We Modernised A 1950s Ford F100 | Ridiculous Rides
BROTHERS Mike and Jim Ring from Spring Green, Wisconsin, are two custom car building legends known as 'The Ringbrothers'. One of their finest builds is a 1956 Ford F100 truck which took an impressive 3,000 hours to build spread over seven months, costing $85,000 in parts alone. Powering the truck is a 415-horsepower 5.0-liter Ford Coyote crate motor which is a really good fit for the 50s pickup. With a 1956 cab, but a 1954 grill, the truck is actually a mixture of the two, however the brothers explain: “Most people will recognize it as a ‘56 just because of the cab.” Whilst this vehicle has the looks of a 50s masterpiece, The Ringbrothers are known for blending old-school looks with modern technology. The 1956 Ford F100 is not short of up to date tech either - it has power brakes, electronic transmission, fuel injection, air conditioning and even a bluetooth stereo system. “There’s a lot of modern amenities that you would probably never pick up on by just walking by it,” Jim adds. The car’s interior also sports a classic 50s look, not giving away any of the modern conveniences the brothers have added. Mike says: "It’s the little things in the interior, like for instance, the headliner looks like an old zoot suit material.” The multi-award-winning car customizers state that the pickup truck is the most American vehicle around, and say they are excited to see what people are doing with these trucks.
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 God, I think trucks are hot.
00:05 It's modern, but it just still looks retro.
00:10 The pickup truck is the most American vehicle around you.
00:13 Fast,
00:19 low,
00:22 sleek,
00:25 cool,
00:25 and kind of sinister.
00:28 (truck engine roaring)
00:32 (upbeat music)
00:33 Spring Green, Wisconsin.
00:36 Home to custom car building legends,
00:40 the Ring Brothers.
00:41 And one of their finest builds
00:44 is a Ford F100 like no other.
00:48 God, I think trucks are hot.
00:51 I don't know, I don't think everybody likes
00:53 the early Ford F100s.
00:56 It's somewhere between a 54 and a 56.
00:59 It's actually a 56 cab on it,
01:01 but we used the 54 grill
01:03 and pretty much built everything else.
01:05 Most people will recognize it as a 56
01:08 just because of the cab.
01:09 This first class resto mod pickup
01:12 was a 3000 man hour build,
01:15 costing $85,000 in parts alone.
01:18 Honestly, this truck did not take very long
01:21 from start to finish.
01:22 We ended up doing this truck in about seven months.
01:26 This entire truck was hand built,
01:28 including the entire box, the tailgate.
01:30 The tailgate's kind of cool the way it opens.
01:32 You just basically pull down on it
01:35 and it stays open
01:36 and then it just shuts automatically.
01:38 Obviously the cab is original,
01:40 the fenders,
01:41 so the rear fenders are actually widened
01:44 quite a bit to get that big tire underneath them.
01:46 But also this area was shortened up
01:50 to give it just a little tighter look.
01:52 Typically on the 56 Ford F100,
01:55 the front wheels look like they're pretty far back
01:57 on them trucks.
01:58 These, we actually moved forward
02:00 to get rid of that,
02:01 what we call an overbite.
02:03 Personally, I just think it helps
02:04 the appearance of these trucks.
02:06 I think the only thing left of original sheet metal,
02:10 and it's been touched,
02:11 but is just basically the cab and the hood.
02:15 We liked the 56 grill,
02:19 but we liked the 54 grill better.
02:22 So we ended up basically putting the 54
02:24 front end on this 56 pickup.
02:27 Little more chrome.
02:28 Personally, we like it better.
02:30 I guess it's everybody's opinion with that.
02:32 Sometimes things are just best left alone
02:35 and we felt like the hood,
02:36 the bubble in it,
02:37 really worked well with the truck.
02:39 While this vehicle has the looks
02:41 of a 50s masterpiece,
02:43 it's not short of up-to-date tech.
02:45 Some of the modern conveniences on this truck
02:49 is the braking system in it.
02:51 Obviously all power brakes.
02:52 It's got an electronic transmission in it.
02:55 It's all fuel injected.
02:56 It's got air conditioning,
02:59 a Bluetooth stereo system in it.
03:01 There's a lot of modern amenities in this truck
03:03 that you'd probably never pick up
03:05 by just walking by it.
03:07 And the faultless nostalgic beauty
03:09 isn't just reserved for the body work.
03:11 Inside, obviously we wanted it to be
03:19 a little more old school with all the amenities.
03:22 It's modern, but it just still looks retro.
03:25 We actually used the same seat
03:27 and left the bench seat in it.
03:29 These we actually color coded
03:30 to kind of tie in with the interior,
03:32 but there's a lot of parts like this
03:34 that we actually build for these vehicles.
03:37 You can see that the door hinges
03:38 are all machine billet.
03:40 We actually build all this stuff in house
03:41 for these trucks.
03:42 It's the little things in the interior,
03:44 like the headliner looks like
03:46 an old zoot suit material.
03:51 The powertrain in this truck
03:52 is a stock Crate Ford Coyote motor.
03:56 Ford sells it as a Crate motor package,
03:59 their own computer.
04:01 It's pretty much plug and play.
04:03 It's really a nice fit.
04:04 Kind of looks like it's meant to be in this truck.
04:07 I think it makes about 400, 415 horse.
04:10 It's all this truck needs.
04:13 Pickup truck is the most American vehicle around.
04:16 It's pretty exciting to see
04:17 what people are doing with these trucks.
04:19 A 1950s American classic
04:22 and some Ring Brothers magic.
04:24 What's not to like?
04:26 ♪♪