Backyard builds don't get any more unique than this wild F-100.
Fascinating Creation
A couple of years ago, an incredibly unique 1977 Ford F-100 began making the rounds on the internet thanks to its one-of-a-kind pushrod suspension setup, as well as some other quirky features such as a Lexus V8 swap. Owned and built by Tim Heerboth with the help of his friend, John Stecher, this pickup has been under construction for roughly three years now, but it's finally complete. Recently, Heerboth filled in The Drive on what makes it tick, and it's a fascinating creation by anyone's standards.
Photos: Tim Heerboth
Cheap Beginnings
"Basically, I picked up the '77 F100 for cheap," Heerboth told The Drive. "Got it running. Figured out the transmission only had reverse and the block was so full of lime and corrosion [that] it wasn’t salvageable. Then, [I] had a friend of a friend who had a Lexus LS400 with a title that had been triple signed, so [he] wasn’t able to get it legit. I picked it up for $600."
Photos: Tim Heerboth
Best of Both Worlds
From there, it just made sense to combine the best of both of these vehicles into one mad creation. "We dropped the [Lexus] motor and trans back [in the truck] the transmission mount was in the same place as the original C4," Heerboth said. "It literally lined up like it was meant to. The truck [also] had a one-piece driveshaft and the car has a two-piece. When I connected to the trans, the carrier bearing sat perfectly under the rear cab crossmember, so it would be easy to mount."
Photos: Tim Heerboth
Everything Works
Shocking, even the LS400's dashboard fit neatly in the old F-100, even though these two vehicles couldn't be any more different. Heerboth went to the trouble of ensuring that everything works, too. "Power windows, heated power leather seats, cruise control, it's all functional," he said. "Even the power height adjustment for the shoulder belt works."
Photos: Tim Heerboth
Unique Setup
If all of that isn't crazy enough, what really sets this F-100 apart is its wild suspension setup. Something like what one would find in a Formula 1 racer, the shocks are mounted above the rod ends that connect to the wishbones, while the leaf springs have been replaced with newer F-150 units.
Photos: Tim Heerboth
Budget Driven
The only reason Heerboth went this unconventional route, it seems, is because the LS400's struts were too long to use in the pickup, and this is a proper budget build. Thus, he got seriously creative and came up with something that makes this perhaps the most unique vintage F-100 on the planet.
Photos: Tim Heerboth
Proper Driver
As one might expect, Heerboth has spent quite a bit of time driving his mad Ford pickup since it was completed, adding a few hundred miles to it in the process. And we can only imagine the surprised faces he has to deal with regularly when they take a peek in the bed of the old Blue Oval hauler.
Photos: Tim Heerboth
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