We Modernised A 1950s Ford F100
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 over $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.
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MotorTranscript
00:00God, I think trucks are hot.
00:07It's modern, but it just still looks retro.
00:10The pickup truck is the most American vehicle around you.
00:17Fast.
00:20Low.
00:23Sleek.
00:25Cool.
00:27Kind of sinister.
00:34Spring Green, Wisconsin.
00:37Home to custom car building legends, the Ring Brothers.
00:43And one of their finest builds is a Ford F-100 like no other.
00:49God, I think trucks are hot.
00:51I don't know, I don't think everybody likes the early Ford F-100s.
00:56It's somewhere between a 54 and a 56.
00:59It's actually a 56 cab on it, but we used the 54 grill and pretty much built everything
01:05else.
01:06Most people will recognize it as a 56 just because of the cab.
01:10This first class resto mod pickup was a 3,000 man hour build, costing $85,000 in parts alone.
01:18Honestly, this truck did not take very long from start to finish.
01:22We ended up doing this truck in about seven months.
01:26This entire truck was hand built, including the entire box, the tailgate.
01:31The tailgate's kind of cool the way it opens.
01:32You just basically pull down on it and it stays open, and then it just shuts automatically.
01:38Obviously, the cab is original, the fenders, so the rear fenders were actually widened
01:44quite a bit to get that big tire underneath them.
01:47But also, this area was shortened up to give it just a little tighter look.
01:53Typically on the 56 Ford F-100, the front wheels look like they're pretty far back on
01:58them trucks.
01:59These, we actually moved forward to get rid of that, what we call an overbite.
02:03Personally, I just think it helps the appearance of these trucks.
02:07I think the only thing left of original sheet metal, and it's been touched, but is just
02:13basically the cab and the hood.
02:16We like the 56 grille, but we like the 54 grille better, so we ended up basically putting
02:24the 54 front end on this 56 pickup.
02:27Little more chrome.
02:28Personally, we like it better.
02:30I guess it's everybody's opinion with that.
02:33Sometimes things are just best left alone, and we felt like the hood, the bubble in it,
02:37really worked well with the truck.
02:40While this vehicle has the looks of a 50s masterpiece, it's not short of up-to-date
02:45tech.
02:46Some of the modern conveniences on this truck is the braking system in it, obviously all
02:52power brakes.
02:53It's got an electronic transmission in it.
02:55It's all fuel injected.
02:58It's got air conditioning, a Bluetooth stereo system in it.
03:02There's a lot of modern amenities in this truck that you'd probably never pick up by
03:05just walking by it.
03:07And the faultless nostalgic beauty isn't just reserved for the body work.
03:16Inside, obviously, we wanted it to be a little more old school with all the amenities.
03:23It's modern, but it just still looks retro.
03:26We actually used the same seat and left the bench seat in it.
03:29These we actually color coded to kind of tie in with the interior, but there's a lot of
03:33parts like this that we actually build for these vehicles.
03:37You can see that the door hinges are all machine billet.
03:39We actually build all this stuff in-house for these trucks.
03:43Just the little things in the interior, like the headliner looks like an old zoot suit
03:47material.
03:51The powertrain in this truck is a stack crate Ford Coyote motor.
03:57Ford sells it as a crate motor package, their own computer.
04:01It's pretty much plug and play.
04:03It's really a nice fit.
04:04It kind of looks like it's meant to be in this truck.
04:07I think it makes about 400, 415 horse.
04:11That's all this truck needs.
04:13Pickup truck is the most American vehicle around.
04:16It's pretty exciting to see what people are doing with these trucks.
04:19A 1950s American classic and some Ring Brothers magic.
04:25What's not to like?