Lee Jones can still tell you the details of the day he bought this '66 Ford pickup. The date was March 26, 1966; the dealership was Fred Hauter Ford in Montrose, California; the salesman was Leo Black; and the Chrome Yellow F-100 Styleside with optional 352 engine was brand new. How could he forget. In his own words, "that was the start of a 43-year love affair."
That love affair started out as a working relationship. For the first 14 years together, Lee drove the Ford with a plastering business. In 1980, Lee was given a company truck and the '66 was retired. With his truck no longer needed for daily duty, Lee figured it was the time to freshen it up after all those years of faithful labor. A '69 Cougar 428 with a C6 transmission and 3.13 rearend replaced the original 352, C4, and 4.11 gears. Power disc brakes and power steering from a '73 shortbed were added. With a newer seat and some fresh Chrome Yellow paint, Lee's 14-year-old F-100 was like new again.
Of course, new is a temporary condition and definitely shorter than the 25 years that passed before Lee decided to go through the old '66 one more time. In 2005, Lee took the pickup to Jim Conklin at Conklin Hot Rods in Big Bear Lake, California, for some custom bodywork. Jim shaved the doors, gas filler, and aerial, and filled the area above the grille where the Ford lettering had been. The tailgate was also filled to bring it flush to the taillights, and the handle was moved to the inside. The gas tank from Doc's in Georgia was added to the front of the bed, along the airbag compressor and vacuum pump, all hidden by an owner-built carpet kit-and covered by a Gaylord's bed lid.
When rebuilding the chassis, Lee took the truck right down to the framerails. Frontend components were replaced with a new 3-inch dropped I-beam axle from AIM industries, '73 Ford spindles, and new tie rods. Airbags replaced the coils at the front corners and three leafs were pulled from the stock rear springs-and sway bars were installed front and rear. The 9-inch Cougar rearend still runs a 3.13:1 gear ratio, and rear drum brakes are '66 Ford as well.
The 428 FE motor was stripped and the block sent to Max Herman at H&H Flatheads in La Crescenta, California, where it was magnafluxed and bored 0.030-over, with new parts blueprinted and balanced. Lee built up the engine using Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum heads matched to a Performer RPM cam kit. The carburetor was swapped for a Mass-Flo EFI 1,000-cfm throttle body feeding an Edelbrock single-plane, high-rise manifold. The engine is fired with a Mallory ignition, with Doug Thorley headers to scavenge the exhaust. The C6 automatic from a '65 Fairlane 500 was rebuilt by Nolan Pritchards Transmission of Apple Valley, California. Lee's son Keith helped him drop the engine back into the truck. Keith also helped rebuild the tracks for the new power windows from Specialty Power Windows, using one-piece glass from Stangl's Glass in Big Bear.
The fenders are filled with chrome reverse wheels-15x6 fronts with two inches of backspacing and 15x7 rears with three inches of backspacing. The 60-series BFGoodrich Radial T/As are 225s and 245s.
The paint shot in 1980 was eager for a re-do; another trip to Jim Conklin and some more Chrome Yellow took care of that.
Inside the cab, Lee modified the dash to accommodate the Vintage Air A/C controls, and added new ducts and lines, intentionally keeping them as out of sight as possible. The sound system includes a 6-disc CD player mounted behind the seat, where the gas tank once was. The engine-turned dashpanel is filled with new instruments from Haneline. The Lecarra steering wheel turns a chrome tilt steering column from ididit. The '68 F-100 bench is modified with a flip-down armrest from a '97 Cadillac. Brian Robbins at Robbins Upholstering Service in Victorville, California, finished the interior in white leather with complementary tuck 'n' roll inserts.
After two years of work and "many sheets of cardboard between me and the concrete," Lee's 41-year-old F-100 was like new again-again! Lee says his custom shortbed has been many places, seen lots of highways, and even won several awards in its lifetime, and still has a lot of life left in it.