From the time I was a child, I’ve always had a love for cars, trucks and motorcycles. I stripped and fully rebuilt a 96 F-150 with my daughter before having to sell it because of needing funds for life changes. Since then, I’ve rebuilt and painted a 2007 Honda VTX1300 as well as custom built an insanely fast 235hp 2006 Suzuki Hayabusa. Since I got remarried and now have 6 kids, I get to share my passion with them and they all love it! I picked up this ‘63 F100 in May as a quick refresher project so we could enjoy cruising around in a classic truck. However, in starting the refresh of it a multitude of issues were found resulting in the need to do a full tear down so it can be fixed and restored properly.
It currently has a cammed 302 from an 89 Mustang, a C6 transmission, and a 9” rear axle which all had leaks. The brakes are nonexistent, the steering was a guessing game of when the gear box would grab, the suspension made it feel like you were riding a horse carriage, the wiring was a nightmare, and the biggest issue of all was finding all the rust and metal work that was repaired simply by being hidden with gallons of body filler. It has turned into a major job, but with all the kids by my side it will all be worth it in the end because of the memories made.
Once it’s finished, it will be passed down from the oldest to the youngest as they become old enough to drive. Currently, it’s all disassembled so each panel can be stripped and repaired, and the frame can be cleaned up and reworked with all new components. The engine will most likely be replaced with something more suiting of the restomod style I’m going for. Eventually, I’ll be giving it a hot rod black paint job with orange and silver leaf accents inside and out so I can have a Harley Davidson edition ‘63 Ford to match my 2025 Harley Road Glide that’s black, orange, and chrome.
Since I’m a blue-collar man working from sunup to sundown, it’s hard for me to work on it continuously to make major progress. It’s also slow going because I’m working in the back yard under a metal shelter I bought to be out of the weather as much as possible. I do have a 15x15 “shop” without electricity, so I’m working off a power strip with extension cords and doing everything manually because I don’t have the funds to buy the tools I really need. I’m trying to make do with what I do have and getting help from friends when needed.
