Poor, poor ol' Mr. Ford-have you ever wondered what the expression on Henry Ford's face might look like if he came back today and saw all the old Ford trucks and cars with Chevy motors in them? Think about it-when Henry Ford checked out, Ford V-8s were king, and Chevrolet engines were merely six-cylinder cast-iron boat anchors.
On the other hand, do you think Henry would be pleased to see that almost every Ford model built during his lifetime went on to become the most desirable vehicle in the world to customize? How about all the Fords today that aren't really Fords? Even stranger yet, models the Ford Motor Company never made?
Lafayette, Louisiana, resident Joe Brown, owner of the fully laid out 1937 gracing our pages, was in search of an unusual vehicle to build his next street rod project around. The purpose of this hauler was to participate in Hot Rod magazine's annual Power Tour. Since the next Power Tour was in six months, Joe had to come up with a bad-to-the-bone project he could build quickly. Like many of Custom Classic Trucks' valued readers, Joe is a hands-on type of person who loves to work on his own projects. He decided to contact Wild Rod Factory in St. Jean de la Lande, Quebec, Canada, to have them load one of their high-tech reproduction '37 Ford pickups on the next truck heading south. Wild Rod's fiberglass '37 Ford pickup package includes the complete body with fenders, running boards and dashboard.
Building a ground-up project on an accelerated timeline required Joe to plan things out; everything had to move right on time. Accompanying the '37 body package was Wild Rod's rolling chassis, which included motor and engine mounts (350, LT1, or LS1), a transmission mount (Turbo or 700R4), a brake pedal and pushrod, and a brake booster bracket. Also included were IFS tubular front control arms, 11-inch front disc brakes, front brakes and calipers, triangulated four-bars, a power rack and a brand-new Moser nine-inch Ford with axles (5x411/42-inch lug pattern) and bearings.
A bird's eye view of the Wild Rod Factory '37 Ford pickup built by Joe Brown of Lafayette, Louisiana. | 
Air Ride Technologies' Shockwaves deliver a laid-out stance. |
With more horsepower than cubic inches, the Magna Charger-blown 4.6 DOHC Ford Cobra motor provides plenty of pureblooded Ford punch to the fiberglass '37 replica. | |