilles, Royalty Core included the inserts for the side panels as well. The same installation method was performed on each of these.
| 2010 Ford F 350 Super Duty Front Grille
15. To say the front end was upgraded would be a huge understatement. The Spyder Auto halo/LED lights and Royalty Core mesh grille add an aggressive, menacing look to our 2010 Ford F-350.
