Paul and Carol Gerritsen from Dandridge, Tennessee, have been street rod and truck enthusiasts for the past 25 years. Some of their previous rides have been a '37 Chevy coupe, '37 Ford coupe Pro Street, '47 Ford convertible, and a '39 Nash with a 392ci Hemi shoehorned into the engine compartment. After taking an early retirement from the Delmarva power and electric company nearly a decade ago, Paul and Carol have been able to spend more time pursuing their passion of owning and showing their cool rides. Three years ago, Paul got the itch to have another custom ride built. After searching the Internet, he discovered his latest project on eBay. Paul called the owner in Florida, made the deal and Paul received the pink slip when the owner delivered the truck a couple days later. For something different Paul decided to build this beautiful '48 Ford F-1 Pro Street pickup.
The 1948's foundation is a boxed, stepped, and reinforced Ford frame that was constructed by Chris Nash at Precision Rod & Customs in Sevierville, Tennessee. A Scott's Super Slam Mustang II independent front clip was grafted to the framerails, then upper and lower control arms, two-inch dropped spindles, a front sway bar, and Ford rack & pinion steering was added. A Zoops GM-style power steering remote reservoir and a pair of Air Ride Shockwave pneumatic 'bags completed the front suspension. A narrowed Ford 9-inch rearend was stuffed with a Moser 3.50 ring & pinion and Moser Tru Trac 28-splined billet axles. The Ford housing was suspended by a heavy-duty four-link system with a Panhard bar and Air Ride Shockwave airbags. The braking was handled by a set of Wilwood disc brakes with polished four-piston calipers and 13-inch drilled and ball-milled rotors with an emergency brake. The rolling stock consists of Schott Performance Camber 18x8-inch front polished aluminum wheels and 20x15-inch wheels in the rear. The Schott wheels were encased with Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R 26x8 tires up front, and massive Mickey Thompson S/R 33x18x20 meats in the rear.
A healthy 406ci Ford V-8 produced 618 lb-ft of torque at 3,700 rpm and 542 hp at 5,000 rpm. The block was bored 4.390-inches, stroked to 3.980 inches, and given 9.0:1 compression by Bob Meyers at Performance Automotive Machine & Engines in Greenville, Tennessee. A B.D.S. intake was capped with a B.D.S. 8-71 blower for the ultimate in go-fast power. A pair of Quick Fuel Technologies SS Series 650 cfm carburetors deliver the precise air/fuel mixture into the blower. The B.D.S. aluminum bug catcher mounted atop the carbs draws in fresh air. The burnt exhaust exits the cylinder head exhaust ports into a set of Sandersen ceramic-coated headers then flow into a pair of Flowmaster 40-series mufflers. A Steve Long aluminum radiator was installed with a 17-inch Cooling Components electric fan to assist in cooling. The built Ford C6 transmission was equipped with a 2,400-rpm stall torque converter.