Stillwell’s Blast From the Past F-100 is Still Cutting-edge

More than a decade ago, Steve Stillwell, one of the founders of Street Trucks Magazine, was walking through a storage building when he spotted what appeared to be a ’56 Ford pickup cab. Upon further inspection, he realized the truck was sitting on a rusted chassis. Adjacent to the cab was a set of Richard Petty blue running boards that prompted Steve to wonder if this was SoCal Pickup’s old Ford truck.

SoCal Pickups & Panels was the first classic Ford truck parts shop, and early in his career, Steve documented the installation of one of its door seal kits for a tech article. He thought he recognized the truck at the storage facility, although now it was in total disrepair. Nevertheless, the chance to own a piece of history and build it into his own ride was too good to pass up. The truck was legit, so he struck a deal with the owner.

The ’56 was solid, no rust in the drip rail or cab rust repairs to be made; however, the chassis had been modified and was first on the list to be replaced. Steve planned to install a radical Ford engine with plenty of power, but first he made a beeline to Total Cost Involved Engineering (TCI) in Ontario, California and met with General Manager Sal Solorzano. TCI had just put the finishing touches on an F-100 chassis jig fixture and was up to the task of creating a new chassis for the ’56. They even agreed to make mounts for the 2001 supercharged Ford Lightning engine and huge AOD transmission. A striking show package was added, made up of polished stainless steel A-arms, chromed spindles, polished backing plates, chromed sway bars front and rear, polished stainless rear 4-link bars and polished 12-inch four-piston Wilwood brakes mounted to a bright orange powder-coated chassis. The one-off 20×10-inch Colorado billet wheels required the 9-inch Currie Enterprises rearend fit with a Trutrac posi to be narrowed to 56 inches to clear the stock-width fenders. Adding complementary 18-inch billet front wheels with orange-painted centers completed the rolling chassis.

Next stop for the chassis was JBA Performance Exhausts of San Dimas, California. JBA makes a spaghetti-style header for Ford Lightnings, and as it turned out, the head pipe flanges just needed some rotation to fill the hot exhaust gas flow requirements. The icing on the cake was the fabrication of a big tube exhaust flowing through a performance catalytic converter ending in Lightning-style flat dual exhaust tips.

Meanwhile, Doug Starbuck of Starside Designs of Riverside, California was smoothing out the ’56’s sheet metal before applying a coat of DuPont Hot Hues Hot Rod Black. According to Doug, “I had not used Hot Hues before, and it only required six quarts of paint over black sealer. You only get one shot in the booth with this paint because there is no buffing out the dust.”

Next, Steve’s old friend Mark Campbell, of Street & Performance in Mena, Arkansas, took on the task of converting 38 pounds of wiring harness and computer into an 8-pound harness that would make the engine and trans function. The rat’s nest of wire was converted into a plug-and-play kit complete with paper tags and instructions. For fuel to match the fire, Rick’s Tanks of El Paso, Texas was enlisted to fabricate a stainless steel fuel tank, which included the high-volume electric fuel pump matched to Aeromotive filters and a custom set of fuel rails that rest on the direct fuel injectors—another first.

“THE CREW AT TOTAL COST INVOLVED ENGINEERING USED ONE OF THEIR FIRST F-100 CHASSIS IN BLACK BART.”

An aftermarket Pro’s Pick bed was fitted with a set of Dan Carpenter bed tubs to accommodate the fat rear wheels and tires, which required slight modification to the Bruce Horkey red oak bed wood and polished stainless steel runners. The bed wood was actually raised 5 inches to clear the rearend housing with a custom- fabricated bed subframe. Mike Sutton of Long Beach Threads applied the black bimini cloth to the aluminum bed cover that opens via electric rams. Seatz Manufacturing wrapped the Rod Doors’ roof, doors and cab panels to complete the complementary orange and pearl white interior.

Following a dyno tune at Kenne Bell’s, Steve couldn’t resist a little late night testing at a local industrial park. On the way home, he was stopped by a police officer, who asked: “Although I didn’t see you and no one else is around, I’m willing to bet you know something about some serious burnout noises I just heard. What have you been up to?”

“I was just checking to make sure my rearend pinion angle is correct ” Steve replied. Lucky for Steve, the officer started walking away, but not before he said, “Sounds like you have it correct. I won’t be seeing you anymore tonight, right?”

Now that Black Bart, Steve’s ’56, is finished, he told us, “I realize the big role that Black Bart played in what I do today. I set out to cultivate a number of Street Trucks Magazine articles on how to use a computer controlled engine in a classic truck. That turned into me being at the helm of a number of industry firsts. Coincidentally, I have now served as president of Pickups Limited OC [Orange County] for the past six years and I’ve been a salesman for Total Cost Involved for over three years, as well. Thanks, Bart.” ST

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Steve Stillwell
1956 Ford F-100
Orange County, CA
Pickups Limited, OC

ENGINE/TRANS

• Shops: Kenne Bell/TCI
• 2001 Ford Lightning supercharged 4L V-8
• Kenne Bell pulleys
• BBK throttle body
• BBK valve covers
• JBA headers
• Magnaflow exhaust
• Rick’s fuel tank
• Griffin radiator and fans
• Street & Performance/ Painless Performance wiring
• Ford AOD transmission
• Inland Empire aluminum driveline

SUSPENSION

• Shop: Total Cost Involved Engineering
• TCI chassis
• TCI IFS
• Tubular control arms
• Currie Enterprises 9-inch rearend
• Eaton Trutrac 3:50 gears
• Stainless steel 4-link
• Ridetech Shockwaves

BRAKES

• Wilwood 12-inch
• 8-inch booster
• Corvette-style master cylinder

WHEELS & TIRES

• 18×8 and 20×10-inch Colorado Custom smoothies
• 255/45/18 and 255/50/20 Toyo tires

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: StarSide Designs
• Shaved hood holes
• Pro’s Pick bed
• Bruce Horkey’s wood bed floor
• Aluminum bed cover
• CPP gas filler
• Custom taillights
• DuPont Hot Hues Hot Rod Black
• Von Hot Rod pinstriping

INTERIOR

• Shop: Seatz
• Rod Doors seats
• Rod Doors panels
• ACC carpeting
• Auto Meter gauges
• Buckle Up belts
• Vintage Air A/C
• Quickie center console
• Lecarra steering wheel
• Dynamat

Steve sends special thanks out to: his wife Donna, son Cory and members of Pickups Limited, including Bill Lee, Ed Oe, Chris Travers, Dale Beverley, Larry Lopez, Larry Willet and the late Jeff Hornsby

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