By Chuck Vranas – Images by the Author
Let’s face it, nothing brightens up the landscape better than a vintage truck regardless of whether it’s parked in a field, rolling down the highway, or hanging out at a local cruise night. The experience of stepping into your first cab, turning the key, and hearing a throaty V-8 come to life is something you’ll never forget. The classic 1950 Ford F-1 laid out across our pages, owned by Alex Bollinger of Denfield, Ontario, Canada, perfectly blends a clean, classic look with modern performance.
When Ford rolled out the first-generation F-Series back in 1948 (running through 1952), it was a true landmark moment for the public. The new truck line was the only fresh postwar design to hit the market, offering true innovation from its specifically created truck chassis to its new cab featuring increased roominess as well as visibility and ergonomics. Dubbed the “Million Dollar Cab” since Ford invested that amount in its research and tooling, it captured the market share for years to come. At the same time, Ford was also the only company to offer V-8 power for both pickups and medium-duty trucks until 1954.
Having grown up on a farm in rural Canada, Alex always had a fascination with trucks as they provided the pulse of working on the land. It’s an influence that’s followed him through the decades, eventually leading him to owning a working horse farm with his wife, Allison. The pair not only share a passion for rural life, but also that of classic trucks, both in the working environment and performance world. This eventually led to starting the search for a first-generation Ford F-1 with its iconic lines to act as the base of a new build. Eventually, a 1950 model was sourced locally, appearing to be in decent shape, so a deal was made, swapping cash for keys.
With the new acquisition home in the family shop it was time to set a game plan for its resurrection. Over the years, Alex had seen several builds rolling out of TK Customs (TKC) in nearby Mitchell, which had attracted plenty of attention on the scene. He scheduled a meeting with shop owner Tyler Kawalez to discuss the future of the truck. The pair shared many of the same visions of melding its original design with a number of subtle modifications along with modern Ford V-8 power and a nailed-down stance. Without wasting any time, the project was sent over to TKC to get it rolling.
To get the project started, the truck was disassembled revealing many of its past secrets and proving it had indeed led a tough life. Focusing on the chassis, it was obvious the original frame had seen better days, so a decision was made to start fresh with a custom frame by TKC formed from 2×5-inch main rails with custom round tube crossmembers and center. Wanting the truck to handle like it was on ’rails, a C4 Corvette IRS was completely refreshed with the Dana 44 center spinning 3.54 gears through factory aluminum shafts. It’s secured in place with TKC’s exclusive mounting system for improved suspension geometry incorporating Ridetech StrongArm tubular control arms with R-Joint technology along with QA1 adjustable coilover shocks and factory sway bar.
For razor-sharp handling, a matching restored C4 Corvette IFS was added, matched to QA1 adjustable coilover shocks, custom 1-1/4-inch sway bar, and matching C4 rack-and-pinion steering. When it’s time to shave speed, a Wilwood dual master moves fluid through NiCopp lines to Wilwood 13-inch front Forged Narrow Superlite 6R Big Brakes with drilled-and-vented rotors and six-piston calipers combined with matching 4R Big Brakes with four-piston calipers out back. For a bit of contemporary C6 Corvette flair, a set of polished aluminum factory wheels, sized 18×8.5 front and 19×10 rear, wear Firestone Firehawk Indy 500-Series rubber, sized 245/40ZR18 and 285/35ZR19, respectively wanting to add modern, cutting-edge performance, Alex selected an all-aluminum, 5.0L (302ci) Third-Gen Coyote V-8 from a 2019 Ford Mustang GT to motivate the F-1.
Looking deep inside a lightweight aluminum block you’ll find a forged cross-plane steel crank linked to Sinter forged steel connecting rods capped by hypereutectic aluminum pistons, delivering 12.0:1 compression. Above, a set of high-flow aluminum cylinder heads with dual overhead cams (DOHC) pack 32-valves along with Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) to generate plenty of power, especially when matched to a tuned composite intake manifold with direct and port fuel injection with an 80mm single-bore throttle body. It all sparks to life through a Ford Control Pack management system with exhaust moving through a set of factory headers to a custom 2-1/2-inch stainless exhaust with X-pipe and Borla ProXS mufflers, all by TKC. Power hits the street through a Getrag MT82 six-speed manual to a custom driveshaft from London Driveline.
When it came time to addressing the original factory sheetmetal, what came back from the blasters left very little to be desired. It was obvious the truck had seen plenty of hard use through the decades, leaving most of its tortured past to deal with. TKC started at ground zero by addressing the restoration needs first. Bringing the cab back to life started with fabricating fresh floors with 3-inch extended toeboards and custom removable trans tunnel followed by inner and outer rockers, cab corners, front cab mounts, and replacing the lower 6 inches of the rear cab. Continuing on, the lower doors were repaired, along with updating the floor structure to accommodate urethane cab mounts, followed by the addition of a complete new bed, fenders, and running boards, all from Pro’s Pick.
Adding just the right amount of subtle updates started with a custom firewall and inner wheelwells, shaved and tucked front bumper, one-off polished aluminum running board trim, and inner bed wheeltubs. The front of the bed received a custom filler panel to cab as well as having the top bed rails extended and scalloped to follow the cab contour. Moving rearward, the stock fuel fill was shaved, front stake pocket bottoms were treated to reverse-curve caps, rear stake pockets were blended into a custom roll pan, with the tailgate receiving a custom latching mechanism.
The cab and bed were then metal finished and gapped to prepare it for paint. To bring it all to life, the team at Car Fixers Auto Body in London, Ontario, Canada, massaged every panel to perfection, followed by laying down vibe with a lustrous coating of special PPG Little Blue. Other cool bits include a custom-designed oak bed by TKC as well as fresh grille and trim parts from Pro’s Pick and LED headlights and taillights.
To bring an equal amount of allure to the business office, the factory dash was modified and updated with gauges from New Vintage USA to monitor the vitals while a Billet Specialties D-shaped Formula-Series steering wheel carves a course through an Ididit tilt column. A modified Barton shifter, housed in a custom console, pulls gears while an Alpine sound system with Morel speakers adds punch. An American Autowire Highway 22 Kit by TKC brings it all to life. For comfort, a pair of Cadillac Escalade buckets in black leather work perfectly, accented by black loop carpet. This is one wicked F-1 with Alex and Allison putting down endless miles across the country, and to us that’s as good as it gets!
Check out this story in our digital edition here.
