So many of us as enthusiasts have a parent or family member who had cool vehicles in their past, whether a vintage car when they were younger, a hot rod from their college days, or a cool truck that they remember washing in the driveway or riding in as a family before it was traded in or sold off for something more āpractical.ā
Luckily for some of you, families occasionally keep vehicles around; sometimes on purpose, sometimes by coincidence. The Stoger family is one of those families. The 1953 Ford F-100 you see before you lived most of its life as a farm truck for Shaunās parents and family. This work truck that has spent countless years in daily use for errands and chores for the Stogers was fortunate to have stayed in Florida all this time. This gives a huge advantage over many family trucks in the Midwest or up north because it avoided so much of the rust that comes along with winter weather and salt exposure.
Shaunās father kept the truck around as a āsomeday I will rebuild thisā project but never got around to it. Happily for the truck and F-100 enthusiasts who get to see it, the time came for Shaun to take the ā53 out of hiding.
A longtime mechanic for GM, Cadillac specifically, Shaun spent 12 years learning the ins and outs of a technician career before leaving that line of work and opening Aspire Motorsports in Largo, Florida, with his business partner Rick. Having now been the co-owner and operator of that business for more than 10 years and counting, it is safe to say Shaun has learned an insane amount more about not only automobiles, but also the business world itself. (Not even counting the wild lessons and ups and downs that the past few years have tossed at shop owners.)
This many years into Aspire, you can guess that the number of cars Shaun has had his hands on, be it customer builds or personal ownership, is a high digit by this point. However, there is always that itch to scratch, that build in the back of your mind you keep wanting to get to. For him, it was his fatherās ā53 F-100.
Wasting no time to get down to business on the F-100, Shaun ordered his first part for the truckās build: the wheels. Having a very specific vision for the old farm truckās makeover, he pulled the trigger on a staggered set of U.S. Mag Plain Janes that were 22×9 inches in front and a massive 24×12 inches in the rear. The truck actually ended up being built up around those wide 24s. How much work did it take to fit them in the rear tubs of this Ford you wonder? The team at Aspire spent more than 150 hours of work to make it happen.
The rest of the chassis was also built around that work, as that wrapped up the well-built Ford 408 cubic inch V-8 was fitted to its transmission as the heart of the beast. And what is a lion without its roar, right?! A great exhaust setup was a must. Shaun went with a set of BBK headers leading down to the 3-inch Flowmaster exhaust that really makes a statement when the truck is running.
Shaun then took about a year to put some miles on the setup to that point and āshake the bugs outā to ensure a great driving and reliable truck. After those 12 months flew by, the Aspire team and Shaun wrapped up the truck by finishing out the metal work and finally putting the red leather interior you see before you into the cab.
While he is very happy with the truck, Shaun admits he is having thoughts about adding significantly more power down the road so he can keep in on pace with the other vehicles he has around the shop well over the 2,000 hp range … yeah he said 2,000 hp.
Shaun wants to take a quick moment to thank Steve Miller for the fabrication help, Mikey Ayers for the pinstripe work, and most of all, an endless thank you to his wife, Emily Stoger, for being understanding about the long nights working in the shop. Be on the lookout for this ā53 around shows near you this year!
Shaun Stoger
Largo, FL
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