By Fuelish Media
There comes a time in many enthusiasts’ lives when they reach a crucial fork in the road. Is it possible to stretch every single dollar in the bank account in order to have a truck built by someone else, or is putting a vehicle through “college” just not in the cards? While paying a shop to do all the work does have its advantages (steady progress, quality of workmanship, and so on), the recurring bill that comes along with it can easily break the decision. The only other viable alternative to building the same truck is pursuing the DIY approach. While that may be a daunting idea for a lot of folks who may not think they have the required knowledge to handle certain jobs, there are plenty of enthusiasts who become seasoned builders this way. Learning new skill sets is something we should all strive to do more often, and every now and then we all need to hear some positive affirmation and have a role model to look to for inspiration. Consider this story a check for both of those.
Enter Randy Ross from sunny Santa Monica, California. Randy is definitely a relatable figure for most of us because he found himself in the position of wanting to do more work to his 1966 Ford F-100 but he didn’t have a lot of extra cash to pay someone else to do it. If he was going to see any changes made to his old pickup, it was up to him to make it happen. “I first bought this truck in 2009 from a guy in the Hollywood Hills,” Randy says. “The truck was fairly stock but I did upgrade it along the way, including adding front disc brakes from a donor ’78 F-100 and swapping in a 5.0L from a ’92 Mustang GT using the parking space behind my apartment.”
It’s apparent that Randy doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, which is a must when forced to take the DIY route. For years, he drove his ’66 daily, but after accumulating parts for the next phase, he was finally given an opportunity to jump back into the project. “My good friends Dave “Garbz” Garber (RIP), Bill Wilson, and Kevin Stone helped repair my truck’s rusting roof by grafting in a fresh one,” he says. “Another buddy, Mark Iverson, helped with the finishing bodywork. I enjoyed the quick taste of making progress on the truck, but I would be mostly on my own from this point on.”
Al Osterloh, another helpful friend, recognized that Randy required more workspace than the stall behind his apartment to begin the next part of the project, so he offered up some valuable square footage in his warehouse in San Fernando, California. “[Osterloh] was sympathetic of my plight and let me tear the truck apart there while I worked on swapping in a new engine and suspension configuration,” Randy states. “I estimated a 4- to 6-month timeframe would be enough to box in the chassis, weld in the 1996 Corvette C4 Grand Sport front and 1991 Corvette Dana 44 IRS rear suspension systems, with the help of mounting kits from Flat Out Engineering, install the Progressive Automotive tubular crossmember, front Speedway Engineering sway bar, and QA1 adjustable coilovers, too. Of course, I also had full C4 braking kits to throw in—not to mention mounting 18-inch Detroit Steel “Mack” wheels, along with modified repop Mustang GT Rally wheel caps to pay proper homage to late-’60s style.”
With the F100’s suspension coming together nicely, Randy then moved onto the next step of the build, which included the removal of the 5.0 he swapped in years ago with another very special engine that he had stashed away for just the right occasion. “I made the jump to a Gen 2 5.0L from a Mustang GT,” Randy says with pride. “My truck had been Mustang GT–powered since 2012, so I figured why not keep the theme going? That’s the reason I started referring to my truck as a 1966 F-100 GT. I even had custom GT badges made for the fenders and intake manifold.”
To increase performance, and coax a rowdier growl from the new 5.0, Randy proceeded to add Ultimate Headers into the mix, as well as a custom 3-inch stainless steel dual exhaust system complete with Borla XR1 mufflers. “My friend Jeff Jones TIG-welded my exhaust after I fabricated and tacked it all together,” Randy adds. “That was really the only help I had while installing the engine and 2016 Mustang GT 6R80 six-speed transmission. I learned to get creative with my cherry picker. I got used to utilizing tie-down straps and floor jacks to move those too-big-to-lift items.” Luckily, throwing on the Boss 302 intake, Walbro fuel pump, S&B JLT-II cold-air unit, dual 12-inch Champion electric fans and radiator, and all the other bolt-on goods was well within Randy’s abilities.
The F-100 came to Randy already in shortbed form and sporting factory Wimbledon White paint—a huge bonus, but he did find his way to tweaking its appearance just a bit. “When [Osterloh] saw that I had the entire truck blown apart, he extended my time in the warehouse so I could paint everything while I was at it,” Randy says. “I called California Sandblasting right away since they could come to the warehouse to blast all the body parts. I then sealed them with a SPI (Southern Polyurethane) epoxy primer. After that, I narrowed, tucked, and shaved the bumpers, block sanded for months, and shot the truck in the original Wimbledon White PPG Evolution single-stage urethane. I then contrasted the bumpers, grille, trim, and wheels with a custom satin warm gray metallic and added the Pro’s Pick bed cover and Dapper Lighting headlights and tails.”
Moving into the cab, Randy delegated the job of recovering the 1966 Mustang seats in dark green vinyl to his friend Julian in Long Beach, California. Randy came through with the assist, as he wrapped the dash, door panels, kick panels, and headliner in the same dark green material. He then moved onto fabricating a custom console made from two ’63 Falcon consoles cut and welded together for a cool waterfall-like effect to surround the Lokar shifter. Next, Randy threw in a Dakota Digital 10-function remote module to properly control the power windows and door locks and power bed cover.
“I never set out to build a ‘show truck’,” Randy admits. “I just wanted it to be fun, dependable, and something I could be proud of and share with others. I couldn’t be more honored and humbled by the way this process has been a catalyst to meet so many more friends and enjoy new experiences in life. It’s just been so freakin’ awesome, and I’m beyond grateful.”
Check out this story in our digital edition here.
