America

1976 F-150 | Take the High Road

By Mike Alexander

March 04, 2021

1976 F-150 Take the High Road With Solomonson Family Heirloom the FFG Way!

Brian Solomonson, like many of us crazed truck enthusiasts, fell in love with pickups at an early age and, as a teenager, his dream truck was a late ’70s Ford. It was pure coincidence that Brian happened upon this ’76 F-150 4×4. He came across this truck down by the border of Mexico for sale by the wife of the original owner who had just passed away. Brian knew he had to jump on it, so a deal was struck.

After taking the truck home to Arizona, Brian and his son worked on it together with lots of father/son bonding time. These became special memories, memories that Brian also had of building trucks with his own dad. After his dad was diagnosed with cancer and had his first MRI, all he could talk about was picturing himself driving an old Ford that he had been planning on restoring for years.

After that conversation with his dad, Brian knew that he wanted to do something extra special.

So, Brian hooked up with Jason and the crew from Fat Fender Garage to help make this family dream a reality. After days of brainstorming with his father and Jason, they came up with a solid game plan to make this the baddest ’76 Ford 4×4 build yet. Wanting to do something lasting and one-of-a-kind, they collectively decided that this would be the world’s first Gen 3 Coyote with a Whipple supercharger and a 10-speed automatic in a 4×4. A mouthful to say the least, but as things tend to do, this build quickly snowballed into what you see here today.

After fighting with the Gen3 Coyote a bit, the guys from Lund Racing got everything sorted. The build progressed, and the original idea was to leave it patina.

And just as the FFG crew was rounding third base and getting down to final wiring, Brain made the final call to go all the way and paint everything and powdercoat the chassis. So apart it came, and FFG did what they do best—exceptional paint and bodywork, detailed chassis, and keeping this one OG with the factory colors and all.

The truly fun part about this family build was Brian had his dad down several times to see the truck throughout the process, which were very special bonding moments as they would inspect the work and FFG details. Watching a father and son bond over a truck is what makes building trucks of this caliber truly worthwhile.

With this amazing build delivered to Brian and his dad, this special F-150 4×4 is now a Solomonson family heirloom, building memories for generations to come. Great families and great projects make for a successful build.

“Designing the truck with the owner, letting us put the FFG touch to it make it something extra special was key,” Jason says. “Brian trusted us to step it up on the interior and make it feel like a brand new 2020 truck to match the drivetrain. It’s bad, it’s fast, and it’s badass.”

And we definitely agree!