Feature > Featured Vehicles
Greg Adler's Ford Super Duty
Do the 4 Wheel Parts Executives Know a Wing-Nut From a Lug Nut?
story and photos by Chris Collard
As readers of Off-Road Adventures and customers of 4 Wheel Parts Performance Centers, you probably know your local 4WP shop guys pretty well. Most likely they are wheeling enthusiasts like you. But masked behind the big signs, magazine ads, and corporate aura, is something you may not know about the guys who run the parent company, Transamerican Auto Parts Inc. Believe it or not, they aren’t just a bunch of suits sitting around a long maple conference table on the 52nd floor of a New York office skyscraper. Nope, they are actually four wheelers just like us. We caught up with Greg Adler, President of Transamerica Inc., in Moab this year and had a chance to borrow his 2005 Ford Super Duty for a few hours. We also found out that in addition to wearing a biz suit (when he has to), he’d rather be in a driving suit getting dirty and muddy, or eating 10 miles of dust behind a Baja 1000 trophy truck in an attempt to gain position.
Dual batteries? Came from the factory. 300-Plus horsepower? Already got it. The factory 6.0L Power Stroke V-8 Diesel rocks out 570 ft/lbs torque and 325 hp, right from the factory and leaves little to be desired. However, no wheeler can leave well enough alone, Adler tweaked the F-250’s performance and audible presence with a Banks Monster Exhaust and HyperTech Tuner.
For late night luminosity, a pair of 55w and 130w Pro Comp driving lights complement a Four Real Steel Pre-Runner bumper and Precision grill.
The F-250 before you is just one of a long list of rigs Adler has built. And, having a family in the business of off-road, it was a natural segue to playing in the dirt. His first off road affair was with a 1978 Chevy half-ton pickup. After a complete build-up with all the bells and whistles, he and some buds went on the hunt for some local dirt to play in. Realizing that the faster he went, the adrenalin rush increased. After building a number of trucks and vintage broncos, his need for speed would only be satisfied by an all-out dash across Baja in one of the craziest races on the planet, the Baja 1000. Greg’s first dash at the 1000 was in 1987 behind the wheel of a 1600cc buggy. With his dad, George, riding shotgun as navigator and co-driver, that race started a 17-year passion for the 1000, and vehicle selection eventually morphed into a full-blown Trophy Truck which he will also be running in the CORR series.
Behind the Cab, Tuffy side boxes provide plenty of storage space for additional racing gear. Running power tools and airing tires is handled by a bed mounted Power Tank, and the spare All Terrain is mounted pre-runner style.
To manage the torque from the 6.0L Power Stroke diesel, a pair of Pro Comp traction bars were installed to eliminate axle wrap.
When you own the company, why not put the coolest wheels on your rig. The Pro Comp F-250 sports 37/13.50/17 Pro Comp All Terrains mounted on Pro Comp Extreme Alloys with custom flamed beadlock rings.
As with most of our rigs, Greg’s Super Duty is in a state of transition and build-up. Although it will be primarily used as a tow rig for race vehicles and boats, and will probably never be shoehorned through Upper Heldorado or the Rubicon (not sure why anyone would do that with an F-250 anyway), it still needed a little attitude adjustment from its factory form. From the showroom floor, the F-250 was rolled into the shop for a change in altitude. That came in the form of a Pro Comp 7-inch Stage II lift and MX-6 remote reservoir shocks. As to not look like a lopsided Tonka toy, the OEM donuts were swapped out for a set of 37/13.50/17 Pro Comp All-Terrains mounted on Pro Comp Extreme Alloys with custom flamed beadlock rings.
To add a little custom color, APE Designs airbrushed some custom flames and graphics to the rocker panels and bodylines.
The Pro Comp F-250 received a change in altitude via a Pro Comp 7-inch Stage II suspension system and MX-6 remote reservoir shocks.
Because the rig will be loaded down with race gear and/or have a heavy trailer in tow, the original 3:37 ring and pinions were replaced with lower 4:56s. Although the factory implanted 6.0L Power Stroke V-8 Diesel rocks out 570 ft/lbs torque and 325 ponies, Adler cranked it up a bit with a Banks Monster Exhaust and HyperTech Tuner. And, to eliminate any unwanted spring wrap at the rear axle while towing heavy loads, a set of Pro Comp Traction Bars were slipped aft. Behind the Cab, Adler opted for a set of Tuffy side boxes to accommodate the additional bed gear. Running power tools and airing tires is handled by a bed mounted Power Tank, and the spare All-Terrain is mounted pre-runner style. For late night luminosity on Baja’s twisting back roads, six Pro Comp diving lights complement a Four Real Steel Pre-Runner bumper and Precision grille.
So while you may have wondered if the big wigs at the top knew the difference between a wing nut and a lug nut, they actually do. They are, in between running company meetings and attending to corporate stuff, out on the trail, racing Baja, and eating dust. If you see the Pro Comp F-250 heading towards the desert, or down Baja Hwy-1 around November with a race truck in tow, you’ll know where they’re going.