(Photos by Keith Lopez) – Without people who can’t leave well enough alone, Bangshift would not exist. See, guys like Drag Week veteran Keith Lopez get something and they just have to mess with it. In the case of this worn out looking Ford truck, Lopez saw the perfect combo of a shabby exterior and a old man maintained inline six and decided to make it better. How did the dedicated Ford guy do that? He added boost of course! Not a ton of boost but enough to wake up the old inliner and give it enough snot to do the work of a modern truck with all the conveniences of something from 30 years ago. BangShifty perfection, right?
Here’s what Keith told us when we asked him about the truck:
“I bought the truck from a farmer and he told me he parked the truck under an Elm tree for years, hence the exterior appearance. I have only made about 3 to 4 lbs and it pulls really good till I hit 3rd gear. From there it is blowing through the clutch so I am planning on swapping a new one in this weekend. I am going to try to keep max boost around 6lbs to keep it reliable and not tear the motor up. I’m hoping to get in the neighborhood of 300hp as a target. We will see what it makes for power in a few weeks when I hit the dyno.”
The truck has the factory 300ci inline six engine, a blow through carb from C&S Specialties, an Offy intake manifold, and a 62mm turbo. The transmission is a four speed stick. His plans? Cruise the hell out of it, take the kids camping in it, hit the dirt roads, back roads, highways and byways, and generally enjoy the old truck with its warmed over heart. He’s taking it off into the hinterlands soon with his kids to visit haunted sites and camp, so that’s a heck of a start! Oh, this thing will also serve as a tow rig for his sweet Fairmont Drag Week wagon when he comes out to compete next year and it’ll also drag the Bonneville car he is working on building as well. This guy is our hero.
The best part of the whole thing is that the truck is just enough. Just enough patina to be perfect and not over the top. Just enough power to handle any reasonable job that needs to be done. Just enough fab work and packaging to stop people in their tracks when they look under the hood, and just enough power to freak lots of stuff out coming off of a red light.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS AND GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AWESOME OLD FARMER’S TRUCK THAT PACKS MORE OF A PUNCH THAN ANYONE COULD POSSIBLY EXPECT!
What’s more grandfatherly than this thing?! Bed cap in place, poverty caps in place, junk 1980s paint long gone and hard to find. Looks like a truck a guy in his 70s has driven and maintained for 30 years.
There you go. Not over the top. Not finished too much. Not making crazy horsepower but completely oozing awesome. Lopez is hoping it makes 300hp at the tire, which means about 370hp at the crank. That’s basically what V8 trucks are making these days.
Offy intake, C&S blow through prepped Holley, some nice looking plumbing, and a 62mm turbo took this truck from a sled to the happy performer that it is today.
Ever old truck needs an old couch in the bed. This was pretty much required cargo during college. With the cap on, this is an appropriate living space.
Latvian prisons are more luxurious but this is more functional. That vinyl seat will be in the same condition in 90 years, the three foot shifter handle coming through the floor rules, and the cracked dash is period perfect.
Did the carb cost more than the truck? Outta make some great torque!
My dad had a 83′ F-150 Explorer when i was a kid, and this truck totally brought back memories. If i even have the spare cash and time im going to rebuilt one and give it to my old man.
Awesome job.Like most he cant leave stuff alone.Looks like something one of his uncles would build.I can remember his Uncle racing the local dirt tracks back in the late 60s and 70s.He showed a lot of people the back bumper.
I love everything about this truck, the patina, the whackjob turbo setup, manual transmission, the hard top and best of all, the glorious torque-monster 300 I6. My favorite offroad motor. With that turbo dialed in, the truck will cruise great on the street, and with a wastegate and big thick flywheel it could really let loose some low-end grunt!
All sorts of awesome. The couch in the rear is the icing on the cake.
Sweet feature of a cool truck. Great to see the “Big Six” get some love, as it’s a kick ass motor. Reminds me of the ’85 F-150 I owned for a short time; these trucks were really well built.
You guys do realize this is like the 80th story you’ve done on some old sleeper with an uncommon engine and a turbo strapped on.. Interest is fleeting.
It appears you are unfamiliar with how the people who read regularly think or what they like….3 to 4 guys do all the work for the forum…you got something better submit it as content….I do, regularly, some gets printed…some not…
That being said…I do love me some beaters and random engine combos…keep em’ coming guys….
I’m in agreement with Angry Joe . Blather on till the cows come home about this that or the other thing . What it all comes down to is … its still just a rusted out bodge job poorly hacked together with minimal care and skill in order to accomplish god knows what and for what reason who really gives a rats ___
Now if it’d of been a patina ‘ sleeper ‘ with some serious iron under the hood capable of scaring the crap out of Hellcats and new Z/28s … well .. that’d be a horse of a different color .
But this ? This is a bad case of Hipster infusion along with a serious lack of effort personified
Apologies … its Nick Rice I’m in agreement with … not Angry Joe . Mea culpa !
Some people can’t be pleased. BS is my favorite site and I think the content mix is spot on, including this beast.
I’d agree with you if this truck was LS swapped or something but I think all of these things are unique in their own right. My favorite part of this truck is that Keith did not go overboard with it and essentially just wicked up the old stuff to work like new stuff.
I realize not everyone is into it and I am not trying to sell you on everything, but I love stuff like this.
Thank you Brian, my whole build was based on hardly any investment and I wanted to keep the whole build under a 1000.00 dollars total involved including truck. I accomplished that with money to spare, bye using left over parts and trading parts to get the job done. I’m not trying to impress anyone and don’t care the truck is just enough done for me cause I have other projects to apply my max efforts to.
Will another red Camaro article make you happy?
It never gets old for me (says the guy who’s trying to turbo the slant six in a four door Dart).
If you’re building a sleeper, you can either put some normal built engine in, or hop up what you’ve got. Bangshift’s shown both here (remember the big block Chevette?), done up on all sorts of different budgets (again, the big block Chevette comes to mind for the other extreme).
Keep the stories coming, always interesting and well written. I think the hubcaps are Chevy aren’t they?
Craig, those are stock Ford truck caps from that era.
Farmtrucks little brother?
Leased a new 95 F150 5 spd to tow my drag cars. Sluggish on the big hills but loved that truck and the price was right
I want to know what he used for an exhaust manifold. and where can I find one? Been wanting to do this for years to an old big six truck.
I took the stock manifold and cut it to accommodate a t-4 flange at the right angle then welded it all up. Clearance is a issue so some considerable mock up will be needed.
I want an update after the dyno session, more details on the turbo setup, and some unofficial 0-60 times!!
Love it!!
Those 4.9’s are so overbuilt that that engine should last about forever.
Just 2 questions.Has the couch been scotchguarded.Number 2: Have Sussino and Putnam used that couch?. LOL.Good job Keith.Screw the haters.
Lol I know for a fact the great Gary Putnam has been on it, he has spent plenty of time in my shop fabricating parts for the wagon, if the great Mark Sussino sits on the couch I’ll have to gold plate it and put it on display for everyone to see and awe over ,they are truly great people to admire.
Btw who is this?
LMAO.Just some red headed guy from Pratt that knew your uncle.Gary and Marks worst nightmare.And I own a few mopars.That help?
“LMAO.Just some red headed guy from Pratt that knew your uncle.Gary and Marks worst nightmare.And I own a few mopars.That help?”
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No, sorry I guess you are just not that well known.
Looks pretty good to me. I currently drive an 83 F 150 4×4 daily.
i love this kind of stuff. that truck is right up my alley. i like that SOME people just don’t get it and probably would never notice it if somebody that knows better didn’t point it out to them. the ones that notice are saying “F… yeah!”
i have an 83 K20 4×4 that looks just as bad on the outside. however, it has A/C, overdrive, an amplified sound system, and makes 315rwhp/835rwtq with a 5.9/5speed cummins. people ask why i didn’t just by a dodge. that clearly was not the point.
some people just don’t get it…. and thats ok. just put a bumper sticker on it that says “if you think this is a piece of shit, you should see my other car”. obviously the wagon makes up for anything anybody could say about that pickup. except it is a wagon…. 🙂