"Slick Crazy" in California
Jack and Toni of Alpine, California, sent us a bunch of color prints depicting their '61-66 Ford truck collection. In upcoming issues we'll revisit and show you more of their collection. In the meantime here's the family's '62 and '63. Jack wrote: "It was in 1975, at the age of 10, when I watched my oldest brother Tom butcher a perfectly good '65 T-bird convertible to steal the FE motor for a slightly worn-out '63 Ford Unibody. My brother, in his senior year of high school, proceeded to race the old truck up and down Long Island until he blew it up entirely. As a grown man, I moved to San Diego, in 1986. It was then I found my second wife and our first '66 F-100 in a trailer park with no engine for the cost of $300. My friend had just totaled his '81 Corvette, so I proceeded to put the Corvette drivetrain into the old girl. The next "Slick" was the Clairemont Family Farms truck. This particular '63 F-250 Unibody, with a Y-block and three on the tree, was bone stock and purchased in Spring Valley, California, for $1,400. My wife and I rubbed out the paint and used the '63 F-250 to help build our family's first house. The old "Slick" trudged back and forth to the dumps and the local supply stores until she burnt a piston. I called my dad in New York, with whom I spent many of my days growing up helping him patch together our family vehicles in the driveway of our family home. My dad told me to 'just pop the head and drop the pan with the engine still in it and throw in another piston.' I heeded my father's advice and the truck is still purring to this day with the same spark plugs in it."
Next is their '62 Ford Unibody that Jack found in Bonita, California, at another "Slick" enthusiast's home. "I brought it in on a trailer and my wife freaked out, exclaiming: 'What the heck is this now!' In all my very best salesmanship, I explained, 'It's for you, honey, I'll build it however you want.' This project turned into a frame-off restoration. I located another '66 F-100 4x4 Unibody on eBay for $500 and proceeded to build the only '62 F-100 Unibody 4x4 known to man. Ford everything, new A/C, power steering, brakes, and a built 390-inch FE motor worked up to about 410 hp. The color is '64 Ford Competition Orange everywhere. The truck's bodywork (my least favorite part of the build) was done by the entire family, with endless hours of long-boarding and a little professional help and guidance from, believe it or not, my oldest brother Tom's best friend, 'Rooster' who now lives in Temecula. The local postal annex owner finished the bodywork and shot it in his garage for trade of the 302 that came out originally and my services of building his numbers-matching 396 engine for his Chevelle. The Ford motor was painted black with correct gold valve covers and air filter. My wife, the one who complained when we started this project, refuses to give it up; she doesn't want to drive anything else. I installed a removable steering wheel so when she goes to the market she can bring the steering wheel with her in the grocery basket to deter any 'would-be truck takers.' She loves the outcome and so does the rest of the family."
Editor's Note: Getting your truck into Readers' Trucks is a snap, of the camera, that is. All it takes is a stack of good-quality photos of your ride that are in focus and well lit. Due to the volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot return photographs. Send photos of your truck (no Polaroids or printouts) to: CCT, Readers' Trucks, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870. It is important that you include a detailed description of the modifications you have made to your truck, including any interesting stories behind it.