1956 Ford F100 - Truford Means Performance A plenty

There's no getting around it; the Lamars are Ford enthusiasts to their core. In 2003, at the 25th Annual F-100 SuperNationals and Ford Family Reunion, we first met the Lamars: wife Charlene and the father and son build team of John and 12-year-old Hunter. Their freshly finished, red '55 F-100 caught our fancy. We featured the big-block Ford-powered beauty in the Mar. '04 issue of CCT. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're happy to report that the Lamars outdid themselves. Guess whose silver-with-flames '56 F-100 captured our attention at the 27th Annual F-100 SuperNationals and Ford Family Reunion?

Earning a Top Four trophy, the tremendous truck won over the hearts and minds of the show's judges as well. Sparing no expense in creating the Effie, the Lamars began the frame-up build with a brand-new Total Cost Involved Engineering fully boxed F-100 frame. For suspending the front wheels, a TCI chrome and billet aluminum IFS with Lecarra coilover shocks was installed. To locate the Currie 9-inch differential, a TCI chrome four-link with Lecarra coilovers was employed. Behind the differential, a 21-gallon No Limit Engineering fuel tank was installed and plumbed with braided aluminum fuel lines. In addition, braided aluminum lines were utilized for the power-steering and braking systems. Once TCI had constructed the chassis, they took it apart and sprayed the framerails and differential-House of Kolors Tangelo Pearl.

Built by Dingler Racing in Atlanta, Georgia, the engine powering the Effie is a '78 Ford 528ci big-block. With dished pistons and modified heads, the powerplant has 10.5:1 compression and is fed by a Holley electric fuel pump and Holley 1050-cfm four-barrel carb. Woody's Transmissions, in the owners' hometown of Statesboro, Georgia, built a 2,500-stall converter and Moroso trans-cooler- equipped C6 to back the engine.

For bringing back the F-100's exterior, the Lamars had the help of several friends and craftsmen. Keith Boucher and Pete Shottz, of Blue Moon Customs in Millen, Georgia, rebuilt the cab's floor pans and replaced the cab's rotted corners with virgin sheetmetal patch panels. Once the Effie's exterior panels were paint-ready, Keith applied the PPG Viper Silver with extra metal flake, while Pete adorned elements of the body with airbrush flames and more metal flake. Larry Weaver, John, and Hunter fabricated 1-inch square-tube strips, for attaching the stainless steel stringers and plexiglass bed floor to the brightly hued chassis. That's why the owners chose Tangelo Pearl paint-to cover the high-tech foundation.

The flamed theme carried over into the renovation of the Ford's cockpit. Rob Thompson, of Jerry's Upholstery in Statesboro, stitched flames into the headliner and sun visors. He trimmed the '99 Dodge Stratus power bucket seats in Rod Doors charcoal UltraLeather and embroidered "Ford Racing" into the armrest. Pete airbrushed flames on the center console, which Larry and John crafted. Utilizing a Haywire harness, John and Larry wired the truck and installed Ford Racing instruments in the six-gauge polished aluminum cluster. To house the HVAC controls and vents, they fabricated a 3-inch-wide dash extension. When John and Hunter installed the Sony CD/stereo, Alpine amp, and Polk Audio separate speakers about the cab, they concluded the F-100's 1.5-year construction project.

As of the day of the photo shoot, the Lamar's Effie registered a mere 1.4 miles on the odometer. We're glad to hear they plan to drive the truck, after showing it a few more times. If you guessed this is the last father/son Ford project in the Lamar household, you'd be wrong. John and Hunter have already begun work on Hunter's first car, a '65 Mustang 2+2, with a numbers-matching 289ci V-8 under the hood. We told you they bleed Blue Oval blood! Now do you believe us?