Upgrading our Sahara Tan, Coyote Swapped 1968 F-100 with a Tremec six-speed on QA1 suspension

A Fancy Diamond in the Rough

The 1967-’72 F-Series Bumpside trucks are one of the most popular trucks to build. We wanted to join in on the action and bring you guys something different and fresh. So, we picked up a half-finished 1968 F-100 single cab shortbed with its original Sahara Tan paint. It already had some of the main work done—a Gen 2 Crate Coyote swap, a Tremec six-speed—and it was sit-ting on QA1 front and rear suspension.

It was safe to say this truck was a diamond in the rough, but it wasn’t so rough when we began. We wanted to have a yin-yang build-off with our other 1968 F-100; this was going to be the fancier of the two.

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We started with what most people value most on an original-paint truck, and that is a very nice, bespoke interior. We reached out to Jason over at Fat Fender Garage and came up with an elegant leather interior that really took this to a new level. We used Moore and Giles leather on the original bench seat after the FFG team re-foamed and reshaped it. We then got a TMI Products dashpad and rewrapped that. A custom German square-weave carpet was made, and the headliner was redone in leather as well. Lastly, FFG created a set of custom door panels that tied it all together.

We did not stop on the interior, though. We added Vintage Air’s SureFit kit, which even has original-looking controls so we could stay nice and cool, and we swapped in a set of Dakota Digital RTX gauges to give it the classic look with the modern amenities.

Moving to the exterior, when you are working with the original paint on a 55-year-old truck, sometimes you have accidents, rust, and in our case, widened wheel tubs, too. They needed to be repaired so that the paint matches throughout the entire truck. We reached out to Boris at Street Machinery in Euclid, Ohio, and had the crew do some show-quality patina work to her. They repaired the rust on the driver-side fender and repaired the driver-side door damage.

Vintage Air even made direct replacement controls for our F-100.

We shaved the original gas fill hole (since we added a Boyd tank to the rear) and blended the paint on the 3-inch-widened tubs. It is truly remarkable how good Jerome Borris is at blending the paint on these OG paint trucks. Once the trucks paint was 100% it was time to add some jewelry to the build. We added a set of Fat Fender Garage door handles, bed floor gas door, a set of All American Billet hood hinges, taillight bezels, tailgate handle, and some more odds and ends.

The truck turned out so well and we are excited to show it to you all. It was built to be a good time and to show how with time, effort, and vision, you can turn a nice, original truck into the perfect cruiser.

Installing the Fat Fender Garage bed floor door.

Replacing the old broken dome light with the new LED one from Fat Fender Garage.

The 3-inch widened original wheel tub body worked and painted to match.

We decided to relocate the ECU using Fat Fender Garage’s bracket. We mounted it on the inner fender.

Street Machinery did a killer job repairing the damaged door and blending the paint as well as filling the gas fill hole.

Repairing and patching the rust in the lower fender.

This is how the truck’s interior was when we got her.

Before and after adding the All American Billet knob to the ashtray.

Tech Specs

1968 Ford F-100

Original Sahara Tan paint
5.0 Gen 2 Coyote crate motor from Ford Performance
Tremec Magnum six-speed from American Powertrain
QA1 front and rear suspension
Wilwood disc brakes
American Racing forged Shelby wheels 18×9 and 18×11
Custom leather interior by Fat Fender Garage using Moore and Giles leather
Fat Fender Garage door panels
TMI Products dashpad
Vintage Air HVAC
Dakota Digital RTX gauges
Fat Fender Garage door handles, dome light, and ECU mount
All American Billet hood hinges, tailgate handle, taillight bezel, and ashtray knob