Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2020 i F-Series Builder's Guide

AS PROMISED, WE PUT TOGETHER A special Hometown Heroes issue featuring some regular garage-built rides, a ton of patina, some budget builds and, of course, some top-notch customs as well. Catering to all facets of classic Ford truck enthusiasts is our number one priority here, and we’re working hard to cover the gamut from the finest full-show custom builds to nice restorations, home builds and everything in between. As you can probably imagine, this is a thankless job. Not every truck in every issue will tickle every reader’s fancy, and that’s why we work hard to offer diverse findings from all over the country, world and Ford truck enthusiast community. We spend countless hours, weekends, and nights on the road, shooting, writing and hunting to bring you the best of…

THE SEVIERVILLE CONVENTION CENTER in Sevierville, Tennessee, played host to the 42nd Annual F-100 Supernationals this year with an absolute stunning turn out. New for 2019, Charlie Cobble and crew announced that they have secured the inside space of the buildings from 2019 for as long as they can make use of them. And make use, they sure did! With amazing vendors and all of the top Premier Debut Feature Rides parked side by side inside for a nice break from the weather, it really made for such a fun and relaxing venue. The outside parking lot (with more than 500 spaces) was jam-packed with show vehicles, a large F-100 swap meet and onsite food vendors. The newly added inside space housed vendors, a stage, show shirt booths and, of…

THE FORD F-SERIES IS AN UNDOUBTEDLY POPULAR truck, especially for custom truck enthusiasts, but then the question of which generation makes the best hot rod arises. For years the aftermarket has leaned heavily on the ’53-’56 trucks, but with changing trends come new ideas for later bodies. For as long as Randy East can remember, he has wanted to build a fourth generation F-100 into a street machine with modern flare while keeping traditional lines. He has owned a few mid 60s trucks in the past, but none were overly built. So naturally Randy wanted to see what he could do on a new build and push it a little farther than he had in the past. Randy started by pulling the truck out of a local salvage yard. It…

SORT OF LIKE PLAYING CHESS, THE truck game (as some of us call it) is a fun one to play after you get some experience in the bag. You need to always make sure you’re thinking a few steps ahead, whether you’re budgeting to keep expenses on track or planning out your project build so you know exactly which steps to follow to move forward. Buying, selling and trading custom trucks is definitely part of this game. You always need to be able to see the potential in what you have and the value in what someone else is bringing to the table. “The crew there is known for their quality and craftsmanship, which goes for both the trucks that they fully build in-house as well as the trucks they…

“It may be hard to think of a simple factory blue F-100 when looking at this monstrosity. But it’s also hard to imagine a better build for making memories.” Take a look at this gigantic 1956 F-600 Crew Cab, sitting idle on a custom chassis and widened by 6 inches. What is the first thing that comes to mind? Mel Gibson speeding through the Australian desert? Rat Fink’s hand reaching for a suicide shifter? Well, it’s probably not a Baby Blue F-100 from the same year. Yet that’s what Derrick and Riley Hodson see behind this custom behemoth. The father-son duo took on this monstrous crew cab project as a means to pay homage to Ray Hodson, their father and grandfather, respectively. The Baby Blue ’56 F-100 was a family…

SCOTT OLSEN HAS ALWAYS HAD A SOFT spot for slammed F-100s. The Florida native finally pulled the trigger on building one of his own and his endgame was simple: Put together the ultimate beach cruiser. With a less-is-more approach and an appreciation for a weathered finish, that’s exactly what he did. “Scott Olsen hat put together one badass beach build. The bold OEM color of the ’60s, the modern accent pieces and the minimalistic amenities...” His ’66 sits on its original frame. It has been heavily modified to accommodate the stance, but it’s still built on Ford steel, nonetheless. One future aspect that Scott hopes to address is the rear notch section by either modifying it for even greater clearance or making the full-frame transition. The firewall-forward has been swapped…

ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL ELEMENTS TO driving safely is the ability to see. At night we need the aid of lighting to help us do just that. Most 2019 cars these days come equipped straight from the factory with some really nice lights. But let’s take it back 40, 50 and even 60-plus years ago to the trucks we all love and restore. Their sealed 7-inch lights have served their purpose through many years and applications, but they definitely don’t make it easy to see while driving at night. Fast forward to today. Most cars now use projector lights with HIDs or LEDs. In the aftermarket world, 7-inch headlights have been available, but the crazy super fancy-looking new headlights sometimes work—but sometimes they can take away from the originality…

WE JUST LOVE SHARING stories like the one you are about to read—a vehicle with a history that will be passed down generation after generation. Dan Byers bought his F-100 for $50 back in the…well, the ’80s, and used it as his daily driver in high school. He purchased a rolling chassis and installed a 239 V-8 with three speed on the tree and a whopping 4:29 gear ratio. “In all, the build was just over two years to complete and our words do this F-100 little justice. Thousands of hours in fabrication and customization went into making this build exactly how Dan and Blake wanted it.” Fast forward several decades, and Dan’s truck left sitting outside in Western Colorado was destined to be his son Blake’s high school vehicle.…

CODY ROUSSEL SAW A HOLE in the game, a hole that a slammed fourth generation F-100 could fill nicely. It’s easy to forget that the F-100 boom in the custom truck scene is recent. Just a few years ago, few people were putting these trucks closer to the pavement. Parts were, as Roussel puts it, “slim pickins.” Aftermarket solutions were expensive and scarce. But stepping all the way outside of the box takes some deep cuts. So did laying out a 1966 F-100. But a frame-on-asphalt stance was Cody’s vision from day one. With a couple of years of hard work, he brought this vision to life. The “Venomous” F-100 was one of the first in the community to reside so close to the ground beneath. The ’66 frame received…

WHAT MAKES THE OZARK MOUNTAIN RUN so enjoyable? What draws us in and keeps us coming back for more? For some, it’s showing off their works of art; for others, it’s the conversations; and for some of us older folks, it’s the heritage and history and all of the above! The Ozark Mountain Run has been hosted deep in the heart of the Ozark Mountains in Branson, Missouri, annually now for more than three decades. That’s 31 years that Ford truck enthusiasts have been coming together, sharing their stories and passion for our favorite “money pits,” and sharing fellowship of the pain and dedication that the love of man and machine have formed through the years. The Ozark Mountain Run has passed on that Ford truck fever for generations. This…

WE RECENTLY CAME ACROSS A company known as Speedtech Performance and immediately fell in love with its performance suspension line for 1953-56 Ford F-100 trucks. We have a killer feature on its shop truck coming up in our next issue, but we couldn’t wait until then to show you what the crew there has in the works for us fat fender lovers. Performance meets comfort in a truly remarkable way, here’s a closer look at what’s under the upcoming cover truck for our next issue. Luxury comfort meets track performance with these all-new complete Speedtech ExtReme chassis packages. Industry-leading suspension geometry and components create a truly unique offering with ultra-high clearance control arms to improve caster setting and yield up to 30 degrees of steering angle with a 315 tire.…

IN THE LAST FEW ISSUES, YOU HAVE SEEN US install a Vintage Air setup, Con2R gauges and Custom Autosound stereo in project Ol’ Red. This time, we decided to properly finish up the interior by installing some heat insulation and sound deadening from the pros over at Vibro Solution, as well as new carpet to finish off the cabin. The idea behind our project Ol’ Red build is to drive and enjoy her everywhere. A lot of people will say a truck is for working. That is definitely true, but nowadays a lot of these classic trucks get used more as weekend cruisers than work trucks. Adding a carpet makes it a little more refined, and that is exactly what we wanted to do for Ol’ Red. These old trucks…

YOU EVER GO BY ANOTHER person’s ride or project and think of the things you would do differently if you owned it? Of course you have! I know for a fact David Hudson did when he saw a local hot rodder with a 1956 panel truck sitting in his garage for the better part of 30 years. David says the local man and his wife were both schoolteachers years ago, and in the summers, they used to load up and travel the country in it. Well, as much as he liked seeing the couple use that panel truck, he thought it would be pretty cool if he could put his own touches on that F-100 panel to make it his own. So, that’s exactly what he did. David took ownership…

ALTHOUGH THIS ISSUE IS paying homage to all you homebuilders out there, this man, Dorian Reyna, owns a killer diesel performance shop known as PSE (Powerstroke Enginuities) out of Houston and started off just like the rest of us—building killer trucks out of his garage. A United States Marine and a gearhead for life, Dorian has been building crazy things for as long as he can remember. “With an insane stance, the rest of the aggressive package had to pay off. It ended up with HD Chevy parts to stuff eight-lug American Force 20x9 and 20x14s under the F-100.” Fast forward a quite a few years and a couple tours, and Dorian was back home about to open his own diesel shop. He knew he needed a badass shop truck…

WITH THIS BEING OUR HOMEBUILT HEROES SPECIAL issue, we wanted to feature a newer shop that is currently cutting its teeth on classic Fords. Like many, Larry Kilburn of Kilburn’s Kustoms fit this bill as he started in his garage not too long ago. When we asked him why he builds custom cars, we knew that he would be a perfect fit for our shop spotlight. “It’s what we love to do,” he answered. “We’d rather make pennies and enjoy what we’re doing all day than to make a ton of soul sucking money punching a clock.” Kilburn says he and his crew strive to compete with local builders, but in a fun and friendly way. “One of our favorite builds would be our 1932 Hudson Sedan that we built…

DEVAN ENCE Idaho Falls, ID 1974 Ford F-100 DEVAN is definitely what you would consider a “Ford fanatic,” and he has more F-100 projects going at once then he cares to admit. But one of his current favorites is this 1974 shortbed that he’s been tinkering with lately to make it a really fun shop truck/cruiser. “It has a 390 with a four-speed and is a hoot to drive,” Devan says. Future plans include a Crown Vic front swap, back half and air ride to get her a bit closer to the pavement. But as with all projects, he assures us that this one is never finished, and the ideas just keep getting thrown at it, but hopefully we’ll get to see this one in a future issue “completed.” TOMMY…

In the last issue, we introduced Oscar the Bump, our 1972 Ford F-100 project. We started out by sending the bed off to Evolutionary Rides to get a new bed floor installed. Unfortunately, as is common with these old trucks, we found a lot of hidden damage and rust. For Part 1, we showed the team at Evolutionary Rides repairing the entire bed. The new bed floor was ready for install, but we decided to wait on doing our factory restored rear tubs until Sean Ramage over at Empire Fabrication could tackle them. Sean is a master metalsmith and not afraid of any task thrown his way. When he received Oscar’s tubs, he told us that they were pretty beat up. We really wanted that modern but OE look, so…

PROJECT TRUE BLUE, OUR 1963 FORD F-100 Unibody, needed a new lease on life. If you’ve been following along in the previous issues, you know that we decided to breathe new life into our clapped out and rusted Uni by way of a full Crown Vic makeover. For the new readers here, we’re smack dab in the middle of doing a “body swap.” Taking this worn out ’63 F-100 that would usually just be junked or be a parts truck, we’re now mating it to a 2008 Crown Vic Police Interceptor rolling chassis to give True Blue a second shot at road duties. Since the last update, we took a trip on over to I95 Motorsports to get the F-100 merged to the CVPI. First thing we did was get…