Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Effie, happy birthday to you. And many more. In this case, the benefit of the written word over hearing our singing is obvious. The staff of CCT doesn't consist of American Idol luminaries.
Most vintage custom truck enthusiasts know that mid-May means the largest, most prestigious Ford truck show will take place at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pat Ford Promotions, the husband and wife team of Pat and Jan Ford, produce this blockbuster event each year. The 2006 event meant the celebration of the 50th birthday of the most popular Ford truck ever sold. For Ford truck fans, the magnitude of this anniversary can't be overstated. F-100s, especially the mighty '56, gave gearheads a viable platform to build a project vehicle with a much lower cost of entry than an earlier vintage Ford car or other automobile make. The hobbyists who constructed Ford pickups waged a coolest truck race with Chevy, Dodge, International Harvester, and Studebaker enthusiasts, which helped grow the custom truck arena to what it is today. If you went to the first F-100 Supernationals and the most recent Supernationals, you'd have some perspective for how much the custom classic truck hobby has grown. Too bad we can't all fire up our time travel machines and visit the pioneer days of constructing custom pickups.
What we can do is provide a snippet of the goings-on in Knoxville this year. Presented by the Pat Ford family, No Limit Engineering's founder, Rob MacGregor, won the Dan Ford Spirit Award in recognition of his 20-plus-year history of manufacturing hot rod hauler components and building world-class, award-winning vintage custom trucks and cars. The Haessly family won the F-100 Truck of the Year award with their '56 F-100. Gary Coe earned the Dennis Carpenter and Pat Ford-presented Put a Ford in Your Ford award with his awesome Ford mod-motor-powered '57 Ford shortbed.
Unlike previous years' coverage of the event, most of the photos will focus on the tasty trucks as opposed to folks hoisting trophies at the awards ceremony. We think you'll prefer this approach.
Some of Ford's finest follow in living color. For more information on next year's 29th Annual F-100 Supernationals at beautiful Chilhowee Park in Knoxville, Tennessee, on May 17-19, 2007, contact Pat Ford Promotions, Dept. CCT, 1920 Council Ave., Statesville, NC 28625, call Pat or Jan Ford at (704) 872-7327, or visit www.f100super-nationals.com. We hope to see you in '07!
Though the giveaway '56 F-100 No Limit Engineering is building wasn't quite done, it was a huge hit with every Ford enthusiast. Chris Seaton of Newnan, Georgia, won the pickup on Saturday night. Country music fans may know that Alan Jackson's hometown is also Newnan, Georgia, right outside Atlanta.
The Crowders, Jim and Judy, of Wood River, Illinois, own a splendid '61 Ford Unibody. They belong to the Music City F-100 club. We'll bet that Ford truck's powerplant produces music for many gearhead ears.
On the placard detailing the '39 Ford 4X4 pickup's scoop, Rick Glass of Ortonville, Michigan, calls it his daily driver. With today's fuel costs? The truck features a 5.0-liter EFI Ford crate engine, C4 trans/transfer case T-type, a Dana 44 front axle with a Ford 9-inch in the rear, a leather interior, and DuPont Chroma Base Tri-Stage paint. Could the '39 give those Broncos a run for their money? Hmmmm? | 
Everywhere we looked, Ford trucks, and especially the mighty '53-56 F-100s, were on display. |
The attractive young lady sitting right in front of the screaming yellow '56 Ford F-100 is Lisa Mio, the wife of the truck's builder, Richard Mio. They trailered the '56, a first-time project for Richard, all the way from their home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We'll share more later. | 
There's a purple '48 F-1 that prowls the streets of Palmyra, Indiana. Richard Smith is the proud owner. |
When you live in Merlin, Oregon, you're bound to build a magical '56 F-100. Dick and Dolores Hotchkiss own the F-100 roadster pickup with a removable hardtop that's already graced the pages of CCT and sister publication Truckin'. | 
Readers likely remember Joe Henke's flathead Ford V-8-powered '50 F-1. His pickup made for a well-received feature article in 2005. Several enthusiasts contacted CCT and Joe with questions. |
In the Truck For Sale Pavilion, we even spied one or two Chevys. Henry's rollin' in his grave! | 
The invited marque at the 28th Annual F-100 Supernationals and Ford Family Reunion was the Ford Bronco, introduced in 1966. The six gentlemen beside their rough and ready Broncos all reside in the big state of Texas. Yee haw! Oh, the '66 Bronco celebrated its 40th birthday at the '06 F-100 Supernationals. |
In marked contrast to vintage custom show trucks that are often as down low and polished clean as humanly possible, Gordon Bailie's Bronco exemplifies what many off-road fans like best--a sky-high stance, mud on all the exposed bits, and a badass demeanor. Gordon lives in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. | 
In the late '60s and early '70s, Baja Broncos dominated off-road racing, earning countless victories in the sand, mud, rain, snow, mountains and whatever else Mother Nature and the man upstairs could throw at them. Clay and Kathy Redmon of Jackson, Tennessee, own an impeccably clean '71 Baja Bronco with a patriotic paint job. |
Earning a Top 50 pick in the '53-56 Pickups Custom category was Marty Savko of Columbus for his '54 F-100. Congratulations, Marty! | 
Powering Marty Savko's '54 F-100 is a Savko/Chevy 350ci small-block. |