Lindsey Fisher February 01, 2024 Diesel World
Photos by Mach1Media
When it comes to any automotive-minded person’s bucket list, attending the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas is among the top goals. But to have a vehicle you built yourself on display at the biggest after-market convention? Now that’s an accomplishment many of us can only dream of, and only a select few can say they did.
Among those on the list is Thomas Szabo, owner of Superior Diesel Performance in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. But he didn’t just build a SEMA show vehicle—he took the saying “Go Big or Go Home” to a whole other level.
Specializing in Super Duty trucks, Thomas wanted to do something a little different for his SEMA debut and build a custom Ford Excursion. But we’re not talking about just any old custom Excursion—we’re talking going well beyond the norm, even by SEMA show standards. Knowing the project would be a big undertaking anyway, as Thomas told us, “We decided to go all out and make it a six-door.”
Stretching the Excursion took many tricks, starting with modifying the Ford from the frame up. Responsible for the bodywork on this unique build, Western Millennium Collision literally took two vehicle bodies and grafted them together to give the Excursion its limousine status. Among one of the coolest tricks implemented in the project was incorporating Super Duty bedsides into the rear quarters. Doing so gave the Excursion larger fender flares in the rear that could almost pass as “factory” with how well they continue into the body lines all the way around the truck.
Less obvious aesthetic choices for the Excursion include shaved badges and keyholes, textured trim panels and door handles, an RK Sport hood, Fusion bumpers, and a custom Overkill Fab front grille. Nine Rigid lights adorn the grille, wheelwells, and bumpers, while a custom Gen-Y Mega-Duty hitch and rear bumper hooks flex out back just waiting for a job to do.
As for the paint, it’s probably not what you’d expect. Shifting from black to dark brown, the exterior of the Excursion was painted by Andrey Kolesnik of Western Millennium Collision in factory Ford gloss black with three coats of copper clearcoat on top.
Inside, the Excursion is just as gorgeous, featuring black leather and suede Roadwire front and second-row bucket seats with two matching rear benches. These seats set the tone for the matching custom headliner and door panels, complements of the talented Tory Wilcox of Ripstitch Interiors. In the dash, Edge CTS3 gauges keep temperatures, speed, and other need-to-know measurements front and center, while a full Kicker stereo system pumps tunes throughout all four seating rows thanks to a combination of speakers, amps, and eight and 10-inch subs, the aforementioned fitted into a custom center console box and spare tire box.
“Incorporating Super Duty bedsides into the rear quarters … gave the Excursion larger fender flares in the rear that could almost pass as ‘factory’ with how well they continue into the body lines all the way around the truck.”
Certainly a looker, the Excursion couldn’t be left with stock mechanics. While this bad boy retains a 2013 6.7 Power Stroke diesel, Thomas gave it a full revamp fitting of the truck’s custom status. Right off the bat, you’ll notice a Compound S480 Turbo setup over a BD Diesel Scorpion 64.5mm turbo kit. A BD intake manifold, headers, and a custom 4-inch downpipe with a 4-inch BD exhaust brake were also added to the truck, dumping the diesel’s exhaust just in front of the rear axle via 5-inch duals.
Other features include a rebuilt bottom end with O-ringed heads and ARP head studs, a PPE oil pan, and an S&S Diesel Disaster Prevention Kit, protecting the fuel system from any possible malfunctions of the fuel pump. Prismatic powdercoated valve covers, upper oil pan, and accessory brackets carry the Excursion’s color scheme throughout the engine bay.
“Thomas hit it out of the park with this build, not only aesthetically, but also in form and function—right down to the custom suspension system that sends this truck soaring about the rest.”
Backing the 6.7L V-8 is a rebuilt Ford 6R140 automatic transmission, which was fitted with an Alto HD clutch pack, Suncoast shafts, and a custom valve body by Mister Transmission. A Suncoast 1700 stall converter feeds the truck’s ponies to the trans while a PPE deep sump pan helps keep extra fluid flowing for optimal performance. Continuing with the truck’s aesthetic cues, both the transmission and the transfer case were powdercoated using Prismatic powder to match the Excursion’s exterior paint.
Down below, the Ford’s factory driveline spins a Super Duty Dana 60 in the front and a Dana 70 in the rear, both featuring Nitro 4.30 gears and install kits inside powdercoated axle housings with PPE diff covers. Six-inch backspaced Mickey Thompson 38/15.5/r24 Baja Boss shoes, wrapped around 24×14-inch Gear Off Road wheels, plant the six-door beast to the pavement, while stopping power is provided by 15.5-inch front and 15-inch rear 6-piston Wilwood brakes fitted with braided stainless steel lines.
No SEMA show vehicle is complete without customizations from top to bottom, and Thomas hit it out of the park with this build, not only aesthetically, but also in form and function—right down to the custom suspension system that sends this truck soaring about the rest.
A fully custom Papis air-suspension system does numbers to set this Excursion apart, giving the truck both a unique stance and extensive capabilities with front and rear 4-links, a custom subframe and axle truss, suspension cradle, and Locked Offroad triple-bypasses with remote reservoirs capable of 10 inches of travel on all four corners. Fitted to a 2013 Super Duty front frame section that is melded to a 2002 Excursion rear, Slam Specialties SS8 airbags help actuate the Excursion’s massive lift of 8 to 14 inches above factory ride height.
Feeding the suspension system with air are polished air tanks with two compressors controlled by an AccuAir controller. This on-board air system also feeds the three horns from HornBlasters tucked up discretely under the rear bumper.
From start to finish, the project, which could have easily taken over a year to accomplish, was completed by Thomas and his team in just seven months. Along the way, aspects like shipping times and getting parts through customs challenged the team, but in the end, they pulled off a fantastic bigger-the-life SEMA build that will be admired across the States and Canada for years to come.
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