Today’s feature brings us to the entertainment capital of the world: Las Vegas. Many know the city for its world-class hospitality, restaurants, gambling, and the many things it has to offer. Outside “The Strip“, a community of over two million residents enjoy the many things the surrounding areas have to offer.
If you’ve followed the automotive scene for any amount of time, you’ll know that Las Vegas hosts the annual SEMA Show every November. The SEMA Show is pure eye candy for any type of automotive enthusiast. That’s exactly what inspired Carlos Gonzalez when he purchased his 2019 Ford F-250.
Growing up in Las Vegas, Carlos is accustomed to what the valley has to offer. When he’s not working or playing in the desert, he’s enjoying quality time with his wife and kids. “Since the early days of high school, I have always enjoyed trucks,” he said. “Trucks were the one thing that motivated me to work hard in life until I had a family of my own.”
When he met his wife, Cori, many years ago, she was well aware of Carlos’ passion for trucks. She embraced it, supported it, and even has a build of her own in the works! Together, they started attending some of the major events, such as Lone Star Throwdown, and of course, SEMA.
While attending the 2019 Lone Star Throwdown, he met Craig Hurd. After speaking with Craig, it inspired Carlos to purchase and build his current 2019 Super Duty featured here. “Craig has helped in many ways,” confessed Carlos. “He guided me in the right direction with my build, found me sponsors, and even got me into the 2019 SEMA Show. Recently, I attended Lonestar Throwdown 2020 in Texas in the Fury Tires booth.”
Let’s take a look at Carlos’ Super Duty.
Suspension
A lifted white truck with teal accents look good just about anywhere, especially in downtown Las Vegas. Carlos made sure he modified his build to stay classy yet keep the integrity of the factory look.
We consider suspension as an integral part of any automotive build. This is especially true when it comes to the lifted truck world. On lifted trucks, you are able to see each detail that went into the build. Carlos’ truck sits on a custom BDS 11-inch lift kit, fitted with coilover Fox shocks. He’s also running a Kaotic Concepts rear traction bar setup. The suspension and wheel accents are powder-coated Candy Teal, courtesy of 6651 Customs in Las Vegas.
The candy teal undercarriage is looking sweet against factory white paint. The contrasting colors really make Carlos' BDS suspension pop when's he's cruising down the Strip!
Exterior/Lighting
The big F-250 is running a set of Flog Industries bumpers with custom tow hooks and Black Oak pod lights. The front and rear axles, door handles, and side mirrors are all painted white by Nevada Auto Collison. Carlos also runs a set of very loud Hornblasters train horns with spare tire delete. For towing around his desert toys, he uses a massive drop hitch by Bulletproof hitches, complete with stabilizer brackets.
For exhaust, the Super Duty has a custom eight-inch exhaust tip by AOW, also powder-coated teal and white to match the suspension of the truck. Some other exterior additions include a spray-in bedliner, as well as a custom tonneau cover supplies by Undercover Tonneau. It’s a foldable flush fitting cover with two locking swing cases. He has also added a few rock lights in the wheel wells and a set of custom taillights. Carlos plans to add some major additions to the lighting department. Future installs will include custom headlights, more rock lights, and some LED light bars.
The exterior changes on the Ford were subtle, yet classy and functional. We really like the fit and finish of these bumpers by FLOG Industries. Of course, everything is carefully paint-matched to the suspension and body of the Super Duty.
Interior
The interior on the Super Duty is still a work in progress, but changes are progressing. The original cloth seats are replaced with leather, while the stock gray trim and panels are swapped for black. The factory stereo deck is replaced with a Phoenix Automotive in-dash Android radio. Future audio additions include amps, subwoofers, and replacements for the factory component speakers.
The Super Duty is an XLT model that originally came with cloth seats and gray panels. Carlos plans to make it "better than a Platinum edition."
Factory interiors have come a very long way with options. Some are so good, many people will opt for the top packages and leave them be. Carlos purchased the XLT version knowing the number of upgrades he had planned. The photos above show the interior in its current transformation from stock to custom.
Carlos mentions that he loves the whole truck, as it able to serve all his needs for both business and pleasure. “If I really had to pick, I would have to say my absolute favorite part of the truck is the front end,” he said. “It just looks clean and mean.” Carlos’s future plans for his 2019 Super Duty include new and bigger suspension. “If that doesn’t work, I plan to sell it and purchase a dually for a 2021 SEMA build.”
Carlos shared some acknowledgements to wrap up our interview. “I want to give special thanks to Craig Hurd for guiding me in the right direction with my newest build,” he said. “I also want to thank all of the companies who helped sponsor and be a part of my build. And to my close friends and wife for being there for me when I needed a hand!”
