or those who know, the infamous Unibody Ford F-100 is quite the hot commodity—equally as much for its unique integrated body styling as it is for its rare breed aspect. A unicorn of sorts, as owner and co-builder Michael Porter admits, when he first stumbled across his 1961 edition he was embarrassed to admit he had no idea what a Unibody was prior to that!
Together, the Porters embarked on their five-year project by completely tearing the truck down to its bare frame in preparation for a full suspension and drivetrain upgrade. First order of business was to swap out the twin I-beams and parallel leaves for a Total Cost Involved IFS with complementing four-link (each end outfitted with RideTech coilovers) and John’s Industries 4.11-geared 9-inch nestled beneath a Switch Suspension frame notch kit. Once the front suspension was in place, Michael ordered up and subsequently installed a new Ford Performance Gen 3 Coyote with accompanying TREMEC Magnum XL six-speed.
At this point, both Porters realized the next steps—that being the exhaust and fuel/brake plumbing—might be a bit out of their “comfort zone,” as Michael put it, so they turned the project over to Seth McAtee at Switch Suspension to wrap up what was left.
Together, the Porters embarked on their five-year project by completely tearing the truck down to its bare frame in preparation for a full suspension and drivetrain upgrade. First order of business was to swap out the twin I-beams and parallel leaves for a Total Cost Involved IFS with complementing four-link (each end outfitted with RideTech coilovers) and John’s Industries 4.11-geared 9-inch nestled beneath a Switch Suspension frame notch kit. Once the front suspension was in place, Michael ordered up and subsequently installed a new Ford Performance Gen 3 Coyote with accompanying TREMEC Magnum XL six-speed.
At this point, both Porters realized the next steps—that being the exhaust and fuel/brake plumbing—might be a bit out of their “comfort zone,” as Michael put it, so they turned the project over to Seth McAtee at Switch Suspension to wrap up what was left.
With less than a year since its completion—and despite the lack of events to attend—Michael and Riley Porter have still managed to log over 5,000 miles on the odometer of their revamped Unibody … and have no plans on capping it off there, not by a long shot!