SEMA is just around the corner, and yesterday, I unveiled my latest SEMA project at a local car show. This truck is on tour with the eBay Motors Parts of America Tour, a 1969 Ford F100 dubbed “Ranch Relic.’ This truck was built to represent all the hard-working ranch trucks found across Texas and had the perfect patina from sitting for years.
Under the hood sits a fresh Ford 360 V8, with Pertronix Ignition a heavy-duty radiator, and an old ammo box for tool storage. A new fuel tank, lines, and sending unit brought the fuel system up-to-date and we upgraded the manual drums using a MasterPower power disc brake conversion kit. Cosmo El Tigre tires gave the truck the right look and modern tire performance needed for driving on today’s highways.
Inside Project Ranch Relic:
Inside, we sourced a lot of parts from eBay Motors and upgraded the seat using real hair on hide leather, new carpet, door panels, dash pad, sun visors, and instrument cluster. But we could keep everything old school, so we added a Custom Autosound retro radio with Bluetooth and upgraded speakers.
For the paint, we kept the original patina but bumped it up a notch by taking it to our friend Sean Starr at Starr Studios to create an amazing ranch truck livery that represented our local region, the Brazos Valley. As always, Sean knocked it out of the park, and we came up with the “Rio Brazos” concept. The biggest upgrade outside was in the bed, where we installed a beautiful BedWood hickory wooden bed. The contrast of the perfect bed in the well-used patina truck stands out. Of course, it couldn’t represent Texas without a pair of long horns mounted on a custom mount just below the hood.
We unveiled the truck at the College Station Ford Tractor Pull at the Brazos Valley Fair, where it was a hit with the locals. You can see project Ranch Relic in person at the following stops below and be sure to come by and say hi to me at the SEMA show and Los Angeles events. If you see the truck at an even,t be sure to snap a picture and tag @thegentlemanracer on Instagram so I can reshare it!
- Oct. 23: Midwest Super Show in Wichita, KS
- Oct. 28: Jeep Jamboree 24 in Moab, UT
- Nov. 1-4: SEMA in Las Vegas, NV
- Nov. 11: Mogollon Mountain UTV Fest in Payson, AZ
- Nov. 13: SCTA at El Mirage, CA
- Nov. 17: Los Angeles, CA