K&N-Sponsored Phat Phabz Takes On The Aluminum Body of a Ford F-150

The pickup includes a K&N intake that offers an estimated boost of 23.01 horsepower

“Aluminum can present a problem when cutting the floor and body of a pickup truck,” explained Jake McKiddie, owner of Phat Phabz in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. McKiddie is well known as an airbagged suspension expert. Many vehicles he has converted have been showcased at shows across the country including the SEMA Show. He is also known as the fabricator who was the first to bodydrop and 'bag a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and Silverado as well as a 2016 Silverado. He was also first to bodydrop and 'bag an aluminum body Ford F-150.

“In order to do it right you need welding skills,” he added.

McKiddie was able to show off those skills when Matt and Michelle Holden of Dallas, Texas, asked him to bodydrop their 2016 Ford F-150. Not only was he tasked to perform this procedure, McKiddie also set the goal of making a full aluminum chassis with a bumper-to-bumper frame for the vehicle.

He was able to achieve both.

The air suspension system features Firestone F9000 airbags in the rear and Airlift 2600 Dominator 'bags up front. An Airlift Performance 3H controller that includes a fully integrated manifold and five custom presets that adjusts and maintain height and pressure controls the air system. The kit also includes height sensors that allow the system to automatically adapt to changes caused by the vehicle load. In addition, the system includes anti-cross loading plus axle equalization that corrects height without extreme changes in pressure, a show mode that permits either Matt or Michelle to control the air management with the vehicle turned off as well as through a smartphone thanks to the I-Level mobile app.

A Flo Airride Mfg. four-gallon air tank is mounted in the bed of the truck that maintains each of the four air bags in the suspension. A Bullet bed liner was included to protect the bed, which is covered with an Extang bed cover. In order to accommodate the lowered body of the F-150, the stock wheels and tires were exchanged for Intro EZ 26x9/26x12 wheels and Lexani LX30 295/30R26 tires.

Featured at the entrance to South Hall, the Phat Phabz F-150 was an absolute showstopper at SEMA

The selection of the K&N 63-2592 AirCharger air intake system proved ideal for the F-150. The system provides an estimated boost of 23.01 horsepower at 3505 rpm. Moreover, Bo Woody of APS Automotive of Tuttle, Oklahoma, tuned the stock 3.6-liter V6 turbocharged EcoBoost engine. So the tune and the intake combined assist the engine to offer a total 438 horsepower, an increase of 100 horsepower from the stock engine alone.

Another benefit to the intake is that the Holdens will never have to replace the RC-5173 air filter featured in the intake. That’s because the filter is washable and reusable and can last for up to 100,000 miles of driving depending on conditions before it needs to be cleaned.

K&N offers the 99-5000 filter care service kit that is specially formulated to cleanse the filter after every 100,000 miles of use. That means that it can be used over and over again for the life of the car. The filter is backed by the K&N 10-year/Million Mile Limited Warranty, which promises that it will last up to 10 years or 1,000,000 miles before it needs to be replaced.

In addition, a VF2049 cabin air filter replaced the stock cabin air filter to ensure that the cab of the F-150 remained fresh. The filter is electrostatically charged to catch and hold dirt, dust, and other contaminants including mold, mildew, fungus, spores, bacteria, germs, pollen and allergens. This filter is also washable and reusable.

To clean the cabin air filter, K&N offers the 99-6000 cabin air filter cleaning kit that is formulated to cleanse and recharge the filter after 12 months or 12,000 miles of driving so that it can be used over and over again. In fact, the VF2049 cabin air filter is backed by a 10-year/Million Mile Limited Warranty.

CD Designs of Edmond, Oklahoma did the exterior paint and graphics work. According to McKiddie, his portion of the project took about two weeks and the paintwork was done in six weeks, which calculates to a total of 8 weeks to complete the project.

The F-150 was finished in time to drive it to Las Vegas, Nevada to appear in the Extang Bed Cover booth at the 2016 SEMA Show.