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PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHORot everyone can go to work each day saying they truly love what they do for a living. John Lenhart, of Anderhart Speed in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is one of the chosen few who rises every morning and just can’t wait to slip into his work overalls and hit the garage at full speed. As proprietor of his own business, the young gun knows that in today’s world, success in our hobby isn’t a given by any means; it’s earned with every car, truck, and hot rod that rolls through his shop’s bay doors and into the hands of a satisfied customer.
After he finished high school, John made the executive decision to attend the University of Northwestern Ohio for their high-performance automotive program. Once completing the curriculum, John landed a job at the renowned Posies Rods and Customs shop in nearby Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. It was there at Posies that he learned traditional hot rod fabrication and classic horsepower “enhancement” from the resident staff. “My time at Posies was great; a complete learning experience. We still keep in touch and remain friends to this day,” John says.
Once John was ready to spread his wings, he took off on his own with Posies’ blessing. He founded his new shop, Anderhart Speed, in his 30×30 detached garage at the homestead. “It was something I needed to do. I just wanted to express some of my own ideas and put my own signature on the builds that come in and out of my shop. It’s been such a great experience,” he says. Today, Anderhart Speed occupies a 4,000-square-foot space just a few miles from his house, pushing out custom builds that have John’s style plastered all over them.
So now John was on a mission to find that unique ride. “I looked out of the box and chose a project that would not only be an eye grabber when completed, but also a vehicle that isn’t one of your ordinary inhabitants at your local classic car show,” he says. What he found would definitely catch the eye of any true car or truck aficionado.
“With the help of some friends I found a very needy ’47 Ford 1/2-ton pickup in a condemned barn. It was in pieces. The frame was in the dirt and the cab was detached and next to it. It also had a near-complete 327 sitting next to it with newspapers from the ’90s stuffed in the intake and cylinders. It was a big job but once I saw the truck I knew I needed to have it,” John states.
Once in his possession, John wasted no time getting down to the bones of this derelict truck. The plan was simple: Design a clean and unique classic truck, combining the feel, sounds, and smells of a traditional hot rod, but also build something that was comfortable to drive long distances and didn’t need to be constantly maintained. Once he gathered up a grocery list of needed parts, he started to combine them in his own unique hot rod recipe.
First John attacked the body. After blasting it and laying eyes on the remaining metal, he preserved what was left in epoxy primer. Next, he made some interesting mods, which included sectioning the front fenders and nose panel to make one cohesive front clip. Fender mounts were sectioned as well and a new mounting system for the front clip was fabbed to drop the nose 3/4 and make it all come together. Though people think the grille is different, John disagrees. “The front grille is the only thing that hasn’t been modified. I also cut out the hood vents and custom-fabricated trim out of aluminum. I removed all factory trim from the hood,” John says.
The bed out back was trashed so a new one was ordered from Midwest Early Ford and fabbed to fit. Lastly, the fenders needed a lot of attention to look the way they do today. “A lot of hammer and dolly work was what it took to make them usable. I then blended them into a handmade roll pan out back,” he says.
Next was the motor-vation that would propel this bedded hot rod down the road. “I used the 327 long-block the truck came with. I kept it as old school as possible and used an Isky flat-tappet cam, 461 Fuelie heads, forged Ross pistons, Clevite bearings, and a vintage Edelbrock C26 dual-quad manifold up top,” John states. To finish it off, the owner added a pair of Moon finned valve covers that were polished to perfection along with a pair of Edelbrock carbs for driveability.
By now John was ready to deal with the chassis. “I thought about slamming the truck to the pavement, but I didn’t want a hump in the bed. So, I first blasted and repaired the frame and squared it away. I then boxed the front section and fabricated my own Mustang II–style front crossmember,” John says. From there he installed a set of Ridetech Strong Arms control arms up front and a four-bar suspension out back. An AccuAir control system controls the Ridetech ShockWave airbags on all four corners. Wilwood brakes add stopping power to this hot rod truck.
Once the paint was out of the way, John laid out a killer ebony-stained oak bed with polished stainless ribs out back. Up in the cockpit of this feisty Ford, he installed a Classic Instruments 6-in-1 gauge set in the dash. More metal trickery can be found in the interior where the dashboard has been modified to contain the Vintage Air HVAC system. “I tried to imagine a late-’40s truck that had a taste of art-deco luxury (they weren’t built like that) and design it that way.
The truck’s switch panel is custom-made in-house and uses reproduction Bell X-series switch guards from Perihelion Designs. A nasty Bluetooth-driven sound system featuring Rockford, Fostgate, and Polk audio speakers and built with a Clarion EQ and JB subwoofer play the tunes. The custom upholstery was done in Relicate chocolate leather and the floor is covered in Relicate square-weave carpeting.
To help splice the whole electrical system together, Painless Performance Products supplied the wiring kit on this stunning bedded hot rod. Classic 15×7 smoothie reverse chrome wheels give this ride that old-school look and feel that will never go out of style. They are shod in Diamond Back Classic radial tires all around. The lighting is incandescent in the interior and gauges. Headlights and front turn signals are modern LED. The taillights are frenched-in ’37 Zephyrs, also built with LEDs.
Another surprise that’s ready to happen any day now is that the vintage 327ci engine powering Orange Krush right now will soon be given up for the dragster. “I want a correct vintage mill in the FE dragster so it’s a better fit for sure. It will run on methanol with a Hilborn mechanical fuel injection setup,” John says. In its place John has already built a stout 383 stroker, which should drop into the truck without any issues.
So, of course, now John’s excited about the months ahead. This truck will not only move into the future as a reborn ride, but it will also be put to good use at Anderhart Speed as a badass tow vehicle!
