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.

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. 

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.”