It was only a matter of time before Matt Peace took a trip back in time. After building a few late-model trucks, the bug hit to get behind the wheel of some vintage metal. And what better way is there to dive into the custom classic truck scene than with a '55 Ford F-100?
Matt had been driving by the Ford for a while. One day he just decided to drop in and see what the lowdown on it was. As it turned out, it wasn't long before he was headed home with an arsenal of plans for the '55-and an even shorter amount of time before the wheels were in motion.
Matt's first chore was to completely rework the chassis. Instead of going with an aftermarket IFS, Matt mated the front clip of a '96 Ford Explorer to the frame. From there, the frame was smoothed and painted in-depending on which area-black, red, or silver. Instead of using the stock Ford frontend components, he installed a set of drop spindles and outfitted the control arms with Firestone airbags and QA1 billet aluminum shocks. In the rear he fabricated a custom three-link suspension that also rides on air. Controlling the bags are AirRide Technologies valves and a ViAir compressor. Complementing the detailed frame is the fact that all the air lines are polished stainless steel, fabbed by Matt. A custom-made polished aluminum EFI gas tank sits between the framerails, too. Adding life to the '55 is a '96 Ford 5.0 motor. Before it was dropped in, TK Performance in Tyler, TX, bored, balanced, and blueprinted the 5.0. To ditch the often used "5.0 slow" slogan, they added a set of Trick Flow aluminum heads, a BBK SSI intake manifold, a Ford Racing E303 roller cam, and much more. One-off pulleys outfit the Street and Performance serpentine system and exhaust is released through a set of BBK headers, 3-inch exhaust, and FlowMaster Super 40 mufflers.
As for the body, Matt had one thing in mind: shaved. But first the cab needed some polishing. For starters, to achieve the lowest look possible the cab was body dropped 2 inches. Accommodating the body drop is an entirely new floor, stepup plates, and firewall. Next the handles, cowl vent, louvers, driprail, cab seams, mirrors, emblems, gas filler ... everything and anything on the truck was shaved clean! The roof was widened, too, and the front door corners were radiused. On the inside of the cab the dash was shaved and smoothed. Moving forward, the hood got the shave and a haircut treatment as well-along with a No Limit flip kit. Instead of using a stock bumper, a custom roll pan was molded in with flushmounted turn signals. Out back, Matt started with a Dan Carpenter bed and then modified it, heavily. For starters, the red oak wood bed was raised for clearance. Next, the rear roll pan was molded in and the tailgate got a shave as well.
To make way for the meaty 20x10 Billet Accessories Direct gunslinger wheels (up front sit 20x8.5 rims) the rear fenders were widened 3 inches. They also were molded to the bedsides. Other minor modifications include a Hot Match flush-mounted fuel cap, teardropped bedsides, and molded lower panels to the running boards. With the majority of the metalwork under wraps, the finish work was then handed off to Hills Hot Rods in Lubbock, TX. There they refined things and straightened the body out. Then Jason Hill laid down the PPg custom-mixed red and gunmetal gray paintjob. Not stopping there, he then added the flames and the airbrushed graphics, such as the F-100 logos, pinstriping, and the faux billet aluminum trim.