Every month, we sort through the archives looking for feature-worthy trucks we have on file. Often times, a truck's file will sit because each new month something hot and exciting comes in that we have to send to press immediately. Unfortunately, once in a blue moon, a truck gets pushed back further and further to the back of the archives and is temporarily forgotten. Don't get us wrong, the truck is still worth being featured, but it is just receiving the proverbial shaft. Such is the case with this beautiful '51 F-1 owned and built by Ron Arter, of Redding, California. Shot in June of 2000, we just found the file and kicked ourselves for holding onto it for so long. This classic deserves the royal treatment, and without question is a worthy machine.
Bringing the truck home on a flatbed in October of '97, Ron was worried his family might move out and leave him with his rusted piece of history. Ron could see the Ford's potential, but his family only saw a tied-down clump of rust held together with rope and thought perhaps Ron had lost his mind. Thankfully, Ron talked his wife Kathy and son, Ron Jr., into sticking around while he turned his new possession into a pristine hot rod.
Seeing the truck as a father-son project, Ron enlisted the help of his son, Ron Jr. for tearing the truck apart. Beginning with the frame, Ron blasted all the rust off and prepped the steel frame for boxing. Wanting a muscular stance, Ron dropped the frame off with Don Forbes, where the rear frame was C-notched and boxed for strength. In the front, Camaro spindles and coils in conjunction with Fatman A-arms dropped the front a full 8 inches, and the cut leaves out back dropped the rear to an appropriate level. Suspension and frame in order, Ron switched to the powerplant where the key word was power.
Tracking down a late-model Chevy 454ci motor, the block and heads were delivered to J.M.E. Motorsports, in Gridley, California, where Ron requested an engine that would pin him to the back of his seat. Receiving the full port and polish treatment, the heads were ready to plumb the power from the bored and stroked Rat motor. Stuffed with Keith Black 9.8:1 compression pistons, punched to a massive 482ci, and bumped up with a Comp Cams bumpstick with 555 degrees of lift and 0.320 duration, the motor was rumbling with an outrageous tone. Sitting atop the ported heads was a polished Edelbrock high-rise intake complete with dual Cater carbs, and for those instances requiring even more power, a dual-plate NOS fogger setup was bolted on. Ignition chores were taken care of by a dual-points-type MSD distributor and ACCEL coil with Taylor 8mm wires. Keeping the exhaust flow high was a set of aluminum-coated Hooker Headers and 3-inch tubing leading to Hooker Turbo mufflers. Sending all that power to the pavement was a built Chevy TH 400 tranny, complete with a B&M Shift Improver Kit and 3,500-stall converter. A narrowed Ford 9-inch stuffed with Richmond 4.10 gears received the 560 hp and sent it to the wheels.
Ron knew traction would be a small problem with more than 500 horses on tap, so a quick trip to the performance shop saw a new set of Mickey Thompson slicks in place. Up front, the Budnik Trilogy III wheels measured 15x7 inches and were wrapped in Toyo rubber. Out back, the M/T meats measured a Pro Street-like 29x18.5x14 and were mounted on matching Budnik Trilogy III wheels measuring 15x14 inches. Now that traction was secured, the body and interior needed completion.
Sanded and smoothed, the steel cab and doors were retained and new fiberglass fenders and running boards were bolted into place. Out came the welder, and when they were finished, the F-1 was absent of the handles and body molding. The front bumper is stock but was reshaped to match the fenders and tucked to the body. In the rear, a roll pan was added and a 12-gallon fuel cell mounted underneath the bed. With the exception of the chrome grille and front bumper, the entire truck was painted solid black with violet pearl by Hobbs Auto Body, also in Redding. Now, the job of completing the interior and bed was left up to Steve's Trim in Redding.
Yanking out the remnants of the old bench seat, Steve added recovered Camaro seats and smoothed and molded the steel dash. Upholstered in Corvette anniversary silver leather and tweed, the seats look great between the gray GM carpet and silver-leather headliner. Adding function and elegance to the interior is a molded center console housing the nitrous gauges and nitrous activation switch. No radio was added to this interior because as Ron says, "You can't hear anything over the engine." The bed received a complete stainless steel floor and also houses the dual nitrous tanks.
With the truck in better-than-showroom condition, his family was smiling and didn't look at him as if he were crazy anymore. Now, Ron has his truck in the magazine three years later, but hey, the truck did take three years to build, proving that even the best of ideas takes genuine blood, sweat, and tears.