It was now the early ’90s and having always been inspired by the classic lines of the ’56 Ford F-100, Don made the decision to start the search for a suitable base to take on his own custom build. After scouring local ads he finally turned up a good lead to a truck located in Omaha, which was roughly four hours away. You never know the actual state of an advertised vehicle until you arrive to check it out in person and this was one of those times. It was obvious the old Ford had lived a tough life over the decades of being abused regularly within an inch of its life, leaving it in a non-running state. Despite all the flaws, Don still found potential in it and made a deal, swapping cash for keys. Once home, he worked on it for a while, eventually pushing it into one of his buildings where it sat for the next 20 years untouched.

With the truck in hibernation Don still knew that someday it would get its chance for a new life. While attending a number of local car shows he began to notice a number of perfectly balanced ’50s-era Ford F-100s all having been built by the team at Dynamic Rides in Kearney. Soon after, he contacted shop owner Randy Lofquist to discuss his project. The pair shared many of the same ideas of what it would take to bring it to the next level by fusing just the right amount of style and performance to make it a standout. A deal was made and the F-100 was hauled to Dynamic Rides where it was torn down for evaluation.

Since the original spine was solid it was blasted clean, boxed for strength, and smoothed. From there the team added custom crossmembers while also stretching the wheelbase forward by 4 inches. To lay down the goods, a Ford 9-inch packs 3.55 gears spinning Moser Engineering 31-spline axles and is suspended in place by a custom triangulated four-link matched to Ridetech billet coilover shocks. For razor-sharp handling, a No Limit Engineering Wide Ride IFS features custom tubular upper and lower control arms matched to their 2-inch dropped Z.G. spindles and sway bar along with Ridetech billet coilover shocks. When it’s time to drop anchor, a Wilwood dual power master pushes juice through steel lines to matching 12.19-inch drilled-and-vented rotors with four-piston calipers in back combined with 11.75-inch drilled-and-vented rotors with four-piston calipers in front. Linking it all to the street are a set of Budnik Muroc III 17-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels topped with BFGoodrich and Mickey Thompson rubber, respectively.

Nothing makes a better statement than keeping Ford power in a Ford. To handle the task, Don contacted BluePrint Engines in Kearney for one of their stroked 347ci Ford small-block V-8s. A seasoned block was packed with a speed shop full of go-fast goods, starting with a new BluePrint cast steel crank linked to forged I-beam rods capped with hypereutectic pistons with just enough thump from a hydraulic roller cam. Up top a set of BluePrint aluminum heads makes plenty of power, especially when matched to an Edelbrock Performer intake sucking down the goods through a FAST EZ-EFI 2.0 fuel injection system. An MSD Pro-Billet ignition lights the fire with spent gases roaring through a set of Patriot headers to a custom 2 1/2-inch steel exhaust with MagnaFlow headers by Dynamic Rides. Plenty of neat underhood details include a Powermaster alternator, Concept One pulley system, and custom-fabricated valve covers and air cleaner by Lofquist. A Ford AODE trans from Monster Transmission of Brooksville, Florida, moves the goods to a custom steel driveshaft from Denny’s Driveshafts. The Dynamic Rides team, including Lofquist, Dustin Maxson, Aaron Pullman, and Joe Rayford, also moved the driveline back 5 inches for better weight distribution and a lower center of gravity. They completed it with a 2 1/2-inch recessed firewall, custom inner wheelwells, and a reverse-opening hood.