The guys at Hot Rod Garage have been busy lately: between a budget turbo LS rubber-nose Camaro that looks like it was dragged from the scrapyard but runs like a scalded cat, to a big-block Plymouth wagon that would turn on a dime every time you blinked at the throttle, to a drift Plymouth ‘Cuda build that honestly is really badass, 2016 proved to be quite a full schedule. But it’s 2017, and there is something missing in the shop: a truck. Ever since Tony Angelo sold the “Project Rollsmokey” 1974 Cummins-swapped Dodge to make room for the ‘Cuda, there has been a lack of useable pickup in the Hot Rod shop. And when they mention a loaner Toyota from Motor Trend that “exploded”, it might be time to bite the bullet and build a straight-up shop truck.

Classic looks are a must, but late-model amenities and power are nice to have, and any suspension is better than what their 1966 Ford F-100 came with originally. The truck body is sweet, but the underpinnings are solid 1960s…while some will cry foul, Tony and Lucky have something else in mind – a full-on body swap using a 2007 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. It’s got everything they could want in one source, and the only thing standing in their way of a hot-rodded shop truck is a Panther body. Time to break out the tools!