Meanwhile, the crew at Hot Rod Fabrication was busy hacking away at the body doing some minor custom changes along with some necessary work. First off, the cab was altered just a bit when they fabricated a fuel door to replace the filler neck. Next up, the door corners were rounded and the cab seams were filled. With the easy stuff out of the way, Hot Rod Fabrication set out to accomplish some reconstructive work. Because of the motor Doug was going to use, Hot Rod Fabrication had to alter the firewall so the engine could be set back four inches. Therefore, they fabricated a new firewall and cut into the floorboard to accomplish their goal. With the body finished and roughly back together, the truck's next stop was Byers Custom & Restoration. There, the truck was block-sanded and sprayed in its 2000 Ford Toreador metallic red finish. Bringing out the shiny red paint are Centerline 16-inchers wrapped in BFGoodrich rubber.
While the body was in the works, John Dudder of Dudder Machine, Inc. in Bellevue, Washington, was also busy wrenching away on the truck's motor. John started with a 400ci Chevy that was later bored out to 411ci. Next, he installed a set of Edelbrock aluminum heads that were milled 70cc, surfaced, ported, and polished. Resting under the cylinder heads are Keith Black pistons dished 22cc. Combined with the cylinder heads, the pistons give the Chevy powerplant a much-needed low 9.08 to 1 compression ratio. The reason behind the low compression ratio is the B&M 144 supercharger resting atop the manifold. Feeding the B&M blower is a Holley 750 double pumper. Lastly, the motor and the new race-prepped GM 700R4 were ground smooth and painted by Hot Rod Fabrication to match the truck.
It was time to finish off the inside, so Doug enlisted interior extraordinaire Jon Lind in Eugene, Oregon, to complete the project. The original seat was used, but it was reupholstered in white leather with a roll-and-pleat pattern. Jon also whipped up some custom door panels covered with white leather. He installed an ididit steering column, upgraded the original 90-mph speedo to 120 mph with a United Speedometer, and changed the idiot lights to several small gauges. This Ford really is "Built Ford Tough With Chevy Stuff!".
Huffed and buffed is the B&M...
Huffed and buffed is the B&M supercharged 411 Chevy motor.
The original seat was used,...
The original seat was used, but not before it, as well as the rest of the interior, was reupholstered in white leather with rolls and pleats.
As for the steering column,...
As for the steering column, it's an ididit topped with a Lecarra steering wheel.