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Photography by Salinas Photography

Doubling down for game over.

You can count cards if you want to, but 鈥淏lackjack鈥� is key. Holding an Ace and 10 value card in your hand during a game guarantees you your win, no matter which strategies have been put into play by other players. Over at Tweety鈥檚 Tire in Midland, Texas, owner Cesar Olivas has cast his hand down and declared 鈥済ame over.鈥� With a completely custom tow rig and a standout SEMA truck, we鈥檙e inclined to believe him. Let鈥檚 examine his hand, shall we?

The aforementioned tow rig just has to be the only one of its kind in the world. The amount of custom work that has gone into this F-350 is absolutely insane, though it makes sense if you know something about Olivas鈥� history in truck modification and fabrication.

鈥淓ver since I was young I鈥檝e loved working on trucks - lowering them and lifting them,鈥� he reflects. 鈥淚 was a welder for a good four or five years and learned how to fabricate and build a lot of stuff. Eventually, I started my own custom shop, doing short bed conversions, lift kits, drops, pretty much anything.鈥�

Now that we鈥檙e all caught up, we can dive into what鈥檚 going on with this Ford hauler. First off, the model year is 1999, which totally doesn鈥檛 match up with what you鈥檙e seeing here. That front end is off of a 2016 F-series, as is the Platinum trim tailgate at the rear. The plastic surgery aside, the rest of the Ford doesn鈥檛 look representative of a Super Duty pickup either. A short-box, single-cab dually? Your eyes don鈥檛 deceive you, and this wasn鈥檛 some special dealer request. When Olivas got the F350 in 鈥�99, it was a completely different truck.

鈥淭hat short-bed dually was a four-door,鈥� Olivas reveals. 鈥淲e cut it down to a single cab, put on the short bed, and even converted it to a dually. The frame was cut down, and then braced with fish plates and boxed on the inside. Once it was boxed on the inside, it鈥檚 stronger than the original frame. On the back, it鈥檚 got a flip kit with the original leaf springs.鈥�

Playing in tandem with the OE springs is a DJM lowering kit and airbag system to adjust the ride height even further. The F-350 squats over some seriously huge 26-inch Forgiato Indurire wheels as well. Some of you may be doubting the towing ability of something so low to the ground, but between the electric valve system that allows the truck to hit any height for any load, and the 7.3-liter Power Stroke turbo-diesel, this little truck can tackle just about any tow any other truck can. There are some future plans to modify the interior to match the exterior and upgrade everything inside with 2016-spec Super Duty bits. For now though, the F-350 does what it鈥檚 good at: looking great and towing Tweey鈥檚 Tire鈥檚 showstopper.

Speaking of which, the Sierra Denali that Olivas and crew created for the big show in Vegas is a magnificent monstrosity. Unlike the F-350, the Denali isn鈥檛 vertically challenged whatsoever with its, so far, one-of-a-kind Full Throttle lift kit. The kit allows for a lift on coilovers between 18- and 22-inches, and Olivas settled on a nice 20-inch middle ground. The height, however, isn鈥檛 what makes the kit so unique.

鈥淚t has a pretty big conversion that not a lot of guys have out there,鈥� explains Olivas. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a solid axle on the front. It鈥檚 an F-250 axle. It鈥檚 actually the only truck in the world to have that Full Throttle lift on it.鈥�

Full Throttle totally makes other solid axle kits, but this one has a front driveshaft, and the hinges that hold the control arms to the axle are about half the size of the usual kits. On top of that, Tweety鈥檚 has applied their very own coating of vibrant purple, as well as some brightly chromed components.

Olivas and the team at Tweety鈥檚 have been involved in SEMA builds before, sourcing wheels and tires, and coating select parts in color and chrome, but they鈥檝e never tackled a full-on build for themselves. For 2016, in their first year ever building a SEMA truck, Tweety鈥檚 knocked it out of the park. Holding down a spot at the American Force outdoor booth, the Denali both fit in with the other spot holders, yet stuck out as its own black and purple mobile tower. Sitting on some gorgeous 26x16 American Force Spartan MP8 multi-piece wheels, also carrying the theme of purple and chrome, definitely lends a hand to the Sierra鈥檚 show-stopping ability.

The truck gets more compliments from the custom 鈥淒ENALI鈥� grille made by Gravel Empire Grilles and some homemade headlights from the minds at Tweety鈥檚. The Denali also has bolstered performance by way of an EFI Live tuned by Kory Willis of PPEI and a full four-inch exhaust. A Horn Blasters train horn was also installed, just in case you really don鈥檛 notice this behemoth.

So, is Olivas right in saying that this pair is game over? We鈥檙e going to unanimously agree on yes 鈥� he has Blackjack after all. The only thing left to decide is which truck is the Ace and which is the 10 value, and we still can鈥檛 pick a favorite.

ESSENTIALS 

Vehicle: 1999 Ford F-350
Owner: Cesar Olivas
Location: Midland, TX
Built By: Tweety鈥檚 Tire
Engine: Ford 7.3L Power Stroke V8 turbo-diesel Bullydog tuner
K&N intake

EXHAUST
Custom 5-inch exhaust system

WHEELS
Forgiato Indurire wheels 鈥� 26-inch (f/r)
Dually rear conversion

CHASSIS / SUSPENSION
DJM lowering kit
Air suspension system
Leaf spring flip kit

EXTERIOR
Ford 2016 F-350 conversion (front end, tailgate)
Single cab conversion
Short bed conversion
Custom headlights
BMW tow hitch

SPONSORS
Tweety鈥檚 Tire

ESSENTIALS 

Vehicle: 2016 GMC Sierra Denali HD
Owner: Cesar Olivas
Location: Midland, TX
Built By: Tweety鈥檚 Tire
Engine: Chevrolet 6.6L Duramax V8 turbo-diesel

ENGINE
EFI Live tuned by Kory Willis of PPEI

EXHAUST
Custom 4-inch chrome exhaust system

DRIVETRAIN
G2 differential covers

CHASSIS / SUSPENSION
Full Throttle Suspension 22-inch lift kit
Ford F-250 solid axle conversion
Tweety鈥檚 Tire custom powdercoating & chrome

WHEELS / TIRES / BRAKES
American Force Spartan MP8 wheels 鈥� 26x16 (f/r)
Fury Off-Road tires 鈥� 40x15.5 R26 (f/r)
R1 Concepts (brake rotors, brake pads)

EXTERIOR
Gravel Empire Grilles custom grille
Bodyguard bumpers
Luxury LEDs
Horn Blasters train horn
AMP electric steps

SPONSORS
Full Throttle Suspension, American Force Wheels, Fury Off-Road Tires, Bodyguard Bumpers, Luxury LEDs, Gravel Empire Grilles, HornBlasters, R1 Concepts, Tweety鈥檚 Tire

Contributor: Salinas Photography

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