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With each new generation of vehicle that comes out, there comes an opportunity to do something great with it. This year, it was the 2017 Super Duty, and BDS Suspension knocked it out of the park with its SD126.
Parked at the Ford booth, its bright orange color and single-cab, short-bed visage were striking, to say the least. We took pictures and later connected with BDS’s Carter Reed to find out more about SD126.
The SD126 was a renewed take on Project Stubby, a Super Duty that BDS Suspension built with Rok Industry for the 2012 SEMA Show. Photos: Rok Industry
“SD126 has its roots in Project Stubby,” explained Reed. “This was a build we did in 2012. It was a standard-cab, short-bed 2001 Ford Super Duty that we had in our booth. We had partnered with Rok Industry and it went amazingly. We gained a great deal of publicity and notoriety. It was one of our favorites, and we wanted to bring it back in a new way.”
The BDS team started in August 2017. They received from Ford a single-cab, long-bed. “We cut 18 inches out of the frame, which was how we got the name,” said Reed. “It gave us a wheelbase of 126 inches, and it was a Super Duty, which was how we came up with the name.”
The BDS team had three months to build this truck. "We've done some builds in 6-8 weeks, so three months was comfortable for us," said Reed.
The drivetrain (sans driveshafts) was still on the truck when the cuts were made to keep everything squared up. “We made our cuts where Ford would have to make it look legitimate,” said Reed. “We shaved all of the suspension mounts, too. After the new welded brackets for the lift kit, we repainted the frame and started reassembly.”
After the SEMA Show was over, BDS didn’t just pack up SD126 and call it a day. According to Reed, the Super Duty drove hard and fast through Means Dry Lake, “doing 65-70 through whoops.”
For his part, Reed is proudest of the suspension that went into SD126. “You see a lot of trucks at the show, ‘brodozers’ if you will. They’re big and look high-end, but they’re not meant to perform. Our SD126 was out and ripping through the desert the day after SEMA, doing 65-70 through whoops. It was good to see it perform right out of the gate.”
First and foremost, the suspension was made up of a front four-link conversion and rear trailing arm conversion. 14 inches of travel was achieved with Fox 2.5 DSC coilovers and 3.0 external bypasses, with Fox 2.0 IFP bump stops to lend support. Pac Racing supplied the sway bars and coil springs.
SD126 is large and in charge. Its axles are 10-lug units from an F-450, with a Dana 60 front and M300 rear (converted to single-rear-wheel). The Fox shocks – 2.5-inch DSC coilovers and 3.0-inch bypasses – keep things balanced when the going gets rough.
Wheels and tires were 20-inch Stazworks Cheyenne 8s and 42-inch BFG Baja T/A KRs, respectively. They’re moved by F-450 Dana 60 and M300 10-lug axles, both geared 4.30:1, which were in turn moved by J.E. Reel driveshafts on an otherwise mild powertrain. The 6.7-liter Power Stroke had only minor mods – tuning by EZ-LYNK, intake by S&B, and exhaust by Diamond Eye.
The interior was a sight to see as well. A Magellan TRX7 GPS was built into a motorized tray as part of the custom center console.
We can’t discuss the exterior without mentioning the paint. This was PPG orange metallic, provided by Butler Body Shop in Coldwater, Michigan. RK Sport’s ram air hood was great, and meshed well with Rogue Racing front and rear bumpers, as well as Rigid Industries’ 40-inch RDS light bar and Radiance pod lights.
All in all, the SD126 was an awesome vehicle to see at the Show. Not only was it ostentatious, but it was well-built and capable, too. Check out more from BDS Suspension on its website when you get a chance.
