Restoring Heritage: A Classic Ford F-250 Crew Cab Transformation

An Old-School Ford with the Heart of a New Truck

What is, hands down, your ultimate dream truck? A new Ford Raptor or Bronco? An all-original Ford Highboy? Or maybe even a souped-up late ’80s or early ’90s mini-truck?  

We’ve seen a lot of cool trucks in our days, and in impressive forms at that. But when it comes to some of the most-notable and memorable in our minds, it’s the trucks you don’t see many of on the road that stand out, especially when taken to levels that some may scratch their heads at.

One such truck is this beauty—a 1966 Ford F-250 crew cab named “Blue” by builder and owner Kyle Delfel. A fabricator by trade, Kyle certainly knew how to take this truck from stock to stunning, giving it a new life as a one-of-a-kind performance machine while allowing the truck’s old-school charm to continue to shine through!

Owner of DelFAB in Snohomish, Washington, Kyle has built some incredibly impressive trucks in his career—just check out the cover feature from the Summer 2024 issue of F-Series Builder’s Guide. Kyle’s retro-inspired 2023 F-350 single cab conversion speaks for itself when it comes to showcasing Kyle’s talents. But if you’re more of an all-around old-school Ford fan, which Kyle clearly is, this ’66 is truly one for the books.

“That beautiful beast you see under the hood is a 2022 Ford Performance 7.3L Godzilla V-8—one of the baddest naturally aspirated performance engines Ford has come out with to date.”

When we asked Kyle why he wanted to build this particular truck, we got a pretty standard answer— “Because it’s my dream truck.” But it was what he continued on with that really drove it home: “This truck has been in my family for five years and my kids and I have made some great memories in it.”

Started in 2021, the truck’s build was set to be a challenge from the start. While the crew cab had the look Kyle was after, it didn’t exactly have everything his dream truck should feature. So he did what he knows best—to fabricate, retro-fit, and outright transform the four-door into the epitome of a classic Ford enthusiast’s ultimate old-school-meets-new-school truck package!

That Old-School Feel

One of the most appealing parts of this build for Kyle was the truck’s original four-door crew cab body. Painted Arcadia Blue from the factory and never touched since, even with touch-up paint, the condition of this F-250’s metal skin is incredible, and it was of the utmost importance to maintain throughout the build process. After all, it was the love of classic Ford trucks that inspired this build in the first place.

Not wanting to add anything crazy or take away anything from that old-school charm, Kyle opted to add just a couple things to make his truck stand out. One of those is a fully custom, serial-numbered canopy and TrailCap topper Kyle had specifically made for the truck. The only other body modifications are the added KC HiLiTES 7-inch Gravity LED headlights, a Pro6 light bar mounted with custom billet mounts atop the front bumper, and two Flex ERA 4 lights out back.

Inside, the truck’s interior is likewise very classic feeling, from the factory seats reupholstered to their current blue by the original owner three months after truck was bought new, to the stock gauges in the dash, albeit modified for the modern powerhouse lurking under the hood. The interior also features drive-by-wire throttle and reverse controls for a more modernized driving experience, mounted under the dash and controlled by the truck’s original gas pedal, as well as a gun rack mounted over the rear window.

Everything looks and feels (and even smells) like a vintage Ford. But like we said before, there’s something not so vintage lurking under the F-250’s factory skins.

Enter Godzilla

Now, you didn’t think we’d be featuring a virtually stock 1966 Ford F-250, did you? While cool in their own right, we strive to take things a level or two beyond factory F-Series trucks around here. And what Kyle stuffed under this classic Ford’s hood certainly took it up a notch.

That beautiful beast you see under the hood is a 2022 Ford Performance 7.3L Godzilla V-8—one of the baddest naturally aspirated performance engines Ford has come out with to date. This bad boy bone stock is good for over 430 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque. That’s over double what any factory engine configuration the 1966 Ford F-250 could have come with would have produced.

To that, Kyle added Fat Fender Garage headers, as well as a fully custom 4-inch exhaust that he fabricated using a Super Duty muffler and resonator. The engine is expertly wired with a Ford Control Pack, and is fed by a stock fuel tank, modified to allow for an Aeromotive Stealth intake pump, plumbed with DelFAB custom stainless fuel lines.

Backing the Godzilla is a 2022 Ford 10R140 10-speed automatic transmission with gears selected via a factory ’66 Ford automatic shifter inside the cab, which was modified specifically for the upgraded setup. Behind the 10-speed sits a divorced 205 transfer case from a 1975 Ford F-250 4×4 featuring a 1.96:1 low-range ratio, tied to the transmission by a custom intermediate driveline from Drivelines NW. Up front, the truck features a rebuilt Snow Fighter high-pinion Dana 60 front axle out of a 1979 F-350, while out back is a rebuilt Dana 60 rear axle out of a 1975 F-250. Both are spun by custom drivelines from Drivelines NW.

Up front, the Dana 60 is fitted with 4.11 gears, while out back, 4.10 gears help the truck with even quicker acceleration. The rearend also features a limited-slip differential. All drivetrain assemblies on the truck were fully rebuilt, powdercoated, and outfitted with all-new hardware.

Planting the truck to the ground are 16mm-backspaced SuperLug tires with 9.00/16-inch sidewalls, wrapped around 16-inch non-split 1966 F-250 factory wheels. Brakes on the truck are stock to the axles, but are tied into the build with a 1979 Ford F-350 master cylinder and DelFAB custom stainless steel brake lines.

A Healthy Foundation

You’ve got to have a hearty foundation when you’re building a classic truck with a Godzilla powerplant, so Kyle retrofitted the truck’s frame with 1975 Ford F-250 Highboy 4×4 components, as well as outfitted the Ford with Deaver front and rear leaf springs, Fox 2.0 remote reservoir shocks both front and rear, and a Fox 2.0 stabilizer.

Kyle also borrowed the Highboy’s steering box for the project and had it rebuilt by Red-Head Steering Gears. The truck also makes use of a Stearman Cycle electronic power steering system, which was modified to clear the engine.

The truck’s suspension is topped off with a custom DelFAB 6-inch lift.

Just like with the driveline assemblies, all of the chassis and suspension components were powdercoated—“and every leaf spring, every bracket, every bolt replaced,” Kyle adds.

Kyle’s vintage crew cab is one gorgeous build that perfectly meshes old-school cool with modern performance. While Kyle told us if he had to do it over again he would keep the Coyote V-8 he originally had under the hood instead of Godzilla-swapping it, we wouldn’t change a thing about this build. Not that Kyle seems to want to trade it in any time soon, specifically telling us this truck is not for sale—ever!

TRUCK SPECS

• Kyle Delfel
• Snohomish, WA
• 1966 Ford F-250
• Crew Cab “Blue”

Suspension & Chassis

• 1966 Ford F-250 Crew Cab frame retrofitted with 1975 Ford F250 Highboy 4×4 components by DelFAB
• Fully powdercoated frame and suspension system
• DelFAB custom 6-inch suspension lift
• Deaver front and rear leaf springs
• Fox 2.0 remote reservoir shocks front and rear
• Fox 2.0 stabilizer
• 1975 Ford Highboy steering box rebuilt by Red-Head Steering Gears
• Stearman Cycle electronic power steering system modified to clear the engine

Wheels & Tires

• 16-inch 1966 Ford F-250 non-split wheels
• SuperLug tires with 9.00/16-inch sidewalls and 16mm backspacing both front and rear

Engine & Drivetrain

• 2022 Ford Performance 7.3L Godzilla V-8
• Ford control pack
• Fat Fender Garage headers
• Custom 4-inch exhaust, made with a Super Duty muffler and resonator
• DelFAB motor mounts
• Modified stock fuel tank to allow for added Aeromotive Stealth intake pump
• DelFAB custom stainless fuel lines
• 2022 Ford 10R140 10-speed automatic transmission
• Modified 1966 Ford automatic steering column to allow for cable-shifting
• DelFAB transmission crossmember
• Custom 1350/1410 intermediate and traditional drivelines built by Drivelines NW
• Divorced 205 transfer case from a 1975 Ford F-250 4×4 with a 1.96:1 low-range ratio
• Rebuilt and powdercoated 1979 Ford F-350 Snow Fighter high-pinion Dana 60 front axle
• Rebuilt and powdercoated 1975 Ford F-250 Dana 60 rear axle
• 4.11 front gears, and 4.10 rear gears
• Limited-slip rear differential
• All new hardware
• 1979 Ford F-350 master cylinder
• DelFAB custom stainless steel brake lines

Body & Paint

• KC HiLiTES 7-inch Gravity LED headlights
• KC HiLiTES Pro6 front light bar, mounted with custom billet mounts using the original factory bumper upper bolt holes
• Two KC HiLiTES Flex ERA 4 lights on the rear bumper
• All-original Arcadia Blue paint
• Custom canopy and TrailCap topper built specifically for the truck with #002 serial number

Interior & Stereo

• Factory seats reupholstered by the original owner three months after truck was bought new
• Stock gauges adapted to work with the 7.3L Godzilla engine
• Drive-by-wire throttle and reverse mounted under the dash—controlled by factory gas pedal
• Gun rack

Photo Credit: Solomon Lunger