LST 2021 BEST OF SHOW! – 1971 Ford F-100 Named El Diablo Specs, Story and Pics!

Uncle Dave’s Fishing Truck, Turned Full Custom.

Fred Bishop’s tale of this gorgeous F-100 build (now affectionately known as El Diablo) begins seven years back or so. Fred’s Uncle Dave gave him a rough “fishing truck” that had been sitting for many years. Dave had purchased the truck brand new off the lot in ’71, so he didn’t just want to see it rot out in his field. Knowing that Fred would bring her back to life properly, the plans began like many of ours do. A modest restore and driver refresh was all that was on the table for this ol’ Bump, in the beginning.

Fred dug out the truck from where she sat rotting away and got it over to his buddy’s shop, Big Willie’s Garage, for some simple drivability updates. The original plan began with some budget-minded Crown Vic suspension and drivetrain modifications just to see it back on the road again in a timely manner. Well, as it usually goes, about halfway through this round of updates, Fred visited Willie Davis and the two got to talking, brainstorming and the snowball effect may or may not have turned into a massive avalanche (you can be the judge of that by looking at all these killer shots!).

One thing led to another, and Fred and Willie’s vision for “El Diablo” came into focus. After a few bumps and bruises that go along with a full custom build process from the ground up, the two came together with a ton of determination and perseverance (and of course another three years and countless amounts of hours and dollars later) to create something special. Big Willie and Fred re-imagined a laid out, Coyote-powered supercharged beast of a hot rod with a class and elegance unmatched. Willie had a huge impact on the renewed vision and put in many late nights designing and building an air-ride chassis, subtle but smoothed body, and drivetrain that would meet Fred’s ultimate goals and make this the baddest Bump the world has seen. “Dipped in Red” was sort of the on-going theme as the build progressed, where literally everything was red (with some silver accents throughout).

One of the most unique aspects of this build is probably the fully functional one-piece front end. Willie built in the fenders, inner fenders, core support and custom heat extractors to allow a wickedly clean look on the outside, but also functions and can be removed as one piece if there is ever major engine or trans work needed. With as much meticulous detail as the chassis and body had received over the span of the few year’s build time, the paint had to truly land that knockout punch.

So, the crew teamed up with Charlie Cutts who finished smoothing everything out and mixed the custom PPG color “Diablo Red” to really bring this entire build to life. Literally everything from top to bottom is covered. Moving on, the final piece of the puzzle bringing the entire package together is none other than entrusting Tracy Weaver and his crew at Recovery Room Interiors to do what they do best.

Recovery Room designed a completely custom interior and stereo treatment from the ground up for this Bump. Absolutely jaw-dropping work all wrapped in color-matched Italian leather bringing Fred’s dream of making his Uncle Dave’s “Fishing Truck” truly a force to be reckoned with full circle. A build of this caliber is quite a feat and would not be possible without dedication and talents from many. From Fred and his family: “We would like to thank Warren Walcher, Kole Kochevar, Joe Nieman, Mike Blackwelder, Tracy Weaver, Charlie Cutts, Michelle Bishop, Uncle Dave, Amy Davis, Willie Davis, and everyone else who helped overcome any challenges that stood in the way and helping to see this one through to the end. We’re sure glad you did!”

TRUCK SPECS
Fred Bishop
1971 Ford F-100
Grand Junction, CO

PAINT/BODY
Paint and body by Charlie Cutts
PPG Custom Mix “Diablo Red”
Custom body mods by Wille Davis
Front end narrowed 2 inches
Custom steel grille
Custom front bumper narrowed and tucked
One-piece front end including fenders, inner fenders and core support w/ heat extractors
All body seams fully welded
Custom side-exit exhaust
Custom bed with hinged floor on actuators
Custom rear bumper narrowed and tucked
Octane LED headlights
United Pacific LED taillights
Custom billet side trim by Mike Blackwelder

WHEELS/TIRES
22×9 and 24×15 Intro Vistas
Pirelli Pzero 265/30/22 and 405/25/24

ENGINE/DRIVETRAIN
2018 Coyote 5.0 w/ 6r80e
Whipple Supercharger
Ford Performance controls pack
2.5-inch Magnaflow custom exhaust

CHASSIS/SUSPENSION
Modified factory frame, fully boxed with custom tubular crossmembers
Heidts airride mustang II IFS
Custom back-half and four-link
Air Lift Performance 3H management
Wilwood disc brakes front and rear
Currie 9-inch
Boyd Welding custom fuel cell

INTERIOR/STEREO
Ididit steering column
Billet Specialties steering wheel
Dakota Digital gauges
Custom made seat and frame with custom cut foam to resemble the early ’60s Ford Galaxy to tie in the vintage feel
Perf material also custom and done in house at Recovery Room by laser and the custom grilles in each seat also resemble those reminiscent of the Galaxy
Custom wool cloth headliner
Aluminum and plastic door panels custom cut and designed by Recovery Room
Focal Speakers with custom surrounds and grilles, Blam shallow mount subs and Rockford Bluetooth amp/radio
Ford Mustang handles
Custom console houses Vintage Air and stereo controls, a Lokar shifter and custom Air Lift 3H mounted controller
Fully smoothed floor with German square weave carpet
Italian color matched leather throughout with silver metal accents
Complete custom interior by Recovery Room Interiors