Traditional hot rod builds were always non-denominational because builders used whatever pieces they could find at an auto wrecker.
In other words, a street rod could have pieces from a Ford, Chev, Plymouth, Rambler, or International truck.
If the part was cheap enough it could always be made to fit—this 1954 Ford F-100 truck is a classic example.
Jerry Sutherland
Warren Nimchuk spotted this pickup in an ad, and he knew he wanted to look at it in person. The owner had run into a brick wall with his wife over his expanding fleet of old iron, so he had to thin the herd.
The truck was more than Warren expected because it was such a well-thought-out build. This was a classic era Ford truck, but the former owner had placed a 350 Chevy small block under the hood. He was going for a build that was relatively easy and reliable, so the small-block was perfect.
He didn’t stop there. Warren said there’s a 1976 Cordoba front end under the truck so now it has a torsion bar suspension. These retrofits were popular a few years ago because there were so many donor cars around and handling improved 1000%.
The seats are straight out of a Toyota Tacoma–Warren is highly impressed with how comfortable they feel when he’s behind the wheel.
This truck was clearly built to haul a trailer because it has a trailer hitch and a transmission cooler. Warren doesn’t see a time when the truck will haul something, but he’s happy to know it could if pushed into duty.
That’s unlikely because the truck bed is now oak so it’s not something you’d toss bags of cement or hay bales into on a job site. It was built for show and go–not farm duty.
Warren loves how the truck handles with the torsion bar suspension, but the wind noise is another story. He said you can’t carry on a conversation in the cab because there are leaks in the window seals. Warren plans to upgrade the weatherstripping with new tech stuff, so he can hear what’s going on inside.
That’s also why Warren wants to upgrade the sound system because he said it’s a “little tinny”, so it gets lost with the wind noise. The upgrade in sound and state-of-the-art window seals mean this ’54 Ford is going to be quiet and loud at the same time.
Warren plans to be a road warrior in this truck because he’s not a fan of trailer queens. He said, “it’s a little rough over the bumps”, but this ’54 Ford has many upgrades such as cruise and power everything. His only upgrade may be air conditioning—even though he’s been advised against it.
He hasn’t done much to this truck because it was so well-built, but he did add pinstriping to enhance the custom paint.
In the end, Warren’s game plan is solid because he wants to drive this truck to every show and showcase it to the public.
The public is going to be very happy.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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