There is no teacher quite like experience. Nine out of ten lessons learned on-the-job are more helpful than those learned in any formal training exercise or book/test combos. To be sure, education is vastly important, but bleeding knuckles and sleepless nights tend to make the best educators. despite the interconnectedness of the automotive industry as a whole, intensely pronounced differences divide the various segments of the custom world. It’s experience built over years and tears that allows for certain enthusiasts to make seamless transitions between these different segments. For Jason “Jay” Naron, it was this kind of experience which lent itself to his wild success in tackling his first truly Slam’d ride. With a deep regard and creative love for custom trucks, Jay had always chosen to express himself through the creation and customization of Lift’d Trucks (we certainly love a good Lift’d truck). This previous commitment to a particular genre however managed to stay out of the way as Jay tackled his first build, made to scrape. The result is the sinister 68’ Ford F-350 affectionately named “Loveless,” a truly intimidating and beautifully custom dually. For this red and black beast, the devil is definitely in the details.
Photos: Sean “Solo Films” French | Words: Michael Phillips
Jay Naron picked up his Ford F-Series for a meager $1500. Its condition certainly reflected the cost. With a little less than half a year, a whole lot of hard work, and an ungodly amount of patience, Loveless was built for the SEMA Show, in the show halting fashion Jay had always envisioned. With his previous Lift’d endeavors, the end vision was something Jay was able to keep his crosshairs on. As owner of Jay’s Fine Line Rigs he has a knack for keeping his eyes on the prize and often his motivation in a project is for the sake of the clear vision of an end result he can already see before the first cut is even made. His ultimate goal was to create a unique show style truck that found its true soul in a number of creative details. The journey was by no means an easy one and lacked a certain amount of confidence from onlookers early on in the build. Their regularly expressed lack of confidence is what ultimately inspired the build name, “Loveless.” To be sure however, post completion, Jay’s truck has received enough well earned love to make up for it in droves.
First in a long series of modifications came the custom frame and chassis restoration. John of Chassis Fab by John, in Pearland Texas built a one-off custom frame for Loveless. The frame accommodates a three-quarter-inch body drop custom rake for the finely built Ford. Powder coated in Candy Red, the custom frame makes use of handmade upper and lower control arms, radically fabricated for a 4-link and cantilever system in the rear. The truck cab itself boasts fresh bead-rolled sheetmetal, hand-formed specifically for the build. The rear fenders, firewall, and dash are all elegantly detailed custom metal work to match. Suspending the build just inches above the pavement are Bilstein 5100 shocks and a four-corner air suspension also crafted by the talented hands of Chassis By John.
Beneath where a hood ought to lay, is a host of mad muscle components confidently placing Loveless in the category of beastly. Jay however prefers to keep his truck topless, showing off the impressive engine bay. An Edelbrock carb’d 351 Windsor lies at the heart of the powertrain. Using Edelbrock heads, COMP Cams crank, a March Performance Serpentine Kit, March Performance carbon fiber intake, Kooks long tube headers, and a Magnaflow stainless 3-inch system, Loveless roars low and loud. The whole truck acts as a beautiful blend of classic hot rodding ethic with spins and twists provided by modern styling and details. The result is a loudly styled show truck with the muscle to back it up.
The incredibly serious stance of Loveless is perfectly represented in her choice of wheel. For rollers, Jay went with aggressive yet smooth, 24-inch American Force Freedoms. The wheels are candy coated in red to match the frame and other elements of the paint scheme. For a true street style, the AF Freedoms are paired with Toyo Proxes ST2s measuring 285/40/24 and that is all SIX tires. The dually rears put down plenty of rubber, putting the Windsor power plant to good use. Bringing Loveless to a tight stop are Wilwood big brakes front and rear.
With a lean and mean (about as lean as a dually can get) exterior, Loveless makes due with a tasteful and ultra clean interior. The red leather bench seat finished with tuck and roll black stitching done by Tony Montoya at Tony’s Upholstery, contrasts the custom black suede headliner and carpet. The sheetmetal dash is painted black with hand-laid pinstriping by the one and only Pat Maxwell, surrounds the custom bead-rolled shroud. The illuminated red Dakota Digital gauge cluster shines evilly against the black background. In the center of the dash is a Pioneer Double Din head unit sending sounds to custom 6.5-inch kick panels with Arc Audio tweeters. For a monstrous effect, four 8-inch Definitive Audio subs were mounted behind the rear set and Arc Audio amps help to keep it all in sync. The interior work was completed by Jay’s Shop Jay’s Fine Line Rigs and the system built by James Halter at Definitive Audio Designs.
The truly spectacular factor of Loveless, tying all of its immaculate custom elements together, is the expertly detailed paint and body work performed by Dave Flint at Pristine Paint & Body. A sensory overloading color-scheme of candy red and velvety black coats every millimeter, seen or unseen. The cab is covered in ProSpray Satin Black and Brandywine Red in a classic two-tone configuration. The frame, suspension, wheels and a host of other items are painted and powder coated in matching reds, while the remaining bits are finished in black. The extensive scheme brings a ghastly appearance, shocking to the eyes, no matter how traditional the colors they may be. The final look is a carefully curated and as Jay puts its, “gives you an evil look, the longer you stare at it.” It’s the little things in life that make the most difference and in similar fashion, it’s the fine details of this truck, displaying its excellent build quality and next-level styling approach. The final touch is white and grey detailed pin-striping highlighting the extra fine details of the bare bodied beast.
Jay’s truck is a solid example of personal taste and style applied in drastic fashion to bring to life an other wise lifeless (or loveless) project. Despite his previous loyalties to nothing but off road and raised vehicles, Jay absolutely knocked it out of the playing field with his first low life build. The community and and Slam’d family greatly appreciate his hard work and addition to the genre. Here’s to hoping he takes on another Slam’d project for his next build!
Slam’d Specs
Owner: Jason “Jay” Naron
Vehicle: 1968 Ford F-350 Dually
Hometown: Bullard, TX
Wheels/Tires:
TOYO Proxes ST2 285/40/24
24-inch American Force Freedoms
Suspension/Chassis:
Bilstein 5100 Shocks
AccuAir Management
Dual Viair 480C Compressors
Body/Paint:
Pro Spray Satin Black and Brandywine Red
Chassis, suspension, and wheels powdercoated Candy Red
Hand pinstriped in Red and Grey
Performed By: Pristine Paint & Body
Interior/Stereo:
Red leather bench seat w/ Black tuck & roll stitching
Custom Black suede headliner and carpet
Bead-rolled metal dash painted and pinstriped
Dakota Digital Illuminated Red Gauges
Pioneer Double Din head unit
Arc Audio 1200w and 600×4 amps
Definitive Audio four 8in Subs
Engine/Performance:
Windsor 351 V8
Edelbrock Carb and Heads
COMP Cams crankshaft
March Performance Intake and Air Cleaner
March Performance Serpentine kit
Kooks long tube headers
Magnaflow 3″ stainless exhaust
C4 Transmission
Special Thanks:
Huge thanks to my wife Hali Naron, my Pops, and all my family and friends who continually support me and my automotive habits. Big thanks to all our sponsors for believing in us and helping turn this vision into a reality and all of the helping hands along the way including; Dave Flint, Tony Montoya, James Halter, and Pat Maxwell.
