ALL AMERICAN | 1954 Ford F-100

Dan Byer’s Family Inspiration

We just love sharing stories like the one you are about to read—a vehicle with a history that will be passed down generation after generation. Dan Byers bought his F-100 for $50 back in the…well, the ’80s, and used it as his daily driver in high school. He purchased a rolling chassis and installed a 239 V-8 with three speed on the tree and a whopping 4:29 gear ratio.

In all, the build was just over two years to complete and our words do this F-100 little justice. Thousands of hours in fabrication and customization went into making this build exactly how Dan and Blake wanted it.

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Fast forward several decades, and Dan’s truck left sitting outside in Western Colorado was destined to be his son Blake’s high school vehicle. Now living in Newport Beach, California, Dan needed to make the F-100 roadworthy for Blake, who would be driving in just a few short years. After some “pressure” from his son, the truck was trailered to Sherman Taylor in Montrose, Colorado, and the brainstorming began.

You’ll find many early model trucks, including Fords, using a GM-based LS engine and transmission. This is in part due to its availability, cost effectiveness and overall “smaller size,” creating less fabrication work involved. Dan knew this going in, but he wanted to keep it all Ford.

“I knew it would be a lot more work, but I wanted to put a Ford powerplant in my Ford truck,” Dan says.

The build was now in Sherman’s hands, with the idea of a show-quality build with the daily-driven reliability and performance. The first step was ordering the new chassis and components from Art Morrison and ordering the engine and transmission setup from Kolby Enger at Turnkey Engine supply in Oceanside, California. Once the chassis and engine assembly arrived, the fabrication to fit the wide Ford Coyote began.

Modifications had to be made the front crossmember for placement, thus the crossmember had to be notched and a new Canton oil pan was installed for proper fit.

“This was a lengthy process that required exact measurements and had many tight tolerances,” Sherman says.

As the body and chassis modifications were taking place, Marc Danjou began work on prepping the frame and body for paint. Dan wanted his truck to scream “America,” thus decided to give it some heritage-style racing stripes. The end result was a very patriotic theme. The frame was painted lighting blue while the body was sprayed Race Red with Oxford white stripes (in true red, white and blue fashion).

The majority of the build was complete, and it was now time for Dan to bring the reborn F-100 back to southern California for its final build stages. The first stop was getting the powertrain dialed in for max power and reliability. This responsibility was put in the hands of Greg Monroe, owner of Racer’s Edge Tuning in Downey, California.

Along with the interior, an American flag was painted on the underside of the electronic-powered tonneau cover, making this American truck about as American as they come!

The last piece of the puzzle was the interior, where the patriotic theme continued. The truck was taken to Ricardo Lopez of Customs by Lopez in Compton, California. Ricardo and his staff needed just two weeks to completely makeover Dan’s interior. The truck received new carpet, door panels, headliner, stereo installation and a custom bench seat made with Porsche leather. Along with the interior, an American flag was painted on the underside of the electronic-powered tonneau cover, making this American truck about as American as they come!

At last, the truck was complete and ready to be shown off. Blake mentioned he is most excited to attend car shows with his father and the “Ramblin Relics” club throughout Southwestern Colorado and a few in Southern California.

The Byers family hopes to keep passing this truck down for generations to come.

In all, the build was just over two years to complete and our words do this F-100 little justice. Thousands of hours in fabrication and customization went into making this build exactly how Dan and Blake wanted it. Knowing this truck was to eventually be his son’s, he spared no expense on safety or reliability. The Byers family hopes to keep passing this truck down for generations to come. For now, Dan tells us he’s in the process of building a SEMA quality 1973 International 4×4, and we definitely look forward to seeing what’s next from this all-American family.

[divider]TECH SPECS[/divider]

Dan and Blake Byers
1954 Ford F-100
Newport Beach, CA

Engine/Drivetrain

• 2016 Ford Coyote Gen. 2
• Ford 4R70W automatic transmission with Hurst shifter
• Compushift Controller
• Ford 9-inch rear end with Strange 31 spline axles
• Inland Empire aluminum driveshaft
• Dual Flowmaster Delta 50 series mufflers with H-pipe and 1968 Mustang “twin oval” exhaust tips by Performance muffler in Montrose, Colorado
• Ricks Tanks stainless steel fuel tank

Wheels/Tires

• 20-inch Riddler 695 series wheels
• Front-245/45R20, Rear 305/35/R20 Goodyear Eagle F1s
• Wilwood six-piston 14-inch rotors, Wilwood master cylinder, Lokar parking brake handle

Chassis/Suspension

• Art Morrison Chassis (lengthened 2 inches, 112-inch WB)
• Full custom boxed chassis 2×6-inch with triangulated four-link and rear sway bar
• JRI coilover shocks
• Mustang II independent front suspension
• Chassis and frame modifications fabricated and assembled by Sherman Taylor of Montrose, Colorado

Body/Paint:

• 4-inch inner tubes over rear wheels, bed widened three inches, frenched front fenders and gravel pan, frenched rear taillights
• Hickory bed wood from Bruce Horkey’s of Windom, Minnesota
• Custom aluminum tonneau cover fabricated by San Juan Fabrication of Montrose, Colorado
• 65 Mustang GT honeycomb grille
• 1968 Corvette rear bumper used up front
• Painted Ford Race Red, Oxford White, Lightning Blue (Chassis) by Sherman Taylor
• American Flag painted on underside of tonneau cover

Interior/Stereo:

• Smooth and painted dash
• Wise Guys red and white custom bench seat made from Porsche leather from Customs by Lopez of Compton, California
• Vintage Air
• Power windows, six-way power driver seat with lumbar support
• Custom “V-8” logo on Classic Instruments gauges
• Billet Specialties “profile” steering wheel
• Alpine stereo system Apple Car Play and backup camera