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Back in 1988, I was 14 and discovered classic trucks. More specifically, the fat fendered Ford F-100's caught my attention. I started reading Truckin magazine to see the latest and coolest street trucks and restored beauties. Fast forward 2 years - I started working and driving, and most importantly, looking for my first old F-100. While the 56 was the year to get, most of them were priced higher and harder to find than the slant cabs. I ended up finding A 53 F-100 in a garage not too far from my house. I think I payed $750 for it. After stripping the truck I discovered I should have checked a lot closer. This 53 cab was a major mess. The cab had more rust and rot than good metal. What have I learned to this point in my truck building career? I found out why all of those body patch panels are in catalogs. I could have used everyone that is offered and made up a few myself!I probably did all right buying "Rusty" for $750 because I parted out the front fiberglass enders for a few hundred and several other good parts for some cash. It also came with a 390 and C6 which was good to resell for another few hundred. The worst thing was that someone cut the 53 F-100 chassis crossmember out that connects the cab mounts so the big block and C6 transmission would clear. This crossmember keeps the weight of the cab from twisting tfhe frame rail and is very, very important. The front of the cab sits out on the triangular shaped perches. The weight of the cab pushes down on the perch and pulls the top of the frame rail toward the outside of the truck, basically twisting the frame rail. Not a very bright idea. I was 16 and knew that!After stripping the body off the chassis, I began cleaning the frame and rebuilding the stock suspension. The front suspension is crude, but up to this point I hadn't actually driven one of these old trucks. I found out later why a mustang II front suspension must be like suspension nirvana! I had a little budget, so the stock front straight axle would have to do. I thought about a dropped straight axle, but it was just more than I had to spend. Out back I wanted a nine inch, because I knew it was tough and low cost. It turns out that a 67 F-100 9" rear end housing has almost identical dimensions. The 67 and my 53 both use the same width leaf spring, spring perches are spaced identically and the overall drum-to-drum width was the same. The bolt pattern is the same on all of the F-100's that I can think of. I was planning on using stock 53 F-100 wheels, so this was perfect. This was one of the easiest parts of this project. Because the first truck body was junk, I soon located a good 54 F-100. It cost a bit more than "Rusty," but almost all of the body panels were usable. The cab had minimal rot in the lower 4 corners. The bed sides were fairly straight. Seat was good, engine was fine and the chassis crossmember I needed was there. And, it had a running Ford 302 engine already mounted.
What kind of truck was I actually trying to build? I think I just wanted a good driver. I knew I wasn't ruining a historical truck by any means, but I also didn't want to hack up a perfectly fine cab and other original steel body parts by chopping the top or making a steel tilt front end. The body was basically straightened up, welded and patched where necessary. PPG Super Blue was the color I chose, and man was there a lot of it! All of the body parts and wheels were blue. Granted if I would have had the money for original hub caps and trim rings, it would have helped break up the blue a ton!
I got the cab and doors back from the painter first. By this time, the frame was painted and had all of the running gear installed and functioning. Brakes were ready, master cylinder, brake lines - even the drive shaft. I was bright enough to do as much as possible from above, rather than laying under the truck. With the help of my dad, brother and a neighbor, the cab went on and was mounted.
Up to this point, I haven't mentioned the people that helped me on this. I was probably a little more mature when it came to what I knew about fixing stuff in general. My dad is an outstanding carpenter and can fix about anything. Plus, he grew up having to fix old cars to keep them running. His job in the Marine Corps was as a Crew Chief on a CH-46 helicopter. He was well versed in repairing his helicopter. He and my mom have always been there for me and they've worked very hard their whole life. My dad was always willing to involve my brother and I in projects and teach us what and why we were doing things. Having some related experience to fall back on is fantastic because you can always apply what you know to fixing something you are not familiar with. And, I was very confident that I could pull this truck project off. My dad is the main reason I could even attempt this project at 16 years old. My brother Jim also helped me out a ton. My poor mom brought me sandwiches and put up with greasy, dirty clothes that she washed for me. My mom and dad also donated money and garage space for the project. By all rights, they should have kicked me out of their garage, but they knew how much work I had already put into this. Plus, I guess I was staying out of trouble this way.
Onward - I sent more body parts out for paint and they eventually came back. Soon the doors were mounted. The doors were completely rebuilt with internal parts, new glass and latch/striker pieces. New rubber was a must. I mounted the front fenders. Everything was lining up fairly well. The paint was beautiful, but I'm no body man. I mounted the hood and that thing would not line up. I moved the fenders forward more and the hood back. The hood still stuck out a bit. After a long time moving and tightening bolts, I decided I had the hood and fenders as close to lined up as possible. Not perfect, but pretty good!
Bring on the wiring! I basically broke the wiring harness down into small sections at a time to make it easier to understand and keep straight. It's a fairly simple truck to wire. The ignition switch has posts on the back so it's easy to add circuits that need to be switched from it. Wiring a whole truck seems a little crazy, but it isn't that bad when you break the big project down into little ones. Wire the headlights. Wire the heater. Wire the dome light...and so on. I took spools of wire, soldered original connectors on and shrink wrapped most everything. It was time consuming, but it was done well and worked just fine.
Remember how I said my dad was a carpenter? My dad was again a huge help in making sure the bed wood turned out perfect. We routed out the big round mounting holes and plowed out the wood where the bed strips recess down in. The bed floor was done in beautiful oak.
By this time, the project is a few years old by now. I'm finishing things up - installing bumpers, seat belts, the tailgate, tail lights, license bracket. Everything was finally done. By the time I put the truck on the road, it never was truly finished. I was out of money and needed to go to college. I never did put door panels or hub caps on it, but it was my truck and I was proud of it! It was absolutely tough to drive. No power steering - turning in parking lots was agony. It rode like it had no suspension. My uncle had given me a 3 speed manual transmission and bellhousing to mate up to the 302. The clutch was about as stiff as you can get and still hold it with one leg, and my legs were in tremendous shape at the time. It looked good though!
Remember, by this time I was only 18. I took it to a car show with a buddy. We parked the truck and got out. A few people had gathered around to check it out when a couple of older gentlemen came up. One of them asked who's truck it was. I said, "It's my truck." He said, "No, that's not your truck." My buddy just laughed. I said back to him, respectfully, "I built this truck." I told him I didn't do the body work or paint, but I stripped the truck to nothing and put it all back together. He says, "No, that can't be your truck." He moved on. The guy never did believe me. It was a bit far fetched that a young kid could build a truck this nice. The paint was incredible and I managed to assemble the parts without scratching anything.
I learned so many things building my truck. I learned how to manage a project and work with a limited budget. I made mistakes and I overcame them. Since I didn't have an impact, I learned that rusty bolts are sometimes easier to twist off. I realized they don't build them like they used to for a very good reason. I learned that if you want something bad enough, you go out and get it. Most of all, I learned that patience, love and hard work can make pretty cool things.
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