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I've seen this pretty cool 1960's style '54 F100 on my local craigslist for a while. I think the price originally was north of $45k and is now asking $29,900. Reminds me of famed Otto Rhodes' 1953 F100 "The Mountain Pearl" (currently for sale at $100,000). There are certain things I'm not necessarily a huge fan of, but appreciate the craftsmanship. I'd like a custom tonneau cover like that for mine! I'm just a little surprised that the engine compartment doesn't look painted.
1954 F100 - Full Kustom
Built 30 Years ago at a conservative estimate cost of $65K. Chopped Top, Lowered, Shaved, Complete '69 Thunderbird Drivetrain - Stock 429 C.I. Ford Motor. '69 T-bird dash and molded tail lights. Molded in Chrysler Grille with Canted Quad Headlights. Light Brandwine 'Flake' Paint Job. Full Custom Rolled and Pleated White and Red Interior with Red Diamond Inserts, Upholstered Running Boards & Pickup Tarp, Sunken Antenna, Side Pipes. Fully Louvered Hood and Tailgate. Lancer Hubcaps with 15" Rims and Coker White Wall Tires.
Don't remember seeing this truck discussed on the forum. The Mountain Pearl became the first full-color vehicle featured in Hot Rod magazine in 1962. There are also some pictures of the truck being chopped. Rhodes was influenced by the Barris truck, which I assume was the 1954 F100 "Wild Kat" - reported to be the first vehicle to feature quad headlights - but not canted. (Wild Kat was later destroyed in the 1957 Barris shop fire.)
Colorado teenager Otto Rhodes had barely graduated from high school when he began customizing this 1953 Ford F100 pickup that would become a multiple show winner and the first vehicle to appear in color in the pages of Hot Rod magazine. Known as the Mountain Pearl, it scooped up five trophies in its first show and a passel of hardware after that.
The draft intervened, followed by marriage and a family, and Otto finally abandoned his plan to rework his custom Pickup for a second shot at the show circuit. The dry Colorado climate insured that the then-dismantled Mountain Pearl remained in good condition, a fact that helped in its reconstruction years later by Tom Pagano, owner of Paganos Rod & Custom of Sacramento, CA, who had fallen in love with the Pearl years before at the age of 8. Working with Ottos guidance, Pagano prepared the original body complete with lead filler while finishing the revisions Otto had begun years before, including the Ford 360 CI FE Tri Power engine and fully chromed drivetrain and undercarriage. Now finished in Sherwin-Williams Pearl White and Candy Apple Red urethane paint with a Pearl White and Red interior.
That was back when I first started reading Hot Rod and such. I never understood the canted quad lights then, and I still don't. I don't think they flatter the truck's lines at all.
What's the chrome piece on the center of the roof of the CL truck? A light bar? or a grab bar?
Some of the custom touches are ok , others just make you wonder what type of drugs they were on back then .
I think some of the novelty of it was making random parts you had laying around work! (Drugs.. or those paint fumes... may have helped with the creativity?! ) Ex. The grill is from a ’55 Chevy pickup that Otto narrowed and flipped. “I put the expanded metal in there and the drawer pulls. To fancy ’em up, you could get these little gold stars to go behind them.”
I wasn't around in the 50's and 60's, but seems a lot of these radical customs were intended to be real futuristic. Look at Ed Roth's bubble top cars. After all, this was a time of the space race! Otto points to the futuristic theme as inspiration for the interior - "we came up with the floating swivel seats and a spacey pattern.” Legendary trimmer Howdy Ledbetter obliged, and the truck emerged with an Apollo-era motif in red and white. Even into the '80s, this is what we think of as a futuristic car... Meet George Jetson!
That was back when I first started reading Hot Rod and such. I never understood the canted quad lights then, and I still don't. I don't think they flatter the truck's lines at all.
What's the chrome piece on the center of the roof of the CL truck? A light bar? or a grab bar?
I'm not exactly sure what that is. Might be a light or decorative? I kinda like the headliner. I was thinking about some custom trim to incorporate into my headliner. Haven't found the right piece yet.
It's a little dated to say the least. I was in late middle school back then and have admit that they were sure cool to me at the time, and of course I was building every new model that hit the shelf like all my friends, I think purple was my favorite color lol. When I see a pic of myself from that time period I was pretty goofy looking myself. Well, no matter what I think of the styles of the time, those guys did amazing work to achieve there visions, I don't think any of that stuff was ordered and bolted on, it took vision and work. Boy it brings back memories, even if they don't quite hit me the same today. Thanks all, for the history and old pics.
Changed the post title as it has turned into more of a photo archive of F100 trucks customized in the 50's and 60's. Feel free to share more pictures of trucks done in this traditional custom style!
1954 The "Candy Truck" built by Ray's Custom Shop in 1959
1953 Ford F100 - Featured in Rod & Custom January 1957. The GMC 4-71 blower atop a wildly reworked 1950 Cadillac engine launched the pickup across the salt flats to a 151 mph winning run.
1956 painted by Larry Watson - Gold metallic with candy root-beer tips and white pinstriping
1955 F100 - Only a month old, the '55 was customized. The original 6 cylinder engine was removed, truck was lowered, louvered, shaved, chromed, and was painted with black lacquer. In 1956 the truck was repainted in Cadillac's new color Iridescent Gold. Barris did further customization and Von Dutch did all the pinstriping on the inside and the outside. In the 1960's the truck got a camper and was used for hunting.
1955 Ford F-100 customized in 1958. Sheet metal was molded into the tailgate with flush mounted tailights on the custom made lower panel. The bumpers were Model-A. Door handles and hood were shaved, was lowered and added lakes pipes.
1955 Ford F-100 restyled with 1955 Chevrolet grill, 1954 Buick headlight rings, dual spotlights, fender skirts, Oldsmobile Fiesta hubcaps, three Stromberg carburetors, and quad exhaust system. The interior was reupholstered in black and white Naugahyde, and a passenger-car 1955 Ford dash was installed.
A couple 1956 F100s featured in Rod & Custom January 1959.
The hood and tailgate were filled, handles shaved, full rolled pan, and lowered by de-arching the springs both front and rear. The paint job was done in a scheme of silver and purple.
The pickup was powered by a Chrysler Hemi engine and the handcrafted scallops were blended in metallic purple.
1956 F100 featured in Custom Cars January 1958. A handmade splash pan was made to fill the gap between the body and the reworked 1949 Dodge bumper. It was painted Jewel red with white LeMans-type stripes. The wheels, running boards, and exhaust stacks were chromed. The interior was done in white Naugahyde with blue trim.
05-23-2017, 09:15 PM
) Ex. The grill is from a ’55 Chevy pickup that Otto narrowed and flipped. “I put the expanded metal in there and the drawer pulls. To fancy ’em up, you could get these little gold stars to go behind them.”
