This weekend marks the the joyous anniversary of the start of the country that brought you the Xbox, 26-inch rims, and the five dollar footlong. To mark off this momentous occasion with an amazing automotive masterpiece, I present this resto-modded Ford F100 as the cheap work truck you always wanted. Happy Birthday, America.
This 1953 Ford F100 is used and with good reason. As cars with a specific amount of “patina” grow in popularity, the demand for trucks like this one skyrocket. First, it has been lowered to the point where it’s not very usable on a farm road, but it would probably be an awesome cruiser, not to mention loading things into the rusty stepside bed would be quite easy. Replacing the original asthmatic inline-6 engine is the complete all-wheel-drive drivetrain from a 1999 Ford Explorer with a plethora of other tasty mods. It’s the price of a moderately used base model Ford F150 with a 100 times the cool factor.
The truck does look slapped together, but in the best way possible. Everything looks professionally done and the list of the car’s enhancements proves it. Here’s an excerpt from the description:
This is a build that was done for and by myself about 2 years and 2500 miles ago. The truck rolls on a 1999 302 V8 AWD (ALL WHEEL DRIVE) Explorer Chassis. Power Rack and Pinion Steering, 4 Wheel Power Disc Brakes, Air Conditioning (Stock/Vintage Air), Automatic Trans w/ Overdrive, 10in lock up converter.
3.73 gears front and rear, with Detroit Tru-Trac differential in the rear. Rocket Booster 18x8 wheels with Yokohama 255/45/18 S-Drive Tires.
The Explorer Chassis was completely rebuilt with ALL NEW tie rod ends, New upper/lower Ball Joints, New upper/ lower a arm Bushings, New front and rear Leaf Spring Bushings, New Shackles, New Brake Calipers Front and Rear with NEW Brake Pads New Brake Rotors. All New Belts and Hoses, Including Power Steering, Heater, air conditioning and Radiator.
The FUEL INJECTED 302 features GT40p Heads, FRPP “B” cam, Explorer GT40 style Intake and engine was completely gone through, freshened and painted/ powder coated. The truck uses the original Explorer ECM with OBDII, and features a custom tune that reflects the modifications.
If I had the money, I’d be all over this truck like rust on a Mustang. It’s the perfect blend of old-world minimalism with newish technology. It’s the same sort of thing that Jonathan Ward build with his ICON series of trucks, except this one isn’t $150,000. Get it before I decide that this is what I need in my life.
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes and makes videos about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world’s cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he’s the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn’t feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.
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