WHAT STARTED OUT AS A simple father-son build, ended up getting out of hand. Colton Lander and his father, Darien, have both always been big truck people, especially when it comes to classic trucks. In Mississippi, where the family is from, there is a wide assortment of trucks to admire. From lifted and lowered show trucks to off-road mud crawlers, almost anything that can be dreamed up can be found just around the corner. With inspiration at every turn, it’s easy to see why this father-son duo teamed up to build the truck of their dreams.

In 2010, Colton and his dad had the opportunity to purchase a truck they had always really liked, a ’78 Ford F-150 dent-side. Colton and Darien had a bunch of ideas about how they wanted the final product to look, and they hit the ground running. As restoration on the body began, they decided to lift the truck an astounding 12 inches above stock height. The Lander men had Chris Montgomery and his team at Performance Off-road install a 9-inch Skyjacker lift. Thanks to a combination of lift springs in the front, bulked-up leaf springs in the back and heavy-duty Skyjacker shocks, the F series classic was well on its way to the stratosphere. To eke out the extra 3 inches of lift they wanted, a Skyjacker 3-inch body lift was added. Once the lift was installed and the body restoration was almost complete, the pair let their bank accounts recover before getting to work on the paint.

Keeping the truck classic with a modern twist was the plan, so Tim Anderson and the guys at Tim’s Truck Painting set out to do the job. After much deliberation, Colton and Darien chose two-tone bright silver paired with Viper Blue to keep the truck era-correct. The paint not only covers the exterior of the truck, it carries into the cab on the doors, as well as the color-matching dashboard. Once the truck finally rolled into the sunlight, looking like a completely different build, Colton knew exactly what the F-150 needed next: a new wheel setup; not just any wheel setup, but a massive set of 24×14-inch American Force Shields. Without hesitation he picked a full polish finish to tie the rollers in with the chrome accents on the truck, like the bumpers and trim he also included. What does every lifted truck with enormous wheels need? Giant tires—a set of 40-inch Interco Super Swamper SS M16s, to be exact.

“Keeping the truck classic with a modern twist was the plan …”

A black leather-wrapped bench seat and matching door panels were created by David’s Upholstery, so the inside of this newly made over Ford would look as fresh as the outside.

“Colton and his dad were ready to show off their neck-breaking giant, and took several car shows by storm.”

With that, Colton and his dad were ready to show off their neck-breaking giant, and took several car shows by storm. First, they attended Orange Beach Invasion and then Scrapin’ the Coast, and the list grew from there. Colton hopes to make more changes in the engine bay and a few other areas of Never Finished, but time and money will determine when these things happen. Colton would like to offer special thanks to his dad for the countless hours he contributed to make Never Finished what it is today.

[divider]TECH SPECS[/divider]

COLTON LANDER
1978 Ford F-150
Pass Christian, MS
Southern Showoffz

ENGINE

• Ford 400m V-8
• 400 hp
• Chrome valve covers
• Chrome breather
• Flowmaster 40 series exhaust
• Dual Flowmaster 40 series mufflers
• Performance Muffler exhaust
• 1978 Ford four-speed manual

CHASSIS & SUSPENSION

• Work performed by Chris Montgomery and the guys at Performance Off-road, Gulfport, MS
• Skyjacker 9-inch front lift springs
• Skyjacker 9-inch rear lift leaf springs
• Skyjacker shocks
• Skyjacker 3-inch body lift
• Painted frame
• VIAIR air compressor with 3-gallon tank
• Hornblasters Shocker setup

WHEELS & TIRES

• 24×14 American Force Shields
• 40×14.50x24Interco Super Swamper SS M16s

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: Tim Anderson and the guys at Tim’s Truck Painting, Pass Christian, MS
• Viper Blue and bright silver paint

INTERIOR & STEREO

• Shop: David Ladner at David’s Upholstery, Gulfport, MS
• Black leather bench seat with custom stitching
• Black leather door panels
• Fully painted dash and door panels to match truck exterior, by Tim’s Truck Painting
• Pioneer head unit
• Kicker 6×9-inch in each door