Owner: Shawn Pearson
Ride: '00 Ford Ranger
Location: Baytown, Texas
Club: Lesser Degree
Shawn Pearson of Baytown, Texas, is a lucky guy. Not only did he build one phat '00 Ranger Standard Cab dope enough to grace these pages, but he did it all before he can legally buy beer. Rolling one sweet ride by the ripe age of 18 is quite an accomplishment, especially since Shawn and a few of his buddies did most of the work themselves. Shawn bought his '00 Ranger almost new. He decided to slam the truck's frame flat to the ground, run huge wheels, shave it, paint it a bright color, get the tunes bumping, and do it all before his 19th birthday.
Shawn began with his suspension by installing Firestone 2,500-pound airbags stuffed in all four corners and using Belltech shocks for absorption. After the rear was C-notched, Shawn called up Chassis Tech for the four-link he needed to lay the rear out. He wanted a fairly quick system, so he pumps nitrogen through the veins of his beast. Shawn set the suspension up to run dubs all the way around. He took all the measurements with a set of 20s and then took care of all the clearance issues the 20s presented with the truck laid out. Now he needed to get hold of a set of rims he liked. He chose some 20x8.5-inch KMC Venoms with 245/35R20 rubber. Once he bolted up his 20-inchers and laid her out, he was motivated to keep on going. It's kind of like the Pringles saying, "Once you drop, you can't stop."
He cleaned up the front end with a billet grille and Projector Beams headlights. Street Scene mirrors found a home where the factory ones used to reside. Shawn now felt that it was time to turn to the professionals for some bodywork and paint. CLK Auto from Baytown, Texas, tackled the task of shaving the door handles, taillights, emblems, tailgate, and stake bed pockets. The crew also molded the roll pan in and installed LED lights to warn approaching drivers when Shawn steps on his brakes. Once the CheckMate tonneau cover was installed and the body had been massaged smooth, the truck was ready for paint. CLK sprayed House of Kolor's Lime Time Pearl to give Shawn's Drag-on a sweet green look.
Then, Shawn turned his attention to the details. His 3.0L six-cylinder was spruced up a bit with a set of under-drive pulleys and a K&N filter. Shawn also relocated two Optima batteries to the bed to clean up the engine bay. With a few billet pieces and some green wire loom, Shawn moved on. He went inside his cab and slapped in some '03 Expedition seats, wrapped in gray and white leather. Then he re-upholstered his dash with dove-gray tweed. The headliner received the same dove-gray treatment, along with the center console that Shawn built. His Colorado Custom's billet steering wheel was half-wrapped in light-gray leather. After a few of the interior accents were painted Lime Time Pearl Green to match the exterior, Shawn kept the wheel rolling and is the one responsible for giving his truck some serious bumps. He installed a Panasonic head unit to control the audio-video setup. He then proceeded to run some heavy-gauge wiring to a Punch 800 amp that gives blood to the two JL Audio W3 15-inch subwoofers installed in a downward-firing enclosure. Shawn can't live without his video games or DVDs, so he runs a PS2 to his 5.7- and 7.5-inch TV screens.
Shawn's ride now sports that frame-slamming, big-rim rolling, loud-tunes bumping, bright-paint gleaming look he was seeking all along. The amazing thing is that he did it all by the age of 18. Shawn would like to thank Diggable Street Styles and Lesser Degree for all their help.
The Lowdown
Chassis/Suspension 2,500-pound Firestone airbags fore and aft / nitrogen-fed air system / Belltech shocks all the way around / Chassis Tech four-link / setup to lay out on 20-inch wheels
Wheels/Tires 20x8.5-inch KMC Venom Wheels wrapped with 245/35R20 tires
Body Modifications Billet grille / Projector Beams headlights / CheckMate tonneau cover / clear corners / Street Scene mirrors / shaved door handles / shaved taillights / shaved emblems / shaved tailgate handle / molded roll pan / LED taillights / Breeler back window
Paint CLK Auto is responsible for the wicked House of Kolor Lime Time Pearl Green paintjob and bodywork
Interior Reupholstered dash in dove-gray tweed / dove-gray tweed headliner, door panels, and center console / '03 Expedition seats wrapped in light-gray and white leather / Colorado Customs billet steering wheel / painted trim accessories
Stereo Panasonic head unit / two JL Audio W3 15-inch subwoofers in a downward firing box / Punch 800 amplifier feeding the subwoofers / 5.7-inch screen in dash / 7.5-inch flip-down screen from roof / Sony Play Station 2 console
Engine/Performance 3.0L six-cylinder / under-drive pulleys / K&N air filter / a few billet accessories
Special Thanks To Diggable Street Styles and Lesser Degree