Hunting For The Right Truck

A self-described vehicle junkie, Casey Gysin has been into automotives her entire life. Her parents got her started at a young age by passing on their love for cars.

“Before I was into diesel, I was into cars. I had a hopped up `04 Chrysler Sebring with rims and a black cherry paint job,” says Gysin. “I have been into cars a long time.”

Going Diesel

This New York native was about to discover a new passion which ended up taking her life in a whole different direction. Back in 2005, she was driving a 1984 Porsche 944 and a good friend had a ‘98 Dodge Cummins.

“We both thought what the other one was driving looked cool,” Gysin laughs. “We swapped vehicles and that was it for me. I started saving and two years later, I bought my own truck.”

She ended up with a ‘01 Dodge and immediately started learning how to do repairs on it herself. When she discovered the truck needed a new injection pump, she had no idea it was about to change her life.

“Shops were quoting me between $1500 to $2500 to install in New York a part I already owned,” says Gysin. “I would have done it myself but at that point in my experience, I wasn’t sure if I could do it because of my knowledge.”

Finally, a good friend of Gysin’s called and said he had a friend who would do it for $450 if she was willing to trailer it to Pennsylvania. Even though the price sounded right, Gysin wasn’t about to let just anyone with a diesel side hobby work on her truck.

“I asked a lot of questions about if this person had ever done this before,” says Gysin. “My friend said this guy does it all the time and he would do it right.”

This capable guy was Greg Lazorcik and once Gysin saw him work on her truck, she was hooked. The couple started dating and Gysin relocated to Lebanon, Pennsylvania to be with Lazorcik full time. The couple is now happily engaged and drive almost matching trucks. Lazorcik drives the same 2002 Dodge Ram 2500, just in a different color.

Finding Her Truck

After she decided to get rid of her 01, she started searching for her next truck. She ended up finding her current 2002 Dodge in North Carolina, seven hours from where she lives. Wanting to take advantage of the body styling Dodge offered between 1998 to 2002, she was willing to drive that far for the right deal.

Since purchasing the truck, she’s added some modifications to make it the truck she wants it to be, including: Smarty programmer, 16" ion alloy wheels wrapped in 285/75 Toyo Open Country tires, 4 inch turbo back exhaust to dual 7 inch black stacks, HTS valve body, milled and painted valve cover, Goerend deep tranny pan and custom intake horn. She made other cosmetic changes including billet grille inserts, adding 4th gen style mirrors and ISSPRO gauges. One of her favorite features is the custom front bumper and traction bars Lazorcik built for her. While being a mechanical engineer for his nine to five job, he works with Diesel Dynasty doing custom bumper work for their customers.

“Greg designed it and built it himself along with some of my help,” says Casey. “He gets the metal from his dad and he puts these bumpers together and paints them up.”

Future modification plans to be implemented in the next few months include a Dana 80 rear axle swap, Goerend triple disc torque converter, billet flexplate, billet input shaft, DDP 110 injectors, TST Competition fueling box and Holset Pro 52 turbo.

Diesel Isn’t Her Only Thing

Gysin loves her diesel but she has another hobby she is passionate about as well. She’s an avid hunter and supports her all of hobbies by working as a taxidermist.

“I have taxidermy all over my house,” says Gysin. “When it comes to hunting, if I can afford it, I go.”

Even though she is living in Pennsylvania, she drives back to New York to work at True-Life Taxidermy in Middletown. True-Life Taxidermy Inc. was established in 1988 by Bob Vitro and mounts all kinds of animals for their impressive clientele. Gysin’s job includes doing the finishing work on the animals, including the nostrils, antlers and eyes and building their habitat scenery so everything is perfect when it’s delivered to the customer.

Gysin has used her truck to help out the business.

“Two years ago, my boss had high-end clients in from South Africa,” says Gysin. “Their plans were cancelled so I took them to central Pennsylvania for an elk and buffalo hunting trip.”

Gysin has hunted all over the United States and it’s a hobby her entire family shares. She feels lucky to have a job that lets her live out her passion as well.

The Future

When she’s not hunting or mounting animals, you’ll find Gysin working on her Dodge, building it into her dream truck. Once Gysin gets finished, she plans on entering pulls and DYNO events.

“I’ve noticed more and more women are getting into diesel and some guys don’t like it,” says Gysin. “I know from experience some girls get picked on. But we put time and hard work into it too and I think it’s great that girls out there do their own work.”

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