Glen Van Buskirk is a hardworking man who knew exactly the truck he wanted to build, and how he was going go about doing it. What Glen didn't know was how many extra years it was going to take to finish what he started. Right from the start, Glen knew he wanted to get involved with something different than a '56 Ford F-100. In keeping with his opposite approach Glen set his sights on finding a '65 Ford F-100 Flareside shortbed. After what seemed like a search that would never end Glen found the truck of his dreams in the mountains above his Castro Valley home. With over 275,000 miles on the clock and not a straight stretch of steel anywhere on its body, Glen dragged the old Slick home and blew it down to the bare frame. Sticking to the plan of doing as much work as possible on the '65, Glen's first task was to eliminate the Twin I-beam frontend. A call was placed to Jim Meyer Racing, and the switch to a more contemporary form of independent front suspension was under way. When the IFS crossmember arrived from Jim Meyer's shop in Oregon, Glen's '65 was set up for '78 GMC spindles, '78 Camaro brakes, and QA1 coilover shock absorbers. To handle turning the '65's 18-inch Budnik wheels shod with 225/45R18 Goodyear tires there's a fully chromed ididit steering column on top of a Mustang II rack-and-pinion. For rear suspension, the half elliptic parallel leaf springs were tossed for a Jim Meyer Racing four-link arrangement attached to a Ford 9-inch rearend via QA1 coilovers. To assist stopping the 20-inch Budnik rear wheels stuffed into 275/45R20 Goodyear tires there's a pair of '77 Lincoln Versailles disc brakes. Tucked in right behind the four-link setup Glen relocated the gas tank from inside the cab and installed a 20-gallon polished stainless steel tank from Rock Valley. The benefits reaped were a safer environment in the cab with more room, and added weight over the rear wheels to provide better traction.
The word better would be a good way to express everything Glen did to the truck, including under the hood. For gobs of more power with way less exhaust emissions, Glen looked to fine folks at Deetz Off Road in Tracy, California. The FE series V-8 the '65 left the factory with was swapped for a '96 460-inch Ford engine with EFI. Starting from the bare block, everything that went back in was blueprinted to the optimum specifications. At the bottom, a Pure Power oil pan was installed, and on top the crew at Deetz fabricated a custom airbox to conceal the EFI's inherently over-complicated appearance. The exhaust on Glen's 400-horse 460 starts out with a pair of Sanderson headers custom coated by Caps Brite Hot Coatings of Fresno, California, and then progresses into a pair of Flomasters incorporated into the system custom fabricated by Tri-Valley Muffler in Dublin, California. The '65's Ford C6 automatic transmission is cooled with an integral unit in a Be Cool radiator mail ordered from Summit Racing, and precision shifted by a Lokar shifter sticking up next to a Lokar gas pedal.
Moving on to custom bodywork and paint, the operations were split amongst Deetz Off Road and Bartoni Auto Body of Dublin, California. Glen told us "all body fabrications, the dashboard, one-piece bed, narrowed '65 Ford F-100 bumpers, door handles, and one-piece side windows were completed between the two shops." Focusing on Bartoni's Glen said "every piece of the truck's body was straightened, fitted, and painted PPG Flash Yellow both inside and out by them." The finishing touch are the silver-pearl flames laid by Basil Platt of Concord, California. Chrome plating on the truck, was done by Hayward Bumper of Hayward, California.
After the body and paint was out of the way the last major area to attend to was the interior. All of the glass including the custom one-piece windows was cut and installed by Tony's Glass of Livermore, California. In Glen's words, "all air-conditioning hoses, transmission lines, heater hoses, and fuel lines are polished braided stainless steel, custom made for the truck by Custom Hoses of Fort Worth, Texas." Looking at the dashboard on the '65 reveals a cluster packed full of Ford Motorsport gauges, and a 6 CD stereo in-dash head unit, which is genuine Ford as well. The wiring supplying the truck's 12-volt system saw its beginnings as a Ron Francis product, and then was modified as necessary. Among the wiring modifications was the addition of 8-inch subs, mids, and tweets with a big amplifier to back it all by Ultimate Car Toys in Dublin, California.
Last but not least is the air-conditioning from Vintage Air, and the charcoal gray leather upholstery by stitched by Finish Line Interiors of San Jose, California. Closing with a quote from Glen pretty much sums up his feelings and future plans for the '65. "The plates on the truck read ALEXTRK because Alex is my teenage son who I want to let enjoy this truck at some point by making the Ford a driver which was always the long-term plan. Drive it like you stole it son, and enjoy every minute of those weekend cruises."