Aaron Kaufman Talks About His Future Away From Television

In Part 2 of my interview with Aaron Kaufman, we talk about what he has been working on since his departure from Gas Monkey. Ford guys, this is exciting stuff!

Anyone who watched Fast N Loud knows how much time Aaron Kaufman spent making sure builds looked right. That everything went together and looked like it was meant to. So many projects look like they are the products of several different ideas duct taped together. Aaron’s attention to detail and love of Ford F100’s is the driving force behind his future plans.

Kaufman is working on building and manufacturing kits for Ford F100’s from 1957 to 1979. Even though his dad was a die-hard Chevy guy, Aaron Kaufman has a love of the old Ford pickups. As a builder, he has a unique perspective on the challenges Ford guys have when building a project.

"I have worked in the installation of kits for so many years. Even if two companies have great kits they were never built to work together. We want to do a lot of work on the integration to make the kits work together."

Aaron Kaufman has laid out a plan for what his company is going to offer. We are not just talking accessories either. He is going to help people with driveway projects with bumper to bumper kits. The kind that are everywhere for Chevy’s but lacking for the blue oval crowd.

"There are so many vendors that have amazing products we work with but when the driveway or garage they get put in subpar, so they blame the part or lack of instruction. We want to do a lot of integration with our vendors that we think do a phenomenal job of delivering a part but we want to make it where it is almost error proof. We are going to do a lot if integration of wiring harnesses hard parts and electronic components as well as developing some of our own. Taillight to headlight bumper to bumper F100’s."

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When talking to Aaron, as a guy in the middle of a Ford Bronco project, it was refreshing hearing someone addressing the very issues I keep coming upon. Then the interview took a direction that made me jump up and down!

"There is a lot of performance stuff out there on Ford’s that is actually adapted Chevy stuff. It is kind of a slap in the face to the Ford guys. The 6.2 V8 in the Raptor is a 400 hp motor, it’s cheap, they are plentiful and nobody is using them! I am working on a twin-turbo project right now, so I am also hoping to offer by the end of 2017 a stand-alone ECM and harness. It will be a factory harness altered and a new ECM so you can go to the wrecking yard and get a dinosaur, a big 2 valve modular motor with aluminum valve covers makes 400 hp pull it out and stick it in your F100 and what a wonderful little rocketship."

Hold the phone! A package to put twin-turbos on the 6.2L from the Raptor in classic F100. That is the craziest most beautiful thing I have heard in years for Ford guys. Finally a large displacement option for vintage Ford trucks that does not need a carburetor.

It became apparent that this is not a new thought for the former Gas Monkey master mechanic. He has a plan laid out and it is well thought out. His first offerings are going to be chassis and electronic components that are so hard to come by.

"One of the early things we will be offering is an economy front and rear suspension that will go on the existing chassis. Then IFS conversions for the solid axle and I beam trucks to 4 linked rears to get the trucks low, to perform well, handle well, and brake well. Next level will be bumper to bumper full chassis. All the geometry in the front will be mine, same with the rear. You would be able to take your body and bed and nose off your frame and put it on ours."

As a Ford guy myself, I came away excited about what I was soon able to buy for my own project. His excitement about his new venture was palpable over the phone. He talked about the possibility of future TV work, but it did not have the excitement behind it as his F100 project has. He was about to sign the lease on his own facility any day and get to building.

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One of the biggest takeaways I had from talking with Aaron Kaufman is he was happy. There was no anger from leaving Gas Monkey Garage. It was time for him to follow his own dreams. We will miss him on TV, but you never know what might happen. I know I would watch a show about the projects he is about to build.