Drewski's 55 F100 build

This build started a long time ago, unfortunately it has been slid to the back burner too many times since I first got it.

In the mid 80's I saw an ad for a 55 F100 in a local paper, so I took a ride over to look at it. The guy took a fancy to my daily driver and we wound up doing some trading.

This is the truck I traded for....I fondly remember these old F1's and F100's from my childhood days living on a farm.





It had a 302 with a C4 behind it, a sub-frame from who knows what, and badly butchered front sheet metal, the rest of the truck appeared basically sound.

The car I traded was a 75 Vega sedan delivery, powered by a sbc 350 with a 350 turbo, a great running dependable daily driver. Wish I had it back now.



Being a chevy guy, the 302 and C4 came out and was sold. After looking at the sub-frame install, it scared me to know that I had actually driven it home.

Realizing that I had some major work to do before I would be able to drive it, the F100 got shoved to the back of the garage.

Over the next few years, I would work on it as time allowed. I cut out the sub and installed a 1970 chevelle frame clip and chopped the top 6", and a few other custom touches. The unfortunate part of this build is that there were very few pictures made of the modifications that I did. Before digital cameras you know. Gore hadn't invented the internet yet and I was still playing with Commodore 64 computers.(remember them?) We did make a video of the top chop but that tape is still missing in action.

I stripped all the paint off the truck and it was basically sound with exception of normal rusted out places like cab corners. The front fenders were still questionable.



I had a .030 over 400 sbc, with 350 turbo that I had built for another project, so I decided to use it in this truck instead.



I'll post more photos and info until I get it up to present date over the next few days.

Drewski

55 F100 build cont'd.

I used Patriot clipster headers which cleared the steering without any problems.



Fabricated a rad support from some scrap stainless that I had left over from another project. Also built the tilt mechanism that will support the front end. I had decided to use a one piece glass front end, since the original metal was in such bad shape.







Drewski

Nice work you can be proud, keep it up.

55 F100 build-bed construction

I decided early on that the bed that came on the truck was too rough to use. After pricing new reproduction beds, I decided that I could probably build it myself for less money.(More effort, but cheaper)

Quick run to my metal supplier got me 2 4x8 sheets of 14 ga steel, a length of 2x2 14 ga, 1x2 14 ga, 1x1 14 ga, and length of 1 1/8" dia tubing. Around $200 or so for the steel.(before the big price increases we saw last year)

I decided what dimensions I wanted to use, cut out the side panels, and had a local sheet metal shop bend the angles for me. Since I was building the bed from scratch, I decided to incorporate all the custom touches that were floating around in my head.

A little mock up after getting the bed sides back from the sheet metal shop.





I welded up a framework for the floor using the 1 inch square tubing and welded the sides to the framework. I welded the 1 1/8" tubing to the bed sides to create the roll at the top. For the front of the bed, I welded up a framework that has a 1x2 joining the bedsides at the top and is open in the area below. I've got a piece of stainless that will fit inside the framework. I might even polish it.....



I try to roll the truck outside whenever possible so that I can back off and look at it from a distance.



In this photo, I've slipped a pair of 200S American wheels on the front. I have 2 8x15's for the front and 2 10x15's for the rear that I plan on running on it when it's street worthy. The cragars have been used as my rollers for build projects since the 70's.



Cont'd later..........

Drewski

Keep that on the front burner this time.

Looks like a good build.

FlatBroke said:

Keep that on the front burner this time.

Looks like a good build.

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Thanks, I've got a little more time on my hands these days since I retired. No money, but lots of time.

I guess as long as I take care of the honey-do list for the wife, I'm free to work on my truck. If I don't take on any more projects, maybe I'll make it to the street this time. Hard to do though, just ran across a nice 31 ford sedan on craigslist[ddev

Drewski

looking real good man!

Sharp lookin' truck! Always loved those fat F-100's. And a flip front end just seems to be a "natural" on them. I guess that comes from growing up on a diet of '70's and '80's issues of Truckin' magazine...

Those daisy spokes will look WICKED cool on there too, man. Don't see too many use 'em, dunno why...[S

Keep us updated! Welcome to RRR!

Regards,
Shea

edit: P.S. Diggin' on the Vega, too! My first car was a '77 hatch which I stuffed full of '69 327 and TH350... I miss that, too!

Very nice truck great job on the bed, I like the Crager's better. What kind of stance for the truck are you looking at?

rainman said:

Very nice truck great job on the bed, I like the Crager's better. What kind of stance for the truck are you looking at?

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Haven't made a decision on final stance on the truck. I'm currently finishing up a trailer mounted engine test stand that I plan to be able to pull with the F100. I don't know what the tongue weight is going to be, so that may dictate how high the rear will sit. Got to figure out how to put a hitch on it that can't be seen when not being used.



In this photo, I've temporarily hung the fenders, grille, engine in place, etc. and this is the height that it sits at. Front may still be a little high, but I'll wait until all the weight is on it before I try to change it.



Drewski

55 F100 build-bed construction cont'd

The next part that I went to work on was a styling detail that I wanted at the rear of the bed. I intend to build a roll pan that will house the tail lights and recessed license plate mount. I wanted the roll pan to drop down even with the bottom of the rear fenders. I used 2x2 for the stake pockets. At the rear of the bed I made the pockets continue down and curve forward to the fender.





I tucked this extension right up to the fender with only a small gap





In this photo, I have welded on the flange for the roll pan and closed the end of the bed roll. I left the hole in the bed roll for a light.



Drewski

those are some nice details on the bed.. that will really add to the look.. great fab work man

extremely nice!!

55 F100 build-bed construction cont'd

Moving along with this build, I decided early on that I might someday run some really wide wheels and tires, so I constructed small tubs from a trailer fender cut in half with a skirt welded to the inside of each.

Tubs tacked in in this photo



Since I'm going to put lights in the ends of the bed roll, I needed a way to get the wires out of the tubing without it being seen.

My solution at the front of the bed.....





I also closed the lower front stake pockets with a radius, sorry no photo on this.

Moving on to the roll pan in my next set of photos............

Thanks to all for the positive comments!!

55 F100 build-rear roll pan fab.

When I started building the roll pan for my bed, I knew I wanted the license plate recessed and that was about it. I rolled out 2 pans thinking the first one would wind up in the scrap pile. Didn't happen, first pan was a little rough but not bad enough to scrap.











Since I've got two pans and they bolt on, I guess I'll mount up some different lights in the 2nd pan and maybe switch them out when I get tired of the existing setup.

Drewski

great job on the bed… you guys on this site make me realize just how little talent I have

55 F100 build-bed construction

Finished up the welding on the bed and got it in epoxy primer.

Man that looks nice. All the hard work on the details are really paying off with the looks of the end result.

Wow, that truck looks excellant. Your attention to the little details make all the difference.

That looks sweet what a nice ride thats gonna be VERY NICE [cl