Super Low Super Duty
Mini-truckin’ was incredibly popular in the 1980’s because base-model Toyotas and Nissans were affordable. That’s why Tim Gilbert got into as a high schooler. He had scraped enough money together to slap a down payment on a new $6,500 Toyota 5-speed. Within weeks he’d body-dropped it, much to his parents’ dismay. Decades later, Tim would co-found the Florida chapter of Negative Camber, one of the oldest and most respected clubs in the scene. Wanting to do something a little different, the Orlando resident purchased a 2022 Ford F-250 with a 7.3L Godzilla engine, and sent it off to Jimmy’s Rod & Customs in Edgewater, Florida.
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Tim’s request to Jimmy’s—shorten the bed and mount it to a 100% custom chassis. In other words, make the F-250 look like a modern mini but with a full-size stance, rolling on day glow green 24″ wheels. Rather than powder coat the stock rear diff cover with hammer-tone silver, he opted for a Banks Ram-Air Diff Cover for the Ford Sterling axle. It’s unlikely that the cover’s added cooling will be put to use. In this case, it’s more for show than go.
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Tim is fully aware that his choice of wheel color isn’t for everyone. The color harks back to his youth in the 1980’s when board shorts were fluorescent and day-glow Oakley Blades were the “in” thing. Just a few weeks ago, Tim drove the truck from Orlando to Maggie Valley, NC for the Mini Truckin’ Nationals. “This isn’t a trailer queen,” he says confidently. “This truck will see some miles.”