Words: KRISTIE REAL
Photos: DALE MARTIN | @DMARTY78
SALUTE TO SERVICE | 2017 FORD F-350 PLATINUM
When you grow up on a ranch, work trucks are a must! Just ask Jay Hurtado, who fondly remembers his dad’s work trucks and his personal early-’90s tan-colored Chevy Silverado. “I remember him picking me up after football practice in it and singing along to songs on the radio,” he recalls. “That nostalgic feeling is what made me fall in love with trucks. Now being the shortest one in my family is why I love lifted trucks. It’s one of the only times I get to be taller than my cousins.” For his own personal truck, Jay wanted something more than a large truck to show off at events, but something that had a deeper meaning so he decided to dedicate it to his late cousin who served in the Army. After serving two tours overseas, he didn’t quite come back the same. According to Jay, he unfortunately took his life due to the traumatic events he experienced while overseas. “The truck was built in memory of Andrés Zamudio and the 22 service members that commit suicide daily in the United States. It’s a way of me remembering him every time I get in the truck. I named the truck the ‘Salute to Service.’ To honor all of those who served, and or have lost their lives doing so.”
To ensure the build lived up to his expectations, Jay reached out to Cris Payne/ Truck Guru to explore his ideas and the mission to make his Ford F-350 Platinum head to SEMA given previous builds were what he called “low maintenance trucks.” After following him on socials for a while, he was reluctant to actually reach out in the beginning. But when he finally did, Cris called him almost immediately and expressed excitement to have Jay’s dream become a reality, which had him sign on right away. But that only opened up Pandora’s Box when it came to builds, with Jay admitting that he’d never build anything smaller than this build again! While he initially had a few parts for his build already, all that changed when Cris suggested going with larger wheels and tires to really give it that SEMA show queen look. “From there I let him take over,” he admits. “I also entrusted Matt from Hotshot Motorsports in Fresno, CA, with the build, so a the end of the day, I just sat back and watched as they both created my dream truck.” According to Jay, Hotshot Motorsports had their work cut out for themselves. They had to remove the old lift kit, wheels and tires. Then clean all the caked-on dirt and mud that was underneath the truck. Finally, they restored the paint so that it could be wrapped and powder coated to make the truck show-ready before all the new parts were installed.
The biggest challenge the builders faced was shipping and a shortage of raw materials, in addition to prepping the truck for its transformation. But once everything was in, HotShot Motorsports did a complete teardown and SEMA build in nine days. “It was truly impressive what they were able to accomplish,” Jay admits. As far as Jay’s top mods go, he’s a pretty simple guy with his faves. “I love the wrap and how it came out. I’m also a big kid at heart and having those train horns is pretty awesome. The truck came out way better than I could’ve ever imagined. I don’t have much of attention to detail, but Cris and Matt knocked this one out of the park.” Now the truck is Jay’s daily driver and is used for just about anything. But he’s already dreaming up his next big build, which will once again include Cris and Matt, and hopefully be a Chevy with a 20” kit!
GEAR
2017 FORD F-350 PLATINUM “SALUTE TO SERVICE”
WHEELS/ TIRES
• 28×16 Fittipaldi Offroad FTF501 wheels
HOTSHOT MOTORSPORTS
