Premier Street Rods 1951 F1
Daily Slideshow: In just under a year, the folks at Premier Street Rods were able to take Bob Braxton’s 1951 Ford F-1 from an old farm truck to a bonafide superstar on the Las Vegas star. What did they do to it? Click through to learn more.
First, a little history about Bob and his F1
Bob first discovered the 1951 F-1 abandoned under a pecan tree in Upper Valley, Texas. It was up on blocks, didn’t run, and showed very little potential for getting out on the road ever again. Bob was a bit more optimistic about its condition: He didn’t see the decrepit old truck that way. He had vision. He saw the possibilities. So Bob whipped out his wallet and purchased it on the spot. He then began doing some work on it while researching ways to bring out its potential.
How Bob was introduced to Premier Street Rods
When Bob was looking for ways to improve the farm truck, he saw a banner ad for Premier Street Rods (PSR) and called them up. He spoke at length with builder Rob Logsdon and, after they agreed on a course of action, Bob shipped the truck to Logsdon's shop in Lake Havasu City, Nevada.
“When it was delivered we weren’t sure whose truck it was, where it had come from, or why it was here,” Rob recalls. “So we rolled it into the shop, and about a week later Bob called and asked if his truck had been delivered!” With the mystery solved, Ross Logsdon and his team at PSR were ready to get down to the business of transforming Bob's Ford.
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Initial updates
The truck’s dilapidated sheet-metal had seen better days, so Rob repaired what he could, replaced what he needed to replace, and added several custom improvements while remaining true to the cab's height and body. The bed, meanwhile, was customized with a reshaped rear and smooth tailgate and the floor was completely removed and replaced with a Smokey Road Rod Shop aluminum floor covered with woodgrain print vinyl wrap.
In terms of lighting, LED headlights and taillights and contemporary side mirrors from Vision Hot Rods gave the Ford the modern look that Bob had envisioned.
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Picking the right color
When it came time for Bob’s truck to roll into the PSR paint booth, Bob and the PSR crew reviewed color options. Fire-engine red was considered, but it was agreed that the all the extra effort that went into the body mods merited a more extraordinary color. In the end, they decided to go with a custom color from Painthouse (Cypress, Texas) called Super Blue and it was mixed with PPG materials.
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Updating the chassis
The Total Cost Involved chassis includes their independent front suspension. Giving the truck its low-riding look are a pair of dropped spindles in the front and a set of RideTech ShockWave springs and shocks all around. A Currie 9-inch rear with 4.11 gears and Truetrac limited-slip differential is held by a four-link. Front and rear antiroll bars give the truck plenty of stability around corners, and the installation of a panhard bar keeps the axle centered, improving driveshaft alignment.
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Tire selection
Bob and the PSR team agreed that 18-inch textured gray Rambler U111 wheels from US Mags would achieve the proper look. The tires wrapped around them are Toyo Proxes ST II radials, 255/50R18 in front and 295R45R18 in the rear. Slowing those babies down are 11-inch GM discs plumbed to a Wilwood master cylinder, proportioning valve, and a 7-inch dual-diaphragm booster was added for a higher level of brake assist.
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Taking a look inside
The interior of Bob’s truck was gussied up by Ron Mangus Interiors. A bucket-back split bench from Glide Engineering, upholstered in dark gray leather with light gray suede inserts replaced the original bench and the dash was redesigned, covered in leather, and filled with Dakota Digital gauges.
The lower dash houses the ignition push button and the knobs for the Vintage Air A/C system. Below that, the fabricated console houses the Lokar shifter, Pioneer audio head unit, controls for the power windows, and AccuAir air suspension system. The old steering wheel was replaced with a Billet Specialties Draft model wheel tied to an ididit tilt column, giving the Ford the polished hot rod look it deserves.
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But what about the engine?
Bob and the PSR team went with BluePrint Engines to upgrade to a fuel-injected 347-inch stroker crate engine. The company’s 400hp version of the Ford small-block features aluminum heads and hydraulic roller cam and FAST EFI. A Streamline air cleaner and matching valve covers are courtesy of Billet Specialties. Sanderson headers connect to custom exhaust pipes with MagnaFlow mufflers that force exhaust out near the running boards. Art Carr’s California Performance Transmission provided the transmission.
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Did someone say Vegas?
So, with all of this work being done to the truck, how on Earth did it become a Las Vegas star? Well, when PSR was finishing the 11-month buildup on the truck they were contacted by Ford Motor Company, who invite the team to bring the transformed truck to Vegas to take its place in the Ford display at the 2017 SEMA Show. Yes, that was one year ago, but this truck, which has gone from Texas farm truck to modern day custom hot rod is well worth another look.
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