The Razzle Berry F-350: A Custom Diesel Truck Reborn

John Mata Jr. . November 20, 2024 . Feature Stories

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A ’00 Ford F-350 Packing Serious Punch

Holden Stortz of Perryville, Missouri is only 25 years old, but he has known this ’00 F350 his entire life. His dad purchased it when it was brand new, and in the past, he has witnessed this Ford being put to work (and knocked out of commission) multiple times. The truck has seen many high and low points throughout the years but has never stayed down for the count. Either Holden or his father has always been there to ensure that the F350 got the repairs it needed to get back on the road, but it wasn’t until recently when this truck took a drastic turn.

“The story all started back in 2000 when my dad bought the truck at the local Ford dealership,” Holden says. “I was only 3 at the time, but my dad took me with him to look at different pickups, and this is the one he picked out. He got it to use as a work truck; it pulled trailers up and down the interstate for its first 200,000 miles.”

Wear and tear within this industry is heavy, and the Stortz family’s F350 was not immune to major damage during its time in active duty. Before Holden was even old enough to drive the truck, it had already been totaled out once, and the bed had been smashed during a different incident. The Ford was probably a good candidate to be put out to pasture, but there was something about it that kept the guys interested in saving it.

While most might see the paint color as being merely red, the specific shade that was selected is called Razzle Berry, which really has turned into the truck’s newfound persona.

When Holden finally turned 15, he asked his dad if he could buy the Ford. Of course, his dad agreed, and Holden began spending all his money into fixing up the F350 as best as he could. When his funds and determination ran low, he eventually sold the truck back to his father, three years after first holding the keys. It was a tough decision, but Holden just wasn’t making enough progress on the truck’s rebuild to justify throwing any more time and cash at it.

Well, it turned out that his dad wasn’t all too interested in doing much with the truck, so Holden ended up buying the truck back after three more years. “Once I bought the F350 back and drove it back to my place, I started tearing it apart that very night,” Holden states. “This is when the truck began receiving its most current makeover.”

The first thing Holden did was give his F350 a much taller, more aggressive stance, which he accomplished with the use of springs and shackles up front along with springs at the rear and Fox 2.0 shocks all around to maintain a controlled and comfortable ride quality. The difference the 8-inch lift at both ends made was huge, and the major altitude adjustment dramatically altered the look and feel of driving the Ford.

Loving the direction the truck was headed in such a short amount of time, Holden then locked down a set of 20×18 Moto Metal wheels with beefy 38×15.50 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MT tires to wrap them. Of course, braking components would have to be swapped out to bring the much more substantial wheel and tire combo to an abrupt stop, but that was no problem for Holden to handle.

With the Ford’s chassis and suspension system dialed in perfectly, Holden then transferred his attention under the hood, where he could upgrade the performance and reliability of the 7.3L Powerstroke diesel mill. Upgrades in the way of a Garrett 38R turbocharger, Wicked Wheel 2 compressor wheels, a custom air intake, and TS Programmer were able to whip the Powerstroke up into a coal rolling frenzy. A 5-inch stainless exhaust system was also fabricated to increase the F350’s performance numbers, which have currently been estimated at 400hp and 800 ft-lbs of torque. This kind of power is nothing to scoff at, and Holden makes sure to take advantage of every bit of it as often as possible.

The next order of business was to completely rework the Ford’s tired, war-torn exterior by treating it to some much-needed TLC. “Marty Newkirk joined the project by first completing some extensive bodywork before he was able to lay down a candy paint job that came out incredible,” Holden adds.

While most might see the paint color as being merely red, the specific shade that was selected is called Razzle Berry, which really has turned into the truck’s newfound persona. The elevated candy color has been strategically used inside of the headlight and taillight housings, as well as peppered throughout the engine bay and underneath the truck. Even the AMP Research running boards have been powdercoated to match. Royalty Core grille inserts give the front end an updated twist, and at the rear, the inside of the bed has been outfitted with a full carpet kit as well as a bench seat to make cruising around with friends a much more enjoyable experience.

Inside the cab, Holden just needed it to be clean, yet slightly updated, without going too far overboard. For the seats, he was able to get a newer leather-wrapped bench from a 2008 F350. The factory dash was custom painted, and some extra gauges were soon added to the pillar to keep tabs on the truck’s performance output.

With that, the cabin was as modified as it needed to be, and Holden was perfectly fine with that. But he wasn’t finished with it just yet. A set of custom floor mats have been added that celebrate the truck’s official nickname, and to truly get the party started, Holden wired up a new stereo unit from Pyle, four 6×9 speakers along with two subwoofers for an audio system that thumps hard.

“The original build took around a year but honestly the truck is still getting things done to it all the time,” Holden admits. “I did a lot of the work myself but I’ve also had the help of plenty of talented people to get it done just the way I wanted. This truck was one of the first builds to ever come from BCC and Zach Pennock, which is pretty cool. I also must thank Parker VanBeelen and Weldcraft for how awesome the custom 20×18 wheels turned out. It’s great to see how far along this old truck of ours has come.”

OWNER Holden Stortz

Perryville, MO

TRUCK SPECS

Engine/Drivetrain