Built In A Week
Since King lives in Centerville, UT, and he wanted to work to be done at PowerTech Diesel, he couldn’t be running back and forth to check up on things. He trusted Willsey and the crew at PowerTech to handle the details of the project in a timely manner. So King dropped off his 2019 Ford F350 Lariat on a weekend and told Willsey he would be back the following Friday to pick it up.
So Willsey gave the task to EJ Wyatt to spearhead the install and keep all the parts organized so things would go smoothly.
Like any install, Monday morning came with a lot of parts being stripped off to make room for the Carli suspension.
“On Monday, we worked on the front,” Wyatt explained. “We took out all the old suspension, starting with taking out the coil springs. We than add the strut bracket for the radius arm. Then we put the new radius arm in. Put the shocks in, the reservoir, the limiting straps, the new track bar, the new sway bar inlinks, sway bar drop bracket and new brake lines. Oh, and we also took the front grill off.”
Wyatt said he also removed anything that needed to go to the painter (like the bumpers and emblems) so that part of the process could move along.
On Tuesday Wyatt turned his attention to the rear suspension and any parts there that needed to be replaced, including a new differential cover and brake lines. He also started working on the air bags and air bag kit with the air compressor … which seemed to drag on through the build until the last day.
Wednesday was focused back on the front. Most of the engine tuning had been completed but there were still some things on the suspension that needed to get buttoned up. Wyatt also replaced the stock tires with 37-13.50 Toyo RTs Open Country on Method wheels.
On Thursday the attention was back on the rear of the vehicle with more work being done on the airbags, suspension and exhaust. It was also a good day to do the window tinting.
Finally on Friday the parts were back from the painters so the bumpers could be installed, along with the front grill and the emblems. Wyatt had a chance to go through all the installs to make certain everything was on and working properly. Willsey then finished the tuning. By late Friday evening, King was able to drive his truck home.
Although when you looked at the progress of the build it seemed to be a lot of jumping from project to project, Wyatt said that’s usually the normal progression of a build. “We are always waiting for parts or something … so we work on what we have and try not to get too far ahead of ourselves where we have to remove something we put on to make room for something else we need to put on.”
A trick Wyatt uses when he’s installing suspension parts is to leave as much of the protective covers or plastic on the products (like springs and shocks), until after the alignment is complete.
“That’s what I like to do,” Wyatt said. “So when we take it to alignment we don’t get any road wash on them. I like to keep them clean so the customer gets to see them clean when he picks it up. That’s something I’ve done for years. It seems the customer likes it better when he gets his truck and the shocks aren’t covered in dirt or road grime.”
Wyatt said he prefers working on newer vehicles just because it’s nice to work with new stuff.
“Usually, when they do a lift, they get all crazy and put a lot of stuff on the truck,” he said. “New stuff is a lot easier to work on … they’re not covered in dirt. They are clean and easy to work on.”