A Rolling Test Bed And Product Showcase
When Ford redesigned the Super Duty in 2011, it was an instant hit among Ford diesel enthusiasts. With 400 horsepower and 800 ft-lb of torque on tap, in a much more refined platform, the new Ford became the truck of choice for diesel performance companies to showcase their latest and greatest diesel products. A perfect example is the 2012 Ford F-350 owned by Tom Wood of St. George, Utah. Tom is an engineer at H&S Performance and the truck has been used as a rolling test bed for new products. Most recently, H&S teamed up with BDS Suspension to debut the truck at the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
The business end of the Ford is as burly as it comes, sporting a Fusion bumper, LED lighting and a Superwinch Tiger Shark 17,500-pound winch behind the bumper. Also giving the truck a unique look is a BMP mesh grille and painted headlights.
Out back is another body color painted Fusion bumper fitted with Rigid Industries LED lights.
The big white Ford is fitted with all the right stuff to get noticed, and to perform. The most obvious addition is the 8-inch BDS suspension system, complete with Fox 2.0 shocks with a dual shock setup mounted up front. BDS stainless steel brake lines complement the added suspension height and wheel travel. For rollers, the truck is fitted with 22-inch BMF Rehab wheels wrapped with 40-inch Interco SS M-16 tires. Custom-built traction bars help limit wheel hop during hard acceleration.
A BDS 8-inch suspension system, complete with twin Fox 2.0 shocks, gives the truck a great stance.
The lift provides plenty of room for 40-inch Interco SS M-16 tires mounted on 22-inch BMF Rehab wheels. You can also see the BDS extended radius arms for the lift.
The big Ford’s 6.7L Power Stroke remains relatively stock with the exception of an H&S intake and H&S Mini Maxx programmer, which they say ups the torque to close to 100 ft-lb and nearly 500 horsepower. A 4-inch exhaust system was added. Both the trans and transfer case are stock and seem to be able to handle the newfound power, according to Tom.
Rigid Industries LED lighting is fitted in both the front and rear bumpers
The interior remains relatively stock with a few upgrades such as a 1,000-watt audio/video system.
A good chunk of the truck’s mods were in the appearance department starting with a set of body color painted Fusion bumpers front and rear. The front unit features a Superwinch Tiger Shark 17,500-pound winch and push bar along with LED lighting from Rigid Industries. Out back, the rear bumper, also body colored, is likewise fitted with Rigid LED lights. Bushwacker fender flares help keep the tires tucked while AMP Research PowerSteps help with entry and exit.
Several dash panels were given the flat black paint treatment by the owner.
The factory grille shell was also painted white, as were the door handles. The grille was fitted with a BMF Death Metal black mesh grille to add some contrast to the all-white front end. Other mods include custom smoke side mirror lenses, painted headlights, Recon smoked LEDs and a Truxedo LoPro tonneau cover.
An H&S Performance Mini Maxx provides the tuning.
On the inside, you can’t beat the comfort and durability of the factory leather interior so Tom did some custom paintwork on the dash and door handles. The finishing touch was the addition of a Pioneer 8400 audio/video system with 1,000-watt Kicker RMS amps and twin subwoofers mounted behind the rear seat.
AMP Research PowerSteps make entry and exit from the truck much easier.
The cool thing about engineering exercises is that they need to be “proven” in a real world environment, which for Tom means having the truck as a daily driver. He gets a lot of thumbs-up on the road, and judging by the smile on his face, is happy with the results of his efforts.
By Kevin Wilson
Photography by Jason Mulligan