One of the best and worst times is preparing a vehicle for the annual SEMA show. Late nights after long days combine with endless waiting for parts to arrive. It’s a sight to behold sometimes, and we have been part of the chaos for years. Thanks to Marco Najarro of Monster Hooks, we were invited to attend the installation of more than a dozen companies’ products as he was preparing his truck for the show.
Marco enlisted the help of Nic Germano at Outkast Kustoms in Newark, California, to gather all the parts and get them installed and functional. Having worked with Nic numerous times, we were all too familiar with his cool shop located in a fire station built in the early 1900s. We were excited to be a part of the build and see how close to the rendering they could get.
| When we first saw the truck, it was completely stock, except for the roof rack and Recon LED mirror and taillights.
How Did it Work?
It’s always tough to determine how good something is when comparing new to new. Marco’s ’11 F-250 hadn’t even worn the tiny spikes off the original 20-inch tires, yet here we were replacing all the suspension and changing the wheels, tires, and brakes. In light of that fact, the new Top Gun Customz Black-Ops coilover conversion rode better than the factory setup. The company did a great job on the internal damping choices. Out back, we could barely notice the added spring from Atlas, and it rode no better or worse than the original. One modification that did stand out was the Hellwig sway bar combination. Adding lift plus tire height can make for a tipsy ride, but Hellwig kept it all under control. Under the hood, the new AFE open filter had a barely noticeable gain in noise. The roar of the SS-M16 Interco tires masks any and all other noise. There is no doubt that a large set of mud tires is under the truck. It’s all we could do to not be lulled to sleep by the sweet hum.
As far as the rendering is concerned, Marco and Outkast Kustoms nearly nailed it. Both of the Fusion bumpers and the grille shell were originally planned for a pass through Hydro-Dip to be coated to emulate the look of carbon fiber. They were all too big for the machine, and we are happy things turned out the way they did. The satin black has the menacing look we love to see. Although, we’re calling it finished here, Marco has plans for a tuner, exhaust, and some yet-to-be-released traction bars from Top Gun Customz. By the time this magazine sees print, the late additions will have been handled. We will be looking for Marco and his Monster Duty at SEMA, along with a matching Chevrolet HD. Stay tuned for our coverage of the event to see the F-250 fully completed and to find out how the Chevrolet HD came out.
| 01. The first things to be removed from the 6.7L diesel were the factory batteries.
