https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS2oxFtRGj8
It may be hard to believe, but pickup trucks were originally used for picking stuff up. They didn't have leather heated/cooled/massaging seats with touch screen navigation and mini refrigerators in the center console. No, they were used by hard laborer's who got them dirty and didn't mind a few dings and dents. Because of that, finding an old one worth restoring is a challenge. If you do find one, what route would you go? You want that original classic look but maybe AM radio, crank windows, no ac and less than 200 horsepower isn't your thing. Well look no further for inspiration, Jonathan Ward has figured it all out and is "Geeked" to show you.
In this video posted on Jonathans channel, he shows us one of his most exciting builds to date, a totally custom, but still classic-looking, 1965 Ford Crew Cab. He built this truck for a client who basically let Ward's imagination go wild, likely never using the word "budget" or "limit" during the entire build process.
What you see here is very deceiving as this Ford is sitting on the chassis from a 2006 Dodge 3500 Mega Cab with the amazing 5.9 liter Cummins turbo diesel engine. Although blasphemous to Ford purists, this truly is the best of all worlds. The 2006 Cummins is new enough to offer reliability along with insane horsepower potential without all the hassle of newer diesels that carry loads of complicated emission control devices. All that was needed to hit 650 horsepower and 700 ft lbs of torque was a Banks hand held tuner and performance exhaust.
Fitting the cab and bed onto the Dodge chassis didn't exactly come with instructions. Ward explains that after blasting the body to bare metal, they decided to modify the chassis mounts to work with the original Ford body mounting locations. They also took this opportunity to work on the less than perfect body and panel gaps that are common to older cars and trucks. Countless hours were spent massaging and forming this body into what you see now. It may look original, but nothing of this era was ever this perfect.
Bells and whistles on this truck rival anything on the road today. Air conditioning was added thanks to a custom setup by Vintage air. A beautiful instrument cluster was inspired by the custom cab package that was available at the time in higher end models. It was made to work with all the fancy electronics of the new engine, even keeping era correct font for things like the check engine light and other warning or notifications messages. Custom heated front and rear seats are made from outdoor furniture material, assuring they are durable under any conditions. This old truck has a pounding stereo equipped with bluetooth connectivity, amplifiers built into the floor and high end speakers. You may not notice immediately, but those crank windows are actually power. You move the crank down and up to activate the motors and they can even automatically go down all at once if you push the crank down twice quickly.
The list of amazing custom touches goes on and on and the owner of this fine pickup truck must be the happiest person on earth. Check out Ward's video, his enthusiasm may just be what you need to get that old project off the ground.
Related: ICON Fully Restores Derelict 1960 Willys Wagon To Former Glory