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itsworn · 6 years ago

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Adam Towne’s 1956 Ford F-100 Roush 588R

One day while sitting at his excavation business in New Hampshire, Adam Towne had a customer enter interested over a forklift that was for sale and offered a partial trade. A few handshakes later and Adam not only had a very old truck on the lot amongst the sea of work trucks but now owned his first soon-to-be hot rod, a 1956 Ford F-100! Adam decided to do the trade because the truck already looked pretty good and having never seen one up close was excited over the big fenders and back window for an added appeal to the existing body lines that housed a Chevy 350 transplanted underhood.

It wasn’t long before Adam realized that the Dodge front suspension put the motor at an angle with the steering box. So the truck was put in the garage for disassembly to allow a Mustang II front clip to be installed and at this point it was decided to put a Ford Motor back in. This required the firewall to be modified, to which they discovered the cab was in pretty rough shape, as he and his helping hand discovered a lot of pre-existing patches. So one thing led to another on the build as they dove in …

Adam Towne and his wife enjoy driving the F-100 now that the suspension is dialed in, increasing the fun time with the reliability of this new daily driven truck.

Adam decided to find another cab; using the Internet was the best way to get started versus repairing the old one. Eventually he found one in Kansas, which ended up being an entire titled truck, making it the perfect donor for the project. Adam set up to retrieve the parts truck and started taking it apart as soon as it was unloaded. Next was meeting with a seller from Arizona at the F-100 Nationals held in Knoxville, Tennessee, to pick up a good set of doors. While walking around the event Adam located and brought back a new complete bed. The parts continued to trickle in as the F-100 became a 12-year “project to completion,” with the build being off and on for periods of time. Seeing an ad in Hot Rod magazine four years later for a new F-100 TCI Engineering chassis with all the steering and suspension, including a Currie 9-inch rearend, had him set on starting over with a new foundation. Adam was able to use a stock 460 for mockup, especially since he planned to go the big-block route, so the new chassis was the perfect choice to move forward.

Once the truck was ready a complete turnkey Roush 588R with Cobra Jet heads was ordered. The Roush had an Edelbrock intake and Holly carb setup that went through a dyno before shipping out to Adam. One of biggest challenges would be getting the steering to work as needed, as they tried to find headers to fit with the TCI Engineering steering shaft. But with trial and error custom-built headers by Sanderson met the requirements. Then getting a radiator to fit was next on the agenda, to which was custom built by Be Cool.

Lowrey’s Auto Restoration took Adam’s roller and proceeded to shave the side louvers and moved the front fenders forward 2 inches to center the wheel, keeping the changes subtle.

With the motor mocked up it was time to prep the rest of the truck by finishing off the firewall and floor while also shaving the cowl vents for a smoother look. Having it so close to being completed Adam’s wife pushed him to find someone to finish the project so they could enjoy it. This brought Adam to Lowrey’s Auto Restoration’s doorstep, being somewhat nearby so he could stop in on the build periodically. So six years after receiving the chassis the entire mocked-up roller was moved to its new home. Lowrey began to finish up the last little bit of fabrication plus shaving the side louvers and moving the front fenders forward 2 inches to center the wheel. Lowery also made the rear bumper forks to match the ones seen and inspired from a Chip Foose build. They also clipped the front framehorns to pull the front bumper in and modified the sides so it looked like it wrapped around the truck. The F-100 was then taken apart once again for paint and then prepared for reassembly.

Lowrey installed many of the parts Adam had already acquired, such as the Billet Specialties steering wheel, Vintage Air system, power windows, ididit steering column with shifter, Dakota Digital gauges, and so on, while having the upholstery done through the shop. The Ford had some custom American Racing knock-off wheels installed to complete the build. It was great to see his vision of having a hot rod come together but still keeping some attributes traditional accented with a few exterior body changes to make people look twice to see what’s different.

A Roush 588R with cobra jets was installed using an Edelbrock intake as the heart of the project. This was a must-have under the hood for Adam!

The primary goal was not to have a show truck but a reliable daily driver that would be fun on the backroads of New Hampshire. This meant during the typical shakedown things needed to be further dialed in per any serious build. During this time Adam met Eli of Traditional Speed and Custom who resided just down the street and lent his expertise in adjusting the ride height, change of bushings, and spring rate requirements to help the F-100 ride and handle better. While there Eli also addressed some electrical changes in the interior, tuned the motor, fixed a broken rocker arm stud, and even buffed the paint, taking the whole truck to another level in appearance.

Now that the kinks are worked out Adam and his wife enjoyed the truck for well over a year as it handled and braked like a Corvette with some nice get up and go power. It didn’t last long however before Adam started thinking about a John Kaase box 429 engine build using an eight-stack EFI system to get more power underhood!

The interior was kept simple yet elegant in black and chrome with many of the modern conveniences to make the F-100 a comfortable driver yet with a traditional touch.

Facts & Figures

CHASSIS Frame: TCI Engineering Rearend / Ratio: TCI Engineering Currie 9-inch Posi / 3.23 Rear Suspension: Four-link Rear Brakes: Wilwood Front Suspension: TCI coilover Front Brakes: Wilwood Steering Box: TCI rack-and-Pinion Front Wheels: American Racing Shelby 18×8 knockoffs Rear Wheels: American Racing Shelby 18×10 knockoffs Front Tires: Nitto 245/45-18 Rear Tires: Nitto 295/45-18 Gas Tank: Aluminum fuel tank

DRIVETRAIN Engine: Blueprinted Roush 588R that is stroked Heads: Ford Cobra Jet Valve Covers: Roush Manifold / Induction: Edelbrock / Holley 850 Ignition: MSD Headers: Sanderson Exhaust / Mufflers: Flowmaster Transmission: TCI C6 Shifter: ididit Inc.

BODY Style: Truck Modifications: Shaved cowl vents and side louvers. Moved front fenders forward 2 inches to center on wheels. Hood: Original Grille: Original Bodywork and Paint by: Lowrey Auto Restorations Paint Type / Color: Axalta/Black Headlights / Taillights: Stock / 1940 Ford reproduction Outside Mirrors: Billet Specialties Bumpers: Custom-built by Lowrey Auto Restorations, taillights in rear bumper and front into fenders

INTERIOR Dashboard: Stock dash filled in Gauges : Dakota Digital Air Conditioning: Vintage Air Stereo: None Steering Wheel: Billet Specialties Steering Column: ididit I. Seats: Glide Upholstery by: Lowrey Auto Restorations Material / Color: Leather / Black

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