By Chuck Vranas – Images by the Author
One of the easiest ways for truck enthusiasts to channel their passions while growing up was to visit their local hobby shop while digging into the endless stacks of plastic kit models to spend a Saturday at the kitchen table building their favorite haulers. Regardless of whether you leaned toward bone-stockers or hot hop-ups laced with custom parts there was something for everyone, showcased by kits from Monogram, AMT, Revell, and Aurora, to name but a few. For a young Joe Smith, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, there were plenty of models built, fueling a fire lasting for decades, leading him to the decadent ’53 Ford F-100 laid out across our pages.
As the years passed, Joe had plenty of hot rods and muscle cars flow through the garage but still there was something missing. Having always been enamored with the second-generation of the Ford F-Series trucks (1953-1956) with their iconic design elements it was finally time to start a search for one. His initial intent was to source a solid driver to start enjoying immediately, which led him to commence a search in his region. It wasn’t long till he turned up what appeared to be a solid, mostly stock runner still packing its original Flathead and rolling on a set of wide whites.
A deal was made swapping cash for keys and without wasting any time he immediately started laying down the miles. It wasn’t long till he wanted to move past the stocker and inject it with plenty of newfound performance. Having seen a recent number of impressive builds on the scene from Chris Cerce Customs (CCC) in Taunton, Massachusetts, he immediately set a meeting with Cerce to discuss a plan for the truck’s future. The pair shared many of the same ideas on what it would take to fuse cutting-edge technology wrapped in contemporary style and before long the truck was dropped off to begin its new journey.
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Getting started, it was obvious that the original spine wasn’t going to be up to the task seeing it had seen plenty of hard use over the years. To bring the base up to the next level, a call was placed to Roadster Shop (RS) for one of their cutting-edge REVO IFS Stage III chassis. Starting with hand-fabbed 10-gauge steel boxed framerails it features CNC-located factory mounting points for the cab, bed, bumper, and core support as well as custom crossmembers for ultimate strength and 2-inch stepped rear ’rails. To lay down the power, a Strange Engineering 9-inch rear spins 3.50:1 gears with Detroit Truetrac through matching 31-spline axles. It’s anchored in place by a large-diameter triangulated four-link combined with a 1-inch through-frame splined sway bar and RS SV by Fox single-adjustable coilover shocks. For slot car–like handling, the RS IFS showcases their exclusive upper and lower tubular control arms perfectly matched to 2-inch dropped Wilwood ProSpindles combined with RS SV by Fox single-adjustable coilover shocks, 1-inch through-frame splined sway bar, and front-mounted power rack-and-pinion steering. When it’s time to drop anchor, a Baer powermaster moves fluid trough stainless lines to matching 12-inch drilled-and-slotted discs wearing SS4+ four-piston calipers at each corner. For plenty of style linking it all to the street, you’ll find a set of American Racing VN431-series wheels sized 20×8.5 front and 20×11 rear capped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber for plenty of grip.
It was obvious the old Flathead needed to go so a call was placed to Don Hardy Race Cars (DHRC) for one of their fire-breathing LS3 V-8s packed with all the right bits to bring the punch to the next level. To get started, a cast-aluminum block with six-bolt, cross-bolted main caps was filled with a nodular iron crank wearing powdered metal rods crowned by hypereutectic aluminum pistons getting bumped by a custom DHRC cam. Up top, a set of aluminum L92 cylinder heads as-cast with 68cc chambers meet a Holley EFI LS single-plane intake crowned with a matching Terminator EFI managed by a Dominator electronics to deliver the power. It all sparks to life through a well-hidden factory ignition deep beneath the faux stock distributor with spent gases roaring through a set of Hooker BlackHeart exhaust manifolds to a custom 2-1/2 stainless exhaust with MagnaFlow mufflers all crafted by CCC. Other cool details include custom-adapted Ford Y-block valve covers and air cleaner by CCC as well as an ICT Billet accessory drive, Powermaster starter and alternator, and Optima battery. To move the goods, a GM 4L80 trans was warmed-over by Accurate Transmissions of New Haven, Connecticut, that links to a custom driveshaft from Precision Shaft Technologies (PST).
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When it came time to address the vintage steel, the team disassembled everything and stripped it to bare metal, revealing a truly tortured past. Decades of abuse had certainly taken its toll, leaving the need for a full rebuild of the cab, starting with replacing the floorpans and rockers followed by cab corners and cowl sides all sourced through Dennis Carpenter. Next the firewall was filled and smoothed along with the front valance while an N.O.S. hood was converted to reverse-opening, cowl side vents were shaved, and running boards were tucked along with the rear bumper. A set of N.O.S. fenders were then fitted while the team also metal finished the cab and bed while also setting all the gaps to perfection. To give the truck a truly dramatic look, Cerce custom-blended a shade called Tangerine Dream Kandy with products from House of Kolor and laid down the mile-deep vibe bringing it all to life. During reassembly all trim, lighting, bumper, and grille were sourced from Dennis Carpenter while the bed was treated to a new oak floor from Mar-K, which was then stained and cleared by the team at CCC.
To bring an equal amount of allure to the business office, the restored factory dash was refinished in crème gloss and filled with dials from Classic Instruments to monitor the vitals while a Billet Specialties steering wheel carves a course though an ididit tilt column with gear changes clicking through a Lokar stick. Need to pump up the volume? A Kicker head unit, amp, and speakers fill the cab with ease. For plenty of comfort, Carello Auto Upholstery of Warwick, Rhode Island, recovered the factory bench in soft crème leather with complementing side panels, suede headliner, and carpeting. The completed truck is now seeing plenty of miles cruising through New England with Joe living the dream, and to us that’s as cool as it gets!
Click on this issue’s cover to see the enhanced digital version of Joe Smith’s 1953 Ford F100 packs an LS punch with a Classic Contemporary Vibe.
