These days it’s rare to hear the words black and blue and think of anything that’s positive. Then, you add the idea of something being on fire and you just end up down a negative “rabbit hole.” Well, thanks to Dalton Mitchell’s 2007 F-250 that’s all about to change.

We met Mitchell in his hometown of Norman, Oklahoma for the chance to see his truck and to get the privilege of featuring it. Immediately, we were in love. This is a black and blue we would love, not just some bruise we are looking to get rid of. Mix the flames into it and this is one truck that is truly on fire. Can you imagine having a truck like this at your disposal and better yet using it as your daily driver! We can only imagine the attention he gets when rolling down the road.  

Mitchell works at Jakes Custom Diesel as a mechanic. When talking with Mitchell about his truck he mentioned that, “I built this to show people that anything can be done to any truck or car if you put your mind to it. There’s no limit to what you can do and I’m lucky enough to make that happen not just for myself but for others at Jakes Custom Diesel.”

With that said, we took a closer look into this “Bruiser.”

The truck was originally a Harley-Davidson with a ghost flame running down the side. Mitchell wanted to keep that theme but amp it up a little.

Starting with the obvious, let’s talk about the exterior. Mitchell started out with this Harley Davidson F-250 and decided to have their custom painter Juan Carlos work his magic. Due to his long standing relationship with them, he gave them free-reign to do whatever they thought would rock it out. Enter cool running PPG blue flames with terror built right in…in the form of ghosted skulls hidden throughout keeping an eye on things. Next, you immediately notice the 10-inch Rough Country suspension lift keeping Bruiser heads and tails above the other trucks on the road. As you scan down the side of the truck, from the paint to the lift you quickly become enthralled with the shoes this truck is rockin’.

Being single, Mitchell is always on the lookout for the ladies. So, he opted to install something shiny and sparkly to draw them in. The size 24-inch chrome “Octane” wheels from American Force Wheels, makes them stop and take notice. Wrapped with 37-inch Falken Wild Peak All Terrain tires, he is making a huge statement.

We continued to tour the Bruiser and noticed the Recon mirrors on our way to the backside. Talk about having eyes in the back of your head…check the skull collage keeping an eye on your every move as you near the tailgate. Blending in are the Recon smoked taillights. Follow your eye down and there’s 4-inch Flow~Pro straight pipe providing that deep and haunting exhaust sound and puff of smoke keeping the fear in you from all sides.

Then, as we walked around to the driver’s side we passed the gas cap and nearly jumped out of our skin. There it is, another skull with flames protecting the gas cap. Clearly, this is a message to anyone who is thinking about siphoning any gas out of this truck, that it’s at your own risk and to beware. Or maybe it’s a message to Mitchell to let him know they are watching him to make sure he keeps the belly of the beast full and the door shut? Hard to know at this point, but either way, you get the moral of the story.

From here, we jumped in the driver’s seat to check out the interior of this tough looking truck. Inside, the first thing we noticed was the SCT programmer. This allows Mitchell to keep an eye on everything under the hood and keep it running smoothly.

Keeping him comfortable on the long hauls are the Harley-Davidson leather seats. Then it hits us…the sound bumpin’ from Kicker speakers and the two Hifonic amps running this system that has been laid out and installed by Rob at Auto Image in Norman, Oklahoma. You can’t peg where the sound is coming from which is truly a haunting experience. Eventually, we discover that the speakers are hidden and installed behind the seats. The whole layout is super stealthy, especially with caption chairs in the back instead of a bench.

As much as we hate to admit that our tour of Bruiser is coming to an end, we step out and take a final look at the truck from the front. There it is to haunt us, the skull and flame hood graphics just to remind us that they are “watching us”. The skulls are not just watching us, they’re taunting us. The skull in the middle is even doing his best impression of the famous Michael Jordan tongue out dunking face. Yep, it’s that one…the one you just thought up picturing Jordan flying through the air about to dunk. It’s clear no matter where you get near this truck, this team of bruising skulls sees you, is watching you, and is making sure you keep your distance, unless invited of course.

I’m seriously going to have some, “I see dead people dreams,” after meeting this haunting bruiser. You might too.