Daily Slideshow: This F-100 is the Product of Growing Up Dedicated to Ford

All in the Family

No one's perfect. Rob Campbell admits that, when he was growing up, his family once used a loaned Chevy for about a month—but aside from that they always had at least one Ford truck on hand. Rob himself has indulged in the odd Jeep but, like his father, he's always kept a Ford truck at the ready. Today Rob has two Ford pickups, one is a 2017 F-150 King Ranch, the other is the F-100 you see here. Rob had a soft spot for the styling of '50s Ford pickups, plus they reminded him of his dad's old trucks, so when the time came in his life to build a labor of love, he went looking for a classic in need of rescuing, one that he could update in the process.

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The Road Home

It didn't take Rob long to find a 50th-anniversary edition 1953 F-100 and it was located about 40 miles from his St Louis, Missouri, home. The pickup still had its original frame, flathead engine, and three-speed manual transmission, but the body was in rough shape, with loads of filler and a crummy paint job. Rob decided to take it home, and feeling lucky, he also decided to drive it straight there. We wish we could report that the truck stopped running just as he pulled victoriously into his driveway, but that's only 10 percent right—the F-100 conked out four miles into the journey.

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The Journey Begins

After a tow truck ride home, Rob got down to business jotting down all the things he wanted to do to get the pickup on the road again, and like with the drive home, you can probably guess what came next. Rob had a long list on his hands—brakes, power steering, new wiring, a new bed, paint, bodywork, etc—and as always seems to happen, his time was becoming more and more scarce. So, the project was set aside. The turning point came in 2015 when Rob met the crew from St. Louis-based Classic Car Studios (CCS) and took a tour of their shop. Deciding the time was right, and CCS was the right outfit to do it, Rob sent his '53 Ford out for a complete transformation.

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Clean-Up

Sometimes its hard to trust your baby to someone else, even when you've done your due diligence, and so it was with the F-100 when Rob and Eric Brockmeyer from CCS had a difference of opinion about whether the bumpers should stay or go. It's best to trust the people you pay for their expertise and that's what Rob did—and the bumpers went away. Rob reports that he has no regrets. As the Ford was being disassembled and taken down to bare metal, CCS found a few corrosion issues that were handled by replacing panels with new items from LMC Truck. CCS went about cleaning up the pickup—shaving the driprails and cowl louvers, blending in the taillights, and sculpting and tucking the running boards. A custom roll pan was created featuring a hand-beaded firewall and a center-exit exhaust opening, along with a custom bed, a new oakwood bed, and custom wheel tubs. CCS sprayed the finished product with a custom Glasurit green that was inspired by the hue of paint Rob's family's 1976 Ford Elite wore.

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Fully Ford

Turning to the chassis, CCS made the F-100 considerably more driveable with a custom TCI fully-independent front suspension, a TCI four-link rear suspension, and RideTech shocks at all four corners. When it came to the powerplant, Rob insisted on Ford power and CCS obliged with a Ford Racing Boss 302 engine. The 345 hp motor boasts four-bolt mains, forged internals, roller rockers, a hydraulic roller cam, and a Ford Racing intake manifold topped with a Holley 600 carb. Bolted to the Boss is a five-speed Bowler-TREMEC TKO 500 transmission utilizing a Centerforce clutch, and it wouldn't be a proper Ford if the power didn't go to a Ford 9 inch—Rob's features an LSD and 3.50:1 gears. The Hot Rods by Boyd Columbus wheels (20x12 rear, 20x8.5 front) really set off the truck's green paint and offer the right mix of old and new school.

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Fire

The pickup's inside is just as clean as its outside, with a vent- and glovebox-less shaved dash. A Glide Engineering bench seat replaces the original, and the interior is upholstered in Amber Glow distressed leather by Relicate—a CCS favorite. Classic Instruments provided the gauges, Vintage Air the HVAC unit, and the Ford steering wheel—a 1940 wheel in fact, that CCS covered in matching Relicate. When the project was done, not only was Rob impressed, but so was the Velocity Channel—the F-100 was featured in an episode of Speed is the New Black. Rob topped off the build by naming his '53 'Betty'. No, rehabbed or not, it wasn't after Betty Ford, it was after his sister Betty Ilene because the truck shares her qualities of class, fire, and attitude. We can see the class and attitude, we just hope the fire is the good kind.

>>Join the conversation about this beautiful F-100 restomod right here in Ford-Trucks.com.

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