Jason Mulligan
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February 19, 2026
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Features
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RICK AMADO
Growing up around cars almost seems to guarantee a lifelong automotive passion. Andy Houghtelin has always had the gearhead gene and started off young with a ’68 Ford Mustang California Special. As his career and family took priority, he took a break, but thankfully, his wife Mary also came from an active automotive family. A few years back, Andy picked up this ‘60 Ford F-100 that was a barn find from Craigslist. Andy had always liked that truck vintage’s styling and this one had very little damage or rust, just some worn parts and a tired old 302. He started to rebuild it with an eye toward making it a kustom-style rat rod truck. Along the way, Andy dropped the truck off at Ironworks Speed & Kustom in Bakersfield, California, for some metalwork at the same time that his in-laws’ ‘48 Chevrolet pickup was undergoing a huge transformation.
While Frank and Mary Lawrence’s ’48 Chevrolet pickup was in the build stage, the couple decided that they couldn’t have their son-in-law Andy cruising around town in a rat rod kustom truck. What started out as a small project on the old farm truck snowballed into a full custom build. Once they decided to go all out, the teardown began as Ironworks set about building a modern custom truck that kept the styling of the original with plenty of kustom-inspired mods and contemporary performance to keep up with today’s trends. The factory frame was boxed in and notched to accept the factory 9-inch rearend outfitted with Currie Enterprises axles and new coil springs and shocks. Up front, the custom suspension received a set of Ride Tech adjustable coil-overs for handling, while Wilwood Pro Spindles complete with DynaTech six-and four-piston brakes bring things to a quick stop. A Wilwood master cylinder and booster supplies them with fluid. An AGR power rack-and-pinion steering setup was installed before the frame was sent to Capps Powder Coating in Fresno, California, for a Chocolate finish. A set of 19 x 8- and 20 x 9-inch Budnik Muroc 4 wheels wrapped in 245/25 and 285/45 Michelin tires finishes things off.
Under the hood, the tired 302 was tossed in the scrap heap and a pull-out 5.7L LS1 motor was painted to match the imminent body color, but with a flat clear. The motor was brought up to spec with a set of MSD wires leading to relocated coils, FAST Green injectors, a Powermaster 120-amp alternator, Billet Specialties valve covers and a custom air intake sporting a K&N filter. The LS motor is backed by a 4L60E Hughes Performance transmission and kept cool with a Be Cool radiator and SPAL fan setup. XRP lines supply the needed fuel and a set of Sanderson headers leads to a custom Flowmaster 2 ½-inch exhaust system that wraps over the rearend and has been “alumacoated.”
Ironworks did all of the custom metalwork necessary to reach Andy’s initial goal of having radical, yet clean metal mods, but now that Andy and his in-laws had decided to take things further, the truck would be finished as a clean package. The front end was kept fairly stock save for a narrowed and tucked front bumper. The hood was extended down to reduce gaps, and the air inlets were widened. Out back, a long list of work was drawn up to create a custom tail almost entirely from scratch. First, the stake pockets were shaved and the bed rails were rolled under. Storage and access compartments were built into the floor, and the center of the bed floor was removed and replaced with a zebra wood bed floor finished by Frank’s brother Arnold Lawrence of Quality Refinishing in Bakersfield, California. A pair of 1968 Chevrolet Nova bumpers was cut and grafted together to wrap around the rear section. The crew made a custom tailgate and 1970 Camaro billet taillights from Marquez Design were flushed into the rear. All of the body seams were welded, the front drip rail was removed and a custom firewall was created before the truck was sent off to Palmer’s Paint & Body in Camarillo, California, to be smoothed and painted a rare Fiat 500 Cappuccino color from PPG. The motor compartment, interior and bed saw the same paint with the addition of flat clear over the top for an industrial look.
The flat clear on the interior created an inviting environment once it was matched with Italian distressed mocha leather wrapping the modified bench seat by Stitch by Stitch Custom Designs in Yucaipa, California. The smoothed dash also received a set of Auto Meter gauges and a control panel from Vintage Air, as well as an Ididt steering column and Billet Specialties steering wheel. The Specialty Power Windows were connected using a full ISIS wiring system hooked up by McMillian’s Speed & Fab. Finally, a full MTX sound system with an 8-inch subwoofer controlled via an Alpine head unit was installed to finish things off.
With both the ’48 Chevy and ’60 Ford finished, thanks to the crew at Ironworks Speed & Kustom, the family now shows side by side. We can only imagine the discussions taking place over Thanksgiving dinner. But the family that hot rods together stays together, and we’re certain that there will be more creations coming from this very creative family. ST
ANDY & MARY HOUGHTELIN
1960 FORD F-100
BAKERSFIELD, CA
PUSHRODS OF BAKERSFIELD
ENGINE
SUSPENSION
BODY
WHEELS
INTERIOR
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