Hopeful, optimistic, excited, and cheery are words that describe most people when they get ready to start a new truck build. As soon as they get started on the build they have been dreaming about and designing for months, the world seems right. That was how it was for Bryan Lin, Owner of The Motorsports Authority, Inc. (MSA) when they decided to pull the trigger on this F-350 Lariat.

“We were searching for a 2013 Ford F-350 XLT or Lariat,” says Bryan. “To complete the project in a timely manner, we needed to find a two-wheel-drive truck in the Sterling Gray option. We found one just under two hours away.” Lin drove to the local dealership to purchase the hard-to-find truck. Unfortunately, when he got there, he learned it sold the night before.

“We then asked if there were any more to be found,” Bryan says. “Using Ford’s dealership network search, the dealership searched a 300-dealership radius. The answer was zero.”

Bryan realized he had to make something work. So, he bought a white 2014 four-wheel-drive Crew Cab F-350 Lariat off the lot. He opted to get started on the project as quickly as possible, as there were only eight weeks before the SEMA Show, and not only would they have to repaint the truck, but they were in for a ton of fabrication work to lower it and build what they promised!

With 16 miles on the odometer, the truck went under the knife. MSA immediately tore the front suspension out from under the vehicle and started taking measurements. Since they were going into uncharted territory, they knew this was going to be difficult. With the front coils and shocks removed, they were able to drop the front 4 inches, which wasn’t enough. They started taking measurements and photos to work on a plan.

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With everything removed, MSA started moving the axle up and down to see what type of travel they had, and what was interfering with lowering the truck even more. Initially, the tabs on the differential were hitting the frame and crossmember. So, they ground down the top of the differential. Then it was the crossmember. Then the radius arm brackets. It was back and forth until they got the truck to sit down where they were tucking the front wheels.

Eventually, they were able to lower the truck to the point that the oil pan sat about 1 inch from the differential. That was all they could get. They installed air bags from AirBagIt with custom mounts, and the end product gives Lin the full range of travel he was looking for.

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In the back, things should have been easier. However… “The challenge we faced was we couldn’t cut a hole in the bed, nor could we raise the floor because BedSlide and BedRug are both sponsors,” says Lin. “Both products must be in the vehicle, and although we are building a custom truck, we want to retain as much of the product’s originality as possible.”

So, the rear which should have been a piece of cake ended up being quite a task as well. The AirBagIt parallel four-link went in easily and was a straightforward install. To keep the axle centered, Lin opted to also use their watts link. The issue ended up being the air bags themselves.

The kit that Bryan ordered was designed to be mounted on the outside of the frame, just inside of the tire. That would not be a problem with a single rear-wheel truck. But the custom dually wheel and tire package took up this valuable real estate. So, with less than two weeks before the SEMA Show, they had to make custom mounts for the bags. Did we mention he hasn’t painted the truck yet?

With a ton of stress, they started working almost around the clock (because 16-hour days weren’t long enough) and started knocking things out very quickly. The rear air bags ended up getting mounted inside of the frame, directly over the axle (remember this). To finish out the air bag kit, Bryan opted for a 5-gallon three-port stainless chrome air tank and dual 2500/380 air compressors. Controlling the system is an AB9000 controller that has five presets for different ride heights.

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While a couple of the guys handled the suspension, others were working on another eye-catching feature that ended up taking a huge amount of time and energy — the suicide doors. Bryan opted to install a 180-degree suicide door kit, and when he talked to the manufacturer over the phone, he was told that everything he needed to install them would be in the kit. All that was needed was some minor fabrication to fit everything. After removing all of the factory hardware and filling the holes, they started to mock up what would be their first-ever suicide door kit.

It took about two seconds to realize they had no brackets or anything other than the hinges. When they called the manufacturer, they were told that was the entire kit. Yeah! So, they did what they had been doing for the entire build and started problem solving. Initially, they began re-enforcing the doors where the new mounts would be located. They welded multiple plates to the door to give them the extra thickness needed to prevent the door sag.

Unfortunately, for Lin and team, the suicide doors ended up taking an enormous amount of time. They not only had to mock everything up to get it to align properly, but they wanted the door to open, close, and hang the same way Ford would have done it. That sounds much easier than it ended up being. After about three weeks, the doors finally looked and functioned right.

With the four doors working and the truck sitting right, it was onto the front bumper and fitting the tires. The team actually added 4 inches to the front bumper. The bumper was then outfitted with a Rigid Industries 20-inch E-Series light bar using Rigid Industries’ bumper brackets. The fog lamps were replaced with two sets of Rigid Industries Duallys.

The OEM Grille was replaced with a Rigid Industries grille and a 30-inch E-Series light bar. “With our time constraints, our best option was to purchase another front bumper, weld it, and mould it in. When the bags are completely deflated, the front bumper with air dam sits about 1 inch off the ground,” said Bryan. This was exactly what he was looking for. For the rear bumper, they kept it simple and modified it to fit a set of Rigid Industries Dually lights.

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Out back, they wanted the rear tires flush with the dually fender. Because this is Lin’s tow vehicle, he wanted to use 10-ply tires. This would ensure that they wouldn’t have any problems hauling their 24-foot enclosed trailer with their drift car and tools. “Nitto, our sponsor, had one tire that would fit the bill. Their Terra Grappler at LT315/50R24, which equates to 36.54 inches in total diameter and approximately 12.5 inches in width,” says Lin. That is substantially wider than a standard dually tire and would end up causing some issues.

The original plan was to add a Bushwacker Extend-A-Fender Flares to the rear fender and call it done. After mounting the Nitto’s on the 24-inch American Force Impact wheels, they mocked up the flares and found the tires still stuck out 1 inch. So, they had two options, shorten the axle and cut the wheel well to suck everything in or custom fabricate/extend the fenders out to cover the tire. Since they had sponsor products for inside of the bed, shorting the axle wasn’t an option. They ordered another set of factory fenders and grafted them together to give them the additional width needed to cover the tires. This is done so seamlessly, that most people don’t realize they extended the fenders almost 4 inches! At least up front, the Bushwacker Extend-A-Flender Flares fit without any issues and was one thing they didn’t have to worry about.

With the major modifications on the F-350 Lariat complete, it was time to put a little color on “Black Rhino”. Initially, they tackled the engine compartment. They wanted to make sure when the hood was up, you had no idea that the truck wasn’t always silver. Then they sprayed the exterior. With less than two weeks before the big show, the crew at MSA grabbed some 180-grit sandpaper and some sanding pads to give the paint the brushed look. It would have been too easy to just wrap the truck.

While some of the guys were tackling paint, others started the interior. Custom fiberglass speaker pods were built for each door, to house the PowerBass XL-60.3C 240W three-component speakers. They, also, opted to install a PowerBass subwoofer S-10TD sub behind the rear seat that was mounted in a custom box as well. The speakers are powered by the PowerBass five-channel XMA-5670IR 1,920-watt amp. A double DIN head unit and Dual DVD/Media Center headrest screens installed in the front two headrests would provide the entertainment. The entire F-350 Lariat interior was redone with Roadwire two-tone leather seats and a set of Rugged Ridge floor mats will keep everything looking good for a long time.

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With the F-350 Lariat painted and the interior installed, Bryan focused on the details. They smoked all of the lenses (headlights, taillights, cab lights) and did some trick work on the front headlights themselves. He moved the headlights to the top, and installed a set of Projector HIDs, and moved the turn signals to the bottom. In the side reflectors, he installed amber light strips to stay legal.

Under the hood, an AEM intake was installed along with a Magnaflow stainless-steel exhaust system. Unfortunately, the exhaust system needed to be modified because the air bags were in the way. So, the exhaust now exits the side of the truck, just in front of the driver’s rear tire. To help his fuel economy and keep what is left in the bed safe, a Retrax Pro sliding bed cover was installed. Inside the bed is a BedSlide Pro 1500 lined with a BedRug rug.

While they were at it, a set of Shocker XL horns from HornBlaster finalized the build. After all, he already had the air. This certainly was a build to remember for MSA, but is a truly amazing truck that shows off not only the skill and craftsmanship of the entire crew, but their dedication to completing a project on time.

Building a custom truck like this F-350 Lariat is never easy, and the MSA crew shows what can be accomplished if you stick with it and make sure your dream becomes a reality.