A Plan of Action

It’s simple: Some people prefer to fly by the seat of their pants, and others won’t set foot outside without a road map and an itinerary. One advantage of the latter is that when an opportunity comes knocking, these folks are ready to answer the door. Such an opportunity came a-knocking for Caleb Skinner when a two-owner ’50 Ford F1 turned up. Caleb had long had a plan in place for such an opportunity. He envisioned a West-Coast-style muscle truck with a perfect patina and its “rockers in the dirt.” When he acquired his ’50 Ford he simply put his plan in place. With proper organization and an abundance of elbow grease, he transformed his modest classic into a powerful, classically styled street truck.       

Caleb has a penchant for speed, with a long personal history of building and racing Mustangs. He’s also built a career as a professional tuner and fabricator. So, when it came time to build his F1 low and mean, he knew he’d need a built motor to match the menace.

The Ford spent the first decade or so of its life on Hill Air Force Base before it was sold to a local man who kept it until he passed in 2017, and Caleb bought the truck from his estate. At some point in the F1’s lifetime, it’s original six-cylinder motor was replaced with a Ford Flat-8 paired to a three-on-the-floor transmission. Caleb already had the majority of the build in mind and was simply in search of the right canvas. Having taken delivery in November, he set a himself a lofty goal of cruising by Christmas.

With his deadline rapidly approaching, Caleb got to cutting quick. He started by fabricating a 12-inch frame notch in the rear, and then he cleaned off and plated the back-half of the frame. The notch gave him enough clearance to make use of a triangulated 4-link. The rearend housing comes from a 1998 Mustang, and the 8.8 Ford unit has been narrowed 6 inches and beefed up with a TruTrac LSD and Strange axle ends.

With the rear suspension in place, Caleb moved on to the front. Again, he chose to borrow a Mustang II-style configuration from Helix Suspension. Converting to the IFS entailed completely removing and stripping all suspension components from the front of the frame. He cleaned and plated the front rails as well. After measuring a few dozen times to ensure he had properly located the axle centerline, he welded the new front cross member in place. With the suspension components permanently in place, Caleb was able to place the Air Lift Dominator ’bags and plumb the Air Lift Performance wiring and air lines. The front and rear both make use of Viking adjustable shocks in conjunction with the airbags. A few interior mods were buttoned up, and phase one of project DIRTBAGR was finished just in time for a Christmas Eve cruise.

Caleb and his family enjoyed the ’50 Ford for a few more weeks during the holidays before the build process got cranked to 11. By February it was time to begin phase two. Caleb paired his patina’d truck with a set of 20-inch Detroit Steel Wheels. The black smoothies sit high in the wheel wells, while the rocker panels are right at home in the dirt. The aggressive Americana aesthetic is one Caleb had in mind from the get-go.

Sticking to his roots, Caleb chose to supply his F1 with a bit of Mustang motivation, so the tired powertrain was yanked and replaced with a howling Coyote V-8. The modern motor was donated by a 2017 Mustang and paired to a 4r70w automatic trans. The trans is fortified with a billet manual valve box and D3400 stall. Nothing about this build had been mild, and Caleb was certainly not about to slow down. The Coyote was outfitted with a new fuel system from Holley, as well as a Holley Sniper EFI intake manifold and throttle body. The Holley fuel system makes use of a custom fuel cell, Holley fuel rails and a Vortech T-Rex fuel pump. The system is E85 capable for huge power gains over conventional pump gas. To keep the beast breathing freely, Caleb adapted F-150 exhaust manifolds for the application, which seriously helped with the steering and frame clearance. From the F-150 manifolds, a custom 3-inch stainless exhaust is routed through the passenger running board to stay out of the way when the truck is laid out. Keeping all 400-plus ponies cool is a Northern three-row aluminum radiator outfitted with a Flex-a-Lite fan. For added durability, an OEM trans-cooler from an F-350 was brought into the mix.

In many ways, the exterior and interior styling choices for DIRTBAGR were direct from Ford. The original body was left almost completely stock. Simple modifications do their part to pull together the stylistic themes. For starters, the front bumper sits about 2 inches lower than its original location. This subtle move enhances the stance by really hunkering the truck’s silhouette down to the pavement. The original headlights and taillights have been reproduced using LED internals. The bed floor has been raised and the inner fenders trimmed to accommodate the stance, but they too preserve the original radness of the F1. Even the custom rear roll pan does very little to detract from the authentic appearance.

Thanks to his hard work and discipline, the truck was transformed into a finished project in under a year. Sure, some might want to leave their projects open-ended, but when your recipe isn’t broken, there’s no good in trying to fix it.

The truck was originally painted navy blue. Its time in the armed forces left one side mostly green with the remnants of a comet-like insignia on the passenger fender. These layers of history have been beautifully altered by father time. Caleb chose to let the visual history speak for itself with a simple satin clearcoat. The interior sings much the same song. Auto Meter gauges display all pertinent information from the post-modern powertrain, while maintaining the look and quality of classic instrumentation. Entertainment comes by way of a full system, the center of which is an Alpine touchscreen head unit. Sound travels to twin Alpine 6×9-inch tweeters, through Rockford Fosgate amplifiers and dual Rockford Fosgate 8-inch subwoofers. The automatic tilt steering column is fitted with a Forever Sharp Big Rig 18-inch billet steering wheel. The massive wheel is finished in black anodizing and burl wood. Finally, the factory bench seat has been restored and upholstered with double-stitched diamond brown leather.

A little planning goes a long way. Combine that with a career’s worth of know-how and a 5-liter V-8, and just about anything can happen. Certainly, this was the case with DIRTBAGR. Caleb had a plan in place for his ’50 Ford from the moment he took delivery. Thanks to his hard work and discipline, the truck was transformed into a finished project in under a year. Sure, some might want to leave their projects open-ended, but when your recipe isn’t broken, there’s no good in trying to fix it.

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TECH SPECS

Caleb Skinner

1950 Ford F1
Clayton, NC

Chassis & Suspension

• Boxed frame with 12-inch rear notch
• UPR Products Pro series Mustang-II 4-link rear suspension
• Helix Suspension Mustang II IFS
• Airlift Dominator airbags
• Viking adjustable shocks
• Airlift Performance management
• Ford 8.8 rear housing with TruTrac LSD
• Strange 31-spline ends

Powertrain

• 2017 Ford 5.0 Coyote V-8
• Ford F150 exhaust manifolds
• Custom 3-inch stainless exhaust
• Holley Sniper EFI intake manifold
• Holley Sniper EFI throttle body
• Holley fuel rails
• Vortech T-Rex fuel pump
• 4r70w automatic trans with billet manual valve body and D3400 stall
• Northern three-row aluminum radiator with Flex-a-Lite silicone fan

Brakes

• 12-inch SN95 Mustang Cobra rear disc brakes
• Front Helix big brake kit

Wheels & Tires

• 20-inch Detroit Steel Wheel Co. black smoothies

Body & Paint

• Original factory paint and military service paint patina
• Satin clearcoat
• Custom rear roll pan
• Rebuilt exterior lights with LED internals

Interior & Stereo

• Alpine Touch Screen head unit
• Twin Alpine 6×9-inch tweeters
• Rockford Fosgate 250-watt amp
• Twin Rockford Fosgate 8” subs
• Custom brown leather-upholstered bench
• Forever Sharp 18-inch Big Rig steering wheel

Special Thanks: UPR Products, Tricia Steele, Steve Allomon and Fastlane Motorsports

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