Wheeling the first truck you ever owned might not be custom practice these days, but for Luxury Prerunner’s Chris Begley, there’s just no better way to do it!

We recently stumbled upon Begley’s 1967 Ford F-250 prerunner at a local show and had to know more. After all, how many prerunners have you seen made out of the guts of a classic Ford F-Series pickup truck? But don’t get us wrong; this classically-based truck is no underpowered sand cruiser! It’s a bona fide go-anywhere machine built from the ground up right in Begley’s garage. 

Nearly unrecognizable as the classic that it started out to be, Begley’s truck is in fact the 1967 Ford F-250 he bought back in high school. But over the years, the truck has been changed drastically, transforming into the extreme off-road truck you see here.

Out of school, Begley moved to Southern California, where he took up his passion for building off-road vehicles. Having started with putting a bigger lift on his own truck, Begley transitioned from the minorly modified truck to Volkswagen Baja Bugs and then to building sand rails and souped up rides with stout bolt-ons. Custom fabrication came next as did full-on custom components which lead to the inception of Luxury Prerunners.

The ’67 F-250 became a side project along the way with every extra moment spent on designing, fabricating, and building the all-capable off-road machine. The truck has since become the face of Luxury Prerunners.

Now, converting the ’67 into the machine it is today was no easy task. In fact, it took Begley and a few close friends a number of years to get it just right. Admittedly, the project would have gone a lot faster had Begely had a plan from the beginning and the money stashed to pull it off. If he had to do it all over again, that’s what Begley would have done rather than piecing the truck together over a number of years.

The truck’s lift certainly draws attention and makes the prerunner look almost like a mini monster truck, but Begley says he’s thinking of lowering the lift a little bit for better handling and increased speed capabilities.

The transformation started from the chassis up, which Begley modified with a custom three-link system in both the front and rear including massive five-foot trailing arms in the front and six-foot trailing arms in the back. Speedway Engineering sway bars are included front and rear, as are Eibach springs, and custom Radflo coil over and bypass shocks – 2.5s in the front and 3.0s in the rear – Begley’s favorite feature of his truck.
The total suspension lift with this system comes out to be between 16 and 17 inches higher than stock.

Flanking the chassis are 20 x 10-inch TrailReady XD Series wheels with custom beadlocks wrapped in massive 46-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Claw tires. Stopping power for the truck is handled by stock F-350 brakes with cross-drilled and slotted rotors up front and Brembo two-piston brakes in the rear, all backed by a Wilwood master cylinder and custom-made brake lines.

Powering the truck is a highly modified 408 ci Ford 400M engine built by Adam King of Extreme Boat Performance. It features Roush Cleveland C302B NASCAR heads, a custom-built camshaft, high-flow oil pump, 750 cfm Holley Double-Pumper carburetor, Edelbrock intake, custom spacers, and an MSD ignition. Custom equal-length, ceramic coated headers, a custom exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers, custom rocker arms, ARP-equipped connecting rods, a 2010 Super Duty radiator, dual electric cooling fans, and TRW aluminum forged pistons are also packed into the engine bay for optimal performance.

Fueling the beast is a 32-gallon fuel tank from ATL, while dual Optima Battery Yellow Tops keep the truck cranking.

Producing a hardy 500 hp, the engine is backed by a flex plate-adjacent three-speed automatic C6 transmission with a shift kit and 2,000 rpm stall converter, which Begely told us was initially built for a motor home. The transmission is tied to the divorced NP 205 transfer case via a single JE Reel driveshaft (with 1350 U-joints), which then pushes the power to the Dana 60 front axle and Dana 80 rear axle through two additional JE Reel driveshafts.

Upping the aunty is a 5.38 open differential in the front and 5.38 spool in the rear.

Adapted for weight balance, Begley’s prerunner is fitted with the batteries and fuel cell out back. The radiator is also positioned behind the cab of the truck, helping to prevent it from getting damaged by rocks and debris off road.

Considering all the performance modifications Begley’s truck has seen, it’s no wonder that the truck looks far different than a traditional ’67 F-250, but this was also helped with some pretty drastic aesthetic changes.

First off, Begley replaced the body of the ’67 with that of a ’99 F-150, giving it a more modern look. To top it off, the truck was fitted with fiberglass front and rear fenders from Trailer Products, Ford Lightning headlights, a T-Rex grille, and an Alpha Hook recovery hook. The truck was then painted Volkswagen Tangerino, as Begley wanted the truck to have a burnt orange paint scheme.

Outfitting the truck’s interior with creature comforts and safety features was another major project, which Begley tackled full force by first fitting the truck with a custom 1 ¾-inch chromoly roll cage and then adding components like Kar-Tek suspension seats, a Fiberwerx carbon fiber dash, Autometer gauges, and a Momo steering wheel with Sweet MFG steering wheel quick disconnect.

The truck is also setup with a Panasonic stereo system, custom firewall and floor, and even an ice chest cage.

Begley’s sweet ’67 is truly a capable performance machine both off road and on. Built initially for running out in Glamis, California, the truck still sees quite a bit of off-road time as well as works as a promotional vehicle for Begley’s company.

With trucks built for big-name companies and shows like SEMA, Begley’s Luxury Prerunners is on the forefront of the industry.

Be sure to check out some of the company’s awesome builds on their website!

Thanks goes to Begley for sharing his unique prerunner with us. For more pictures of the ’67 Ford F-250 based prerunner, check out the gallery below.

From the design factor to the enjoyment of the vehicle now that it’s done, Begley truly enjoys his ’67 Ford in ways unlike most classic truck owners can!