LITTLE RUSTY | 1967 Ford F-100 Custom Cab

Avery Albright’s 
’67 Ford F-100 Custom Cab

At the young age of 12, Avery Albright of Crosby, Texas, laid eyes on KC Mathieu’s Frankenstein F-100 and was bitten by the F-100 bug. It didn’t take long before the then 12-year-old, with the help of his parents, found a 1967 Ford F-100 Custom Cab to make his own.

Getting the build off to a solid start, Avery disassembled the truck completely so he could update and clean up the stock ’67 chassis. After C-notching the frame, Avery installed a 4-bar with QA1 coilovers in the rear, and DJM dropped I beams with a sway bar up front. When the chassis work was complete, Avery laid down a fresh coat of black paint over everything to give it a fresh new look.

Building from Bottom Up

Once the chassis was set, Avery looked to get the drivetrain ironed out. A 1969 Ford 302 was sourced and taken to a local machine shop for freshening-up. While the rotating assembly remained factory Ford, a set of aftermarket .040 pistons filled the holes.

With the short block complete, aluminum heads were bolted on with a Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold directing the air to the valves. A Howards camshaft moves the valves to keep the air going in and out at the right amounts. Topping off the intake is a FiTech EFI unit with a Tanks, Inc. Mustang gas tank mounted out back to store the fuel. A CVF Racing serpentine kit was purchased to keep the crank, water pump, alternator, power steering pump, and compressor tied together and operating smoothly. Stock Ford exhaust manifolds direct the gasses down through Flowmaster mufflers and out back. Backing the 302 is a rebuilt Ford C-4 transmission transferring power to the Ford Explorer 8.8 with 3:73 gears.

With the powertrain ready to go, Avery made sure everything could come to a stop with disc brakes front and rear. A Wilwood master cylinder and proportioning valve apply the pressure effortlessly through the system. The rolling stock for the truck was none other than Detroit Steel Wheel Artilleries. Avery choose 18x9s up front and 20x11s out back, with Nitto tires providing the grip to the road.

Interior and Exterior

Moving on to the interior of the truck, Avery first installed Kilmat sound deadener on the floor, underside of the roof and inside the door skins. After the sound deadener was installed, a new carpet and firewall pad from LMC was laid down over the floor. The factory seat was taken to a local upholstery shop, where vinyl and plaid inserts were tastefully sewn in. The dash pad is from TMI and matches the seat as well as the shifter boot.

To keep the interior cool in the hot Texas summers, Mr. Albright installed a Vintage Air A/C unit. Avery also made the radio delete plate that holds the Vintage Air A/C controls. To watch the vitals, a Dakota Digital gauge cluster was installed into the factory F-100 bezel. A tilt Ididit steering column was chosen to steer the F-100 in all the right directions, and a Lokar shifter selects the gears in the C-4 transmission.

On to the exterior of the truck, Avery wanted to stick with the original patina (rusty) Wimbledon White paint—hence the name “Little Rusty” Avery gave the truck. While the exterior finish of the truck was left untouched, the headlights were replaced, and the taillights were upgraded to LEDs behind factory lenses.  The grill and bumpers are original as well.

Skill Builder Plus

With the build taking five years to complete, Avery (now 17) learned many valuable skills and made many new friends. Since its completion, Avery has put many miles on Little Rusty, and he enjoys cruising and going to local car shows. Avery would like to thank his parents and friends who helped and supported him over the years. We look forward to seeing Little Rusty out on the road and hope to see many more young men and women who take interest in restoring, modifying and fixing classic trucks.