STORY: John Matthew
PHOTOGRAPHY: Douglas Little

Air can be so enticing. So alluring, that neither personal preference, nor professional opinion, nor technical hurdle can stand in its way once its switches tap on your fingertips. Josh Penner had always been surrounded by classic, custom and restored vehicles. His neighbourhood had encircled him with an entrenchment of hardcore muscle car buffs.

But being a 20-year-old business administration student he felt he lacked the resources to adequately join in the fray when he went looking for a vehicle two years ago. "As a kid you can only afford so much," Penner said. "Buying an old car and completely restoring it is next to impossible for someone who is 17 or 18. I've always liked trucks so I got into that.

Penner had driven the truck for only a year before the air started its Siren like whisper. "I told myself at the start I wouldn't do air ride," Penner explained. "But after being in it for a year I broke down and bought an air ride system."

With his personal preference successfully overcome, Penner quickly encountered professional obstacles in his quest to lay frame. "A local shop told me that I wouldn't be able to do what my truck does right now," he recalled. "Ever since I was told that I set out to prove them wrong."

Even after Penner found those willing and able to help him, they still faced the final obstacle-the I-beam suspension common to Ford Rangers made prior to 1997. To overcome this obstacle Penner and his team had to leave bolt-on country. "Nothing is bolted on in that truck. It's all custom fabricated and welded on," Penner explained. "That's the reason why it lays frame, it's not a generic bolt-on kit."

Along the way, Penner, drawing inspiration from minitruckers in the U.S., also had all the bodywork redone including a fresh paintjob, a custom box created and made interior improvements. While he admittedly didn't have the personal knowledge to tackle the project, he nonetheless felt it necessary to be as involved as he could. "I purchased all the parts, I did a lot of the research, I was in there learning how the suspension worked, and I helped with a little of the paint prep, tearing down the interior and then reinstalling it," Penner said. "I wanted to be involved."

While the camber of the wheels and its ability to lay frame has earned him two awards this year after rolling out of the shop this winter, Penner reported not being quite finished. For just as powerful as the call of air ride is, so to is the bellow of a V8 conversion.