A 1955 F-100 Restomod by Riffraff Diesel

A 1955 F-100 Restomod Done Right 

Engine swaps are all the rage these days and we’ve seen builds from every end of the spectrum. From the no expenses spared, top of the line performance builds for competition use to the low budget, do whatever it takes for as little money possible to get it on the street kind of conversions. But this one, this old Ford F100 build falls somewhere in the middle, tipping a little heavy to the ‘not cutting any corners’ side of the scale. For Clay of Riffraff Diesel in Eagle Point, OR this build was more than just putting together a cool conversion project you could show off to your buddies. This project was about learning something new, applying knowledge you already had, while brining that nostalgic feeling from years gone by back into your life.

Riffraff Diesel has focused its entire business structure around supporting the 7.3L and 6.0L Power Stroke platforms and has become well known within the industry for just that. With well over a decade of experience in those two perspective fields of study, the team at Riffraff has learned a thing or two about Power Strokes. They continue to push the boundaries with products engineered specifically for the 1994-2007 Ford diesel markets. From basic problem solving aftermarket products to fully custom machined competition based parts, they really do it all from mild to wild. So, this truck, dubbed Pigpen, it was about building something to showcase products, a shop truck, a fun weekend hotrod, and a truck Clay and his wife could just enjoy having around.

Coming from automotive families, Clay and his wife both have a strong connection to old cars and trucks, old 50’s Ford trucks to be more specific. In fact, throwing it back to when they first started driving, a modified F100 was the first thing they drove to high school. So, building a truck like this checked just about every box for them. As you can see, attention to detail is something the Riffraff group takes seriously, and they weren’t afraid to throw some new flare into an old worn out patina’d Ford. It shows wear and rust where it should, with classy styling ques and what definitely could be considered a jewelry box under the hood.

For power, the 6.0L Power Stroke engine has been completely rebuilt from the pan up. The factory block, crankshaft, and rods were used, but Riffraff delipped and fly cut Mahle pistons were used along with a Stage 2 Killdevil camshaft. The factory cylinder heads were cleaned up with all new parts and porting from Steel Dust Machine of California. Smith Brothers pushrods help maintain solid valvetrain performance under high RPM and elevated boost pressures. For fueling, Full Force Diesel 205cc 30% over injectors were installed along with a Terminator Engineering T500 high pressure oil pump and Riffraff’s own lift pump and complete fuel system from tank to engine.

While the truck qualifies as a show piece in our eyes, Riffraff never built the truck with those intentions. It was built to showcase their products and abilities sure but being able to drive the truck without worry of it getting dirty was just as important.

For boost, the truck runs a 68mm VGT Stage 3 turbocharger from KC Turbos pulling through a hand fabbed intake setup built by LYFE Motorsport. LYFE also handcrafted the intercooler tubes and core for maximum flow and cooling potential in the smaller engine bay of the F100 truck. O’Dawgs high flow cast intake manifold helps with distribution to the cylinders and Riffraff has even thrown in a couple stages of nitrous just for good measure. For exhaust, factory manifolds were replaced with pieces from Steed Speed, a 4” downpipe splits into 3” duals further down the chassis.

Transferring power is 5-speed 5R100 transmission built by John Wood Automotive with multiple internal upgrades to handle the horsepower that engine creates. Modified valve body, triple disc torque converter and a sprinkling of billet parts ensure it’ll plant 700+ horsepower without breaking a sweat. The truck its on matte grey Forgeline 18” wheels with 265/45 rubber up front and massive 295/40’s out back.

Since the original frame and suspension were never designed to handle this kind of power or weight, it was completely scrapped and replaced with a Big 10 chassis from No Limit Engineering which allowed for much easier assembly and better end results when cruising or rallying the truck. The standard chassis was upgraded in specific places to better handle the torque and extra up front weight from the 6.0L diesel. A roll cage was also fabbed up by LYFE Motorsport just in case Clay ever gets the hankering for a road race or quarter mile pass.

While the truck qualifies as a show piece in our eyes, Riffraff never built the truck with those intentions. It was built to showcase their products and abilities sure but being able to drive the truck without worry of it getting dirty was just as important. The truck gets driven to and from work on the regular, and you’ll see Clay cruising through town frequently with one of his boys riding shotgun. On the chassis dyno the truck laid down a solid 735hp on fuel and 954hp on a shot of spray, but is still an incredibly reliable daily driver, that’s more than a handful in a lower sub-600 horsepower tune. You’ll definitely be thankful for the massive Wilwood brake calipers and PRP race seats with 5-point harnesses anytime you bring this thing up on full boost out on the street. We aren’t sure how it got the name PigPen or why it stuck but who really cares what you call it, it’s a beautiful build and a complete riot on the street.