1954 F-100 with a 400 HP 1970 Ford 351 Windsor engine

Scott Young Was California Dreamin’

There’s a huge sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with building a custom truck from scratch. After all, you’re putting it together exactly how you want it from top to bottom, right? But what if there’s already a truck out there that’s pretty close to your idea of perfection? Do you build a clone? Do you build one different enough so that you don’t feel like you’re copying it? Or, perhaps, do you buy the original? While the third option doesn’t come up too often, when it does we’re all for taking advantage of the situation and fulfilling that dream!

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Scott Young of Hickory, North Carolina, is a longtime Ford fanatic and has had plenty of awesome Blue Ovals over the years, but when he caught wind of a certain ’54 F-100 being up for sale that aligned with what he already had planned to build, his ears perked up and he had to investigate.

The only problem was that the truck was all the way out in Sacramento, California, but as far as Scott was concerned, that was actually a good thing! For one, that meant rust almost certainly wouldn’t be an issue. Secondly, the truck was built in the mecca of custom truck and hot-rod culture, adding some provenance to its history.

CROSS-COUNTRY FIND

So, after striking a deal with original builder and owner Dave Greer, Scott had the truck shipped over to its new home in North Carolina, and he certainly wasn’t disappointed when it was unloaded from the enclosed trailer! The F-100 is a rad throwback to peak ’90s street-rod/custom-truck building and was definitely as much of a stunner as when it was fresh out of Dave’s shop nearly 30 years ago.

The F-100 is a rad throwback to peak ’90s street-rod/custom-truck building and was definitely as much of a stunner as when it was fresh out of Dave’s shop nearly 30 years ago.

From its shaved emblems, smoothed out running boards, and Porsche Guards Red paint to its 17-inch Budnik Switchblade wheels, this ’54 has been a show stunner for almost half of its 68-year existence, but Scott does admit that there were a few things that he just had to change to make the truck truly his own.

A FEW TWEED TWEAKS

The most intensive of those things to change was the interior, which we’re guessing had its fair share of tweed in it based on the era in which it was built. Tweed is cool and all, but it’s definitely not the most comfortable material to sit on for hours at a time.

To remedy this, Scott enlisted the help of Jimmy Carswell at Custom Carswell Trim Shop, who brought the interior up to modern standards with cinnamon leather throughout. The new upholstery gives a nod to the high-tech style of the ’90s while making things a lot more pleasant on drives, especially with the Vintage Air setup and Nu Relics power windows.

BUH-BYE BUMPERS

The only other change that Scott felt had to be made was to take care of the protruding bumpers, which can certainly be an eyesore on the first-gen F-100s. A few slices of the bumper brackets and some careful welding yielded a much more aesthetically pleasing and sleek result. Hey, sometimes it’s the little things have have the biggest impact!

The most intensive of those things to change was the interior, which we’re guessing had its fair share of tweed in it based on the era in which it was built.

Since taking over conservatorship of the truck in late 2021, Scott has shown it at as many events as possible, including the Grand National F-100 Show. He has been attending that particular event for more than 40 years, and he doesn’t plan to slow down any time soon. Thanks, Scott, for helping to preserve F-100 history!