The Ultimate 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost

The new Ford F-150 we are building for Ultimate Adventure 2011 is in Phoenix undergoing more modifications than a Hollywood starlet past her prime. We’re giving this brand-new EcoBoost F-150 a nip, tuck, trim, wack, grind, cut, shape, slim, and chop to make it fit down whatever trail Editor Péwé takes us on this summer.

First, a recap for those sleeping in the back. Ultimate Adventure is our weeklong off-road trip we take each summer with sponsors, cronies, and select invited readers. Last month we went to Michigan and toured the F-150 plant. Then we hopped in our brand-new Blue Flame F-150 and drove it cross-country to Phoenix to start the transformation from America’s Best Selling Pickup to a pickup ready for wheeling anywhere in America. We have no idea where Péwé will take us on this year’s trip, so we have to build this UA rig ready for mud, snow, sand, rocks, and the long highway days between every trail.

Our buildup is happening at Randy Ellis Design (RED). RED is a small shop that puts out big jobs. It has a full line of bolt-on light bars for many major 4x4s under the Sleekster brand, and the shop does all types of 4x4 custom fabrication, from engine swaps to rock sliders. The biggest reason we chose Ellis and his crew is his experience with custom suspensions. Ellis was the first competitive rockcrawler we ever saw using full independent suspension in his custom Red Racer rock buggy, and it’s this type of innovation we need for our UA project truck.

The F-150 is going to be heavily modified, as you may expect, but the general suspension layout will remain. In fact, what we are going to do to the truck wouldn’t be much of a stretch for any late-model F-150. OK, we admit that the severe body modification in store would make most new truck owners squeamish. And that’s where we start this month.

Check back next month for Part 3 of the buildup, when we make it safer and stronger for our Ultimate Adventure.

Our new blue EcoBoost F-150 is an impressive machine in stock form. It has an all-aluminum 3.5L V-6 with twin turbos and six-speed automatic transmission. The off-road package we chose includes underbelly skidplates and a rear locking differential. We played with it a bit off-road prior to arriving in Phoenix at Randy Ellis Design.
Our new blue EcoBoost F-150 is an impressive machine in stock form. It has an all-aluminum
This was the deciding factor. Randy Ellis has been playing with independent suspension for over a decade, and we’re going to be trying some cool stuff on the front end of our F-150.
This was the deciding factor. Randy Ellis has been playing with independent suspension for
This is Ellis’ Red Racer IFS/IRS buggy fitted with GM independent centersections front and rear and a light Suzuki engine.
This is Ellis’ Red Racer IFS/IRS buggy fitted with GM independent centersections front and

The goals are simple for the EcoBoost truck: big tires, front and rear lockers, a rollcage, a Warn winch up front, storage for the general wheeling junk we always take, and hopefully never opening the tool bag the whole trip. Step one: strip ’er down and start measuring for surgery.
The goals are simple for the EcoBoost truck: big tires, front and rear lockers, a rollcage
From the start we found a few issues that need to be addressed. First is this low-hanging intercooler, which hides just behind the bottom of the factory front bumper. With the bumper gone, it’s very exposed. The EcoBoost engine uses two turbos for forced induction, but an intercooler is needed to cool the charged air and boost power, so we don’t really want to delete it. Unfortunately, what works for airflow is a hindrance to approach angles and winch mounting. We’ll be moving it.
From the start we found a few issues that need to be addressed. First is this low-hanging
In a never-ending quest for greater fuel economy, Ford has introduced an Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) rack-and-pinion on its EcoBoost trucks. The idea is that deleting the power steering pump, coolers, and fluid will help increase fuel economy because the engine no longer has to work to pump fluid when the vehicle is going straight. The idea is ingenious, but we generally distrust rack-and-pinions for strength with big tires. So now we must design a new steering system that can withstand big rubber and off-road abuse and integrate it into an engine with no current power steering pump.
In a never-ending quest for greater fuel economy, Ford has introduced an Electric Power As

As we considered the power steering and intercooler issues, we decided to move ahead with items that can be more directly solved, namely low-hanging rocker panels. Again, fuel economy and design have helped trucks evolve into low-hanging fruit ripe for rock rash. Justin Scheller fired up the Miller Spectrum 375 plasma cutter and started slicing the doors and rocker panels of the F-150.
As we considered the power steering and intercooler issues, we decided to move ahead with
“Boat-siding” the F-150 will raise rocker panels and replace thin sheetmetal with 3⁄16-inch steel plate. Ellis designed a modification that involved cutting the doors at an angle so the inside still seals out weather and mud, but the outside cut is higher for better clearance. The cab body panels below the door were chopped off.
“Boat-siding” the F-150 will raise rocker panels and replace thin sheetmetal with 3⁄16-inc
Once the design is finalized, a piece of 3⁄16-inch plate is cut to size on the shop’s plasma table. This machine takes computer-aided designs and precisely cuts the metal with a robotic torch. All the steel for the project came from Competitive Metals in El Cajon, California. Competitive supplies material to many desert race teams, everything from mild steel to chromoly and various aluminum products. We’ll show you Competitive’s impressive facility next month.
Once the design is finalized, a piece of 3⁄16-inch plate is cut to size on the shop’s plas

The plate is formed under a 40,000-psi press brake. Care is taken to get the perfect angle down to the last degree. These parts will see their share of abuse on the trip, but that’s no reason not to build them as near-perfect as possible.
The plate is formed under a 40,000-psi press brake. Care is taken to get the perfect angle
The moment of truth comes when the armor is tack-welded to the door. Notice how the bottom seal surface is retained.
The moment of truth comes when the armor is tack-welded to the door. Notice how the bottom
Voila! As if by magic, the bottom of the cab is that much closer to rock-proof. The plates will be welded to the door panels and interior supports, but everything is tacked until later.
Voila! As if by magic, the bottom of the cab is that much closer to rock-proof. The plates

A rear bed panel matches the cab lines and will protect right up to the big tires we’ll be running (more on those next time). The boat-side rocker panels will also be integrated into the rollcage you’ll be seeing next issue.
A rear bed panel matches the cab lines and will protect right up to the big tires we’ll be
If you feel like this installment of the Ultimate F-150 buildup was a major cliffhanger then you’ll just have to check back next month. We have custom axles, more bodywork, and even steering secrets we’ll be revealing soon. Till then, watch for updates in our blog.
If you feel like this installment of the Ultimate F-150 buildup was a major cliffhanger th

SOURCES
Miller Electric 1635 W. Spencer Street Appleton WI 54912 920-734-9821 www.millerwelds.com	Bubba Rope 310 W Melody Lane Casselberry FL 32707 N/A www.bubbarope.com
Ford Motor Company P.O. Box 685 Dearborn MI 48126 800-392-3673 www.ford.com	Randy Ellis Design 2855 W. Fairmount Avenue Phoenix AZ 85017 602-803-1122 www.randyellisdesign.com
BDS Suspension Inc Coldwater MI 517-279-2135 www.bds-suspension.com	Off Road Design 970-945-7777 offroaddesign.com/
Warn Industries 12900 S.E. Capps Road Clackamas OR 97015 800-910-1122 www.warn.com	Competitive Metals 619-442-4130 www.competitivemetals.com