True style has no expiry date
(first published 1997)

American vehicles have always been popular in Australia, no doubt due to the affinity we all have with the V8.

Muscle and performance cars aside though, the Americans also know how to build vehicles that are classy, cool, and very often - LARGE.

Due to their working heritage, it's little wonder that most American pickup trucks are sourced from farms as rusted shells. Jeff found his F100 this way, driving along a country road in West Oz one day and seeing the cab discarded amongst piles of farm machinery.

Recognising the larger '56 model front windscreen that 'wrapped around' the front of the cab, Jeff knew straight away what he'd discovered.

The idea wasn't just to restore the thing, but to add a few custom touches like the floor boards in the back tray. Madse from genuine Western Australian jarrah, these are held in place with chrome bed strips imported direct from the USA. The list of parts brought in from the States also includes the door handles, various rubbers, badges, mirrors, step plates, the front bumper...

A number of parts came from another F100 plus a couple of Ford Fairlanes, all of which Jeff picked up along the way specifically to use for components. The fibreglass side steps, though, were sourced from Victoria. Genuine metal ones couldn't be found and the originals were too badly rusted.

The back tray, however, was fabricated by Jeff in his own workshop. There have been several styles of rear tray for the F100 down through the years, but this one is an exact copy of a factory spec' rear end.

Panel work on the cabin was done the old fashioned way, with as little use of bog as possible and just many  long hours spent repairing the original metal work. This was performed by a good friend named Colin Templeman, who just happened to have suffered a heart attack at the time and was looking for something to keep him busy while waiting for a by pass operation!

After Jeff had done all the sanding back and preparation wor, another mate by the name of Greg Thompson sprayed on that Midnight Black with red pearl paintwork, the colour from Dulux and in acrylic format.

What’s up down under
As might be expected, Jeff didn't just build his F100 to look good on the surface.

The engine bay and undercarriage have been completely re-engineered, mainly to bring the vehicle up to date a touch and hence ensure reliablity.

Original leaf-spring suspension was retained front and rear, but the rear end was relieved of three leaves to soften the ride up somewhat. The leaf spring mounts now sit on top of what is the entire rear diff' assembly from one of those Fairlanes Jeff acquired, as opposed to the original configuration which saw the springs pass under the axle housings.The original F100 shock mounts have been retained, but with more modern Monroe gas units now in place.

Up front,  the original leaf suspension has another pair of Monroe gas shockies. The front end is also aided somewhat by the inclusion of a Fairlane sway bar. As with many such restorations, in which the steering is often modernised in addition to the suspension, the entire power steering set up from one of those Fairlanes has gone into this F100, including a Fairlane steering column.

This actually required more than a smidgin of engineering prowess, as the column had to be cut and re-splined before it would mate properly to the F100 steering box.

Equally modern are the front brakes, sourced from – yes, you guessed it, a Fairlane! Jeff's engineering skills allowed him to machine the F100 stubs to accept the Fairlane front discs.

Under the bonnet…
Heavily tinted sunglasses are needed for a peak at the engine, which has been lavished with gallons of red paint and chrome. To describe it as `bright’ is an understatement!

Most F100 pickups left the factory in 1956 with a 292ci V8 motor. This particular F100 had long since been relieved of its original engine, but enter yet again those two increasingly useful Fairlanes!

First step was to despatch the 302 Cleveland to Balcatta Engines, who began by performing the obligatory line boring and decking before re-ringing the original pistons.

The stock rods were shot peened and balanced, before being re-fitted to the ground and balanced original crank. The heads were tidied up and given a touch of mild porting, before the original valves were re-faced and matched to new seats.

Valve gear, from springs to rockers and pushrods, is all original equipment, although a double row timing chain drives the GT 40 grind cam.

A 750 Holley double pumper carbie mixes fuel and air for combustion, before a four barrel Cleveland intake manifold delivers the mixture to the business end. On the other side, 2 1/4" custom extractors then feed the gas to a custom made twin 2 1/2" system.

And the ignition? You guessed it, Ford bloody Fairlane.

Surprisingly though, the original F100 radiator went back in, after only needing to be re-cored. Which says something about the way they used to build cars, when the tanks from a 40 year old radiator can be pressed back into service after nothing more than a good clean out!

Now it might be tempting to assume that putting a new V8 into a truck originally fitted with a V8 would be a relatively straightforward task. But as Jeff can tell anyone, dropping a 'modern' 302ci powerplant into a 1950s engine bay isn't so easy.

The original 292ci motor was front mounted, while the 302 requires side mounting. Jeff worked this problem out himself and manufactured new engine mounts before fitting them himself.

The interior looks like it has simply received a basic retrim in silver/grey velour, but there were more than a few specialist areas to be attended to in this department.

Much of the cabin work was done by ProTrim, the only outfit Jeff could find who knew how to do the roof headlining because of the F100's strange roof edges. The front bench seat is original, as is the dash, but there's a mild sound system including a Pioneer CD player in the cockpit these days.

In the end, Jeff has built himself a vehicle with more style and class than you could poke a big lumpy cam at.

People appreciate this F100 wherever it goes. Going to our photo shoot, kids waved, couples at the lights pointed and the odd hopeful in a Commodore wanted to see what the old girl would do in a straight line!

Some might think Elvis Presley and Buddy Holley have gone out of fashion - but style has no expiry date.