The Skennonto Family ’48 Ford Gets a New Lease on Life

The newest show on Spike TV’s popular Power Block is called Search & Restore, and if you haven’t had a chance to catch it yet, we highly recommend that you take a look. The premise of the show is to find a deserving car or truck owner who builds it for them with a group of guest builders and parts donated by some of the best aftermarket manufacturers around. Shane Skennonto was one of the most recent Search & Restore beneficiaries. The build team, lead by the talented and funny Tim Strange, worked their magic on the 1948 Ford pickup, which has been in the family for four generations when you include Shane’s young son Xavier, who will be able to enjoy the truck for many years to come.

Shane’s grandfather owned the truck and passed it down to his son John “Doc,” who began restoring the truck until he lost his fight with can- cer before he was able to complete the project, leaving Shane with a beloved truck, a lot of family memo- ries, and an unfinished project. Shane promised Doc that he would finish the truck, and he had the desire, but unfortunately he didn’t have the skills to complete the build himself.

Luckily, the Search & Restore build team was ready, willing and able to tackle the 64-year-old truck and whip it into shape. We’ll cover the finished truck here, to see the construction details and build process check out Searchandrestoretv.com.

The original chassis and flathead engine were not up to the lofty goals and standards of team leader Strange, so they were ditched in favor of a Fatman Fabrication chassis complete with IFS and GM 11-inch disc brakes up front. In the rear, a Currie 9-inch is located with the Fatman 4-link, while A1 coil-over shocks are used on all four corners to give the truck a great stance and good handling characteristics. The complete chassis was bathed in satin green DuPont paint to match the body.

Keeping a Ford in the Ford was important to Strange and Shane, so a Ford Racing 306-ci small-block was slid between the frame rails. Ford Racing shorty headers feed a Nitroplate- coated Flowmaster exhaust system to expel the spent gases, while an Edelbrock carb doles out the air and fuel through an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold. The fuel charge is ignited by a Mallory Unilite ignition system for a complete burn. A March Performance serpentine belt system is installed on the front of the engine to drive the Edelbrock water pump, Powermaster alternator and Vintage Air A/C compressor so that the Skennonto family can enjoy the truck year round. To keep the engine cool and engine bay looking cool, the team installed a US Radiator replacement radiator with a polished brass top tank to complete the vintage look. The potent small-block Ford engine is backed up by a B&M AOD four- speed automatic transmission that sends the power to the Currie 9- inch through a custom Dyno Tech Engineering driveshaft. The truck rides on a 17 and 18-inch wheel and tire combination featuring Bridgestone Potenzas wrapped around Wheelsmith Artillery wheels sporting cream-painted centers and red pinstripe accents.

Of course, any street truck worth its weight has great paint, and the Search & Restore build team did much more than just spray on good-look- ing colors. They completely trans- formed the truck while retaining everything that makes the ’48 Ford so cool, and they used the original colors Doc had planned for the truck. Using reproduction parts from LMC for the bed and running boards, the truck was transformed. But rather than just bolting it together using the new parts, the team took the time to modify them to make the truck bet- ter than ever. The front wheel open- ings were shrunk and lowered to fit the wheel and tire combination bet- ter, and the team added a body line to match the rear fenders and bring the truck together in a way that the factory should have 64 years ago. To make the truck look lower and give it more of a street rod stance, they extended the running boards 2 inches lower. After the body was prepped, primed and blocked, it was sprayed in DuPont Chroma Premier Green and Black with stunning results.

The truck looks just as good inside as it does outside, with rich brown carpet covering the replace- ment floor panels, and matching caramel tuck-and-roll vinyl upholstery on the refurbished bench seat and door panels done by Julio Tornero. Andy Stapp hand painted the dash with a faux wood finish that matches the real wood floor in- stalled in the bed from Bed Wood & Parts. The dash also features a JVC audio/video head unit to give Shane a modern sound system. Chris Robinson from New South Motor- sports also installed speakers from Memphis Car Audio in the kick panels for good sound. A new Painless wiring harness was used to rewire the truck to make it more reliable. Steering is handled by a Limeworks wheel installed on a polished Limeworks steering column that links to the Fatman Fabrications rack- and-pinion.

For more information on this truck and the other Search & Restore builds, go to Searchandrestoretv.com or Powerblocktv.com and watch complete episodes online. You can also volunteer your skills to help with a future build by filling out an application online. ST

SHANE SKENNONTO
1948 FORD F2
PHILADELPHIA, PA

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