When we met P.J. Oliver, we were at the 2018 Daytona Truck Meet, where he was displaying his eye-catching bright green 2011 Ford F-350 Lariat Super Duty at the American Force stand. It was a scorching hot and sunny Florida day, and this cool green truck really stood out in the crowd of gorgeous haulers on display.
P.J. Oliver is from New Jersey, where he owns and runs Oliver Construction Enterprises. The company specializes in telecommunications construction and when P.J. is not working, he races a lime green dirt track racer. Racers are typically a superstitious bunch, but not P.J. Not only did he decide to paint his race car the unluckiest color in racing – green – but his race car also wears the number 13.
Left: the sheer size of this truck is very impressive and it is only when you look at it from this angle you appreciate not only the width and length of the truck but also the height. Right: the front is equally imposing with the chrome and custom Synergy Green Ford badge.
It follows that when P.J. decided to buy a truck, naturally, he wanted a green one. Unfortunately, Ford couldn’t oblige directly from the factory, so P.J.’s first job of modifying his new truck was to add a little Chevrolet to it!
Before it even hit the road, P.J. had had it repainted, changing the paint inside and out to the Chevrolet Camaro Synergy Green, which was a brand new color in 2011. The original supplying dealer, Haldeman Ford, did the job of painting the truck, and at that point, the truck was pretty much stock, save the bright green paint.
This Ford F-350 is a big machine in stock configuration, but with the 24-inch American Force wheels, 40-inch tires, 12-inch Kelderman lift kit, and dually configuration, this is indeed a very imposing truck. Add the Road Armor front bumper and the Synergy Green paint and you have a rig that is hard to miss!
Fast forward to the spring of 2017: P.J. decided the truck wasn’t big enough, so he converted it to a dually. A lot of the work on this huge green truck was carried out by Risoldi Automotive in Eastampton, New Jersey. They had the heavy lifting equipment to work on a monster truck like this one. Risoldi Automotive’s main business is running a team of wreckers and heavy-lifting commercial cranes, but they also custom-paint their commercial vehicles, which is why P.J. felt comfortable letting Risoldi repaint his Ford F-350.
Risoldi used one of their heavy lifting cranes to lift the old bed off of the truck, and they also lifted the cab so that the rest of the frame could be painted to match the truck. Fitting the new dually truck bed and then dropping the new bed cap on top was also done using Risoldi’s equipment.
However, P.J. didn’t let Risoldi have all the fun, as he is also comfortable with a wrench in hand. He swapped out the stock F-350 fenders for a pair of F-550 front fenders. The inside of the truck is completely stock, but P.J. did add Synergy Green accents to the dashboard and the gauge cluster.
The Super Duty rides on American Force 24-inch rims, and the front wheels are shod with Toyo M/T Open Country 40×15.50-24 tires. The rear sits on the same tires except it also uses custom wheel spacers to accommodate two 15.5-inch-wide tires. The 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V8 engine runs with an H&S Performance tuner and full delete kit, and it breathes through a 5-inch exhaust system.
This big green Ford F-350 is fitted with a Kelderman Air Ride lift kit, allowing for adjustment between 8 and 12 inches of height. The air suspension system includes dual Fox ATS shocks on the front and singles on the rear. P.J. told us that he recently added Fox steering stabilizers to the front of the truck. He did this just before the long, 1,500-mile drive down from New Jersey to Daytona, and it made the ride so much smoother, with hardly any wheel wobble. In fact, P.J. said that the truck rides just like a regular F-350, despite the oversized wheels and tires. However don’t try taking it to your local fast food restaurant drive-thru lane, as it won’t fit.
The Ford F-350 Lariat Super Duty has some not-so-subtle cosmetic upgrades. These include a Road Armor front bumper with an integrated LED light bar and fog lights. The rear bumper was also supplied by Road Armor. All the Ford and F-350 badges (upgraded to F-550 badges when the front fenders were swapped) have been custom-painted in the same Synergy Green to match the rest of the truck’s bodywork.
The Ford F-550 front fenders give this truck a good balance when added to the dually rear bed.
In case P.J. comes across someone who doesn’t notice his huge Ford coming their way, He has fitted a set of chrome train-style air horns located at the back of the truck under the bed. A quick blast from these will alert anyone within the neighborhood (granted, the neighborhood could be as far as a couple of miles away). The Synergy Green truck bed with the blacked-out rear glass makes it a hugely impressive sight, especially from the rear.
P.J. has put more than 100,000 miles on the Ford F-350 and despite it now being seven years old, it still looks fantastic, it goes to prove that you can have a huge show-quality truck and still use it as a daily driver.
Clockwise from top left: The custom-painted dash and gauge cluster are the only modifications to an otherwise stock Ford F-350 interior. The side view of the truck with the rear bed window open makes the truck look like a Pointer standing to attention. American Force 24-inch wheel and Open Country M/T 40-inch tire. And PJ and company.
Having read this article, everyone will have one burning question: what does P.J. stand for? Phil Jr. as it happens. The man is happy with how his build turned out, saying, “As of right now, I think it’s very close to perfection, but I have some thoughts on what I want to do next. I want to work on the sound system on it. I also want to put some lighting, maybe some underlighting. I’m also thinking up wild ideas to do some airbrushing designs.”
