Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2021 i F-Series Builder's Guide

I thought I was dead-set on picking up a dentside, but residing in California (where any gas-powered truck newer than ’75 requires a biennial smog check), that cut down the number of available candidates quite a bit. I just don’t want to deal with the headaches associated with keeping an old truck up to California’s arbitrary standards, where it doesn’t matter how clean your ride actually runs, but rather how much emissions equipment is bolted onto your engine. OK, I can see that I’m getting off track here. California rules otherwise. All that being said, I think dentsides are some of the best-looking trucks out there, and I’m happy that our friends in the aftermarket industry are beginning to offer tons of new products for them! So, do I tough…

One of the main attractions was a Friday cruise through the beautiful Smoky Mountains. At the main showgrounds, the huge swap meet took place the entire three days of the event. Fat Fender Garage and Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts, among others, were on site with everything you need to restore or customize your F-100, and they offered some amazing show-only deals. Awards were given for individual classes, with ’53-’56 Truck of the Year going to Michael Uhrin, ’68-’72 honors going to KC Mathieu, and Overall Truck of the Year being awarded to Danny Bouchard. Joe Carpenter would like to thank his family for help running the show, and a special thanks to Dennis Carpenter for being the title show sponsor. Be sure to mark the dates for May 12-14,…

THE BEGINNING OF THE 1960s was full of change in America. In 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy is sworn in as the 35th President of the United States, imploring its citizens to, “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” He appoints Janet Travell as his official physician, making her the first woman in history to be a President’s doctor. American Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space, following Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Garagin, the first human being to enter space. We got our first taste of Frito corn chips, Life cereal, Green Giant frozen vegetables and Sprite, each of which would become household staples. Meanwhile, “West Side Story” hits theaters, Walt Disney’s “Wonderful World of Color” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show”…

As technology advances, social media expands and shows get larger and larger, it becomes tougher to make your truck stand out from the crowd. All those “unique” touches you spent time picking for yourself over the years have been found and purchased by 20 other guys you know who are also building Ford trucks. So now what? Machined Truck Parts out of Orlando, Florida, has some new solutions for you to not only stand out from the crowd, but to also upgrade some normally not-so-special parts of your F-100’s exterior and interior. These parts fully made in America, and they come with a quality finish that surprised me when I first unwrapped them from their very thorough, protective packaging. Andrew from Machined Truck Parts has been machining for more than…

American Racing Shelby Cobra SL INTRODUCING the American Racing VN407 Shelby Cobra SL. It is available in 17-, 18- and 20-inch sizes in either Full Polish, Mag Gray Center, or Hot Rod Black Center. The two-piece design uses a cast aluminum center welded to a forged aluminum outer barrel so it can be built in custom widths and backspacings. In fact, the wheel can be built in eighth-inch backspace increments to get that perfect fit. This is important on trucks that have front suspension and brake modifications as well as swapped rear axles. The wheels can be custom built so that spacers/adaptors are not needed. The VN407 can be drilled in the popular F-100 bolt patterns and accepts an option tri bar spinner cap. Check out the full line of…

GROWING UP IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA, BRIAN BOONE WAS ALWAYS AROUND pickup trucks. Ford trucks were in his blood, with his grandfather and dad both having 4×4 Dentside Fords. Brian was a little different, however, and his love was for the Bumpside variety of Fords. In 2007, Brian bought one of his employees’ ’68 Bumpside, and he remembered an old article from a classic truck magazine that featured a truck with a Fatman Fabrication shop truck with a custom suspension. After meeting with Brent Vandervort of Fatman Fabrication and getting a ride in his ’67, Brian was sold on the ride and feel. He purchased their Stage IV Mustang II kit with 2-inch drop spindles on the spot. With everything ready to go, they stripped the truck down and sent the…

LOTS OF FOLKS CAN CLAIM an early start to their automotive enthusiast hobby, but few folks can top Mike Jacox. Thanks to a family absolutely in love with cars, he smiles when he says he attended his first show while he was in his mother’s womb! Sometime later, the situation progressed, and he enjoyed riding in the car seat in dad’s chopped F-100. Now, fully grown, Mike makes his way to shows on his own! A welder and fabricator from Jupiter, Florida, he credits his lifelong automotive enthusiasm to his family, thanks to dad who was a body man and painter along with an uncle who was a mechanic. Between them, they could do anything automotive, and they passed their skills on to young Mike who was always eager to…

ROBERT AND JOANNA Mayes are the owners of this beautiful 1956 F-100. Robert is a successful businessman with several cars in his collection, and he decided he wanted to build a truck. After looking for the right one, Robert and Joanna came across this ’56 in 2017 in El Paso, Texas. The truck was in decent shape and completely original. Robert purchased it and delivered it to Francisco Murillo at Metal Brothers Hot Rods in Theodore, Alabama. “Metal Brothers Hot Rods built one the cleanest Ford F-100 on the planet, taking Truck of the Year at the F-100 Grand Nationals show...” Metal Brothers Hot Rods, one of the premier hotrod builders in the south, knew right where to start. The crew ordered a Roadster Shop frame with a 4-inch stretched…

STEVE MILLS HAS had a few nice Ford trucks in his lifetime, including a ’68 that was featured in the inaugural F-100 Builder’s Guide. Looking for his next project, he decided he wanted a truck that was born the same year as he was: 1960. After scouring the Internet and social media for a few weeks, Steve found a 1960 F-100 that had been tucked away in a barn in Riesel, Texas, that suited his requirements—original and primo patina! So, the journey began, but with an added bonus for Steve and the man who sold it to him. Once he made his way down to Riesel to take delivery the pickup, he learned some interesting things about the owner. As the conversation went on, it was revealed that the truck…

STEP 1 Remove your plastic or stamped metal door pull handles by removing the hardware visible to you by looking straight down into the piece. Pull them out and set them aside. STEP 2 Install the new door pull handles from Machined Truck Parts using the provided new hardware to go along with them. Snuggly secure them into place and tighten Allen-head bolts. (Note: If you have custom upholstered door panels such as the ones seen in these photos, it may be a snug fit; be patient and apply some gentle even pressure. They will slide in nicely.) STEP 3 For door release handles, use the same process applied to this piece, removing the single bolt located on the back side of release handle.…

SINCE JOHN JOHNSON WAS A KID, he has always loved lowered and bagged trucks. At age 18, he purchased his first truck, a 2000 Chevy S-10. Not long after, he and a friend bagged it. John drove it around for six or seven years, body dropped it and then lost interest. He told himself that once he was finished with welding school and working a stable, good job, he would build another custom truck. “Five and a half years later, John built a truck you absolutely must see in person.” The time finally came. John started his search for a Chevy C-10, but he didn’t find any that stood out to him. While flying home from a job out of town, John began to Google bagged and bodied Ford F-100s,…