Many of us became enthusiasts at a young age thanks to parents who introduced us to the sport and fired our passions. Some however, started early for entirely different reasons. John Davis from Port Orange, Florida, was born and raised next door to a body shop where his father worked as a painter. John was only 15 when his father died but was already well versed in the basics. After getting working papers that allowed the underage teen to work, John became a painter like his dad and helped support his family. It was a career that would treat him well, lasting more than five decades. Although it had a sad beginning, one of the happier parts of the story is the number of cool vehicles that came from the connection. John created almost a dozen prize-winning cars and trucks over the years to make the sport come alive.
John and his wife, Dorothy, are currently enjoying one of the longest running rides in the collection, one that goes back to 1967, the date that John purchased a brand-new 289 V-8 crate motor and C6 transmission from the local Ford dealer. Elaborate plans take time and it wasn’t until 1970 when John located his 1956 F-100 on the Eastern shore of Maryland, inexplicably stored in a hundred-foot-long chicken coop! It was part of about 300 old stock cars and John’s question to the owner was “How are you going to get it out?” He said, “Friend if you go up the road and have your lunch, I’ll have it out before you get back.” John did just that and when he returned, the truck was out and the owner was reassembling the chicken coop that had been cut in half with a chainsaw! Except for the fact that the truck was home to a few snakes, it was in fairly good condition. Surprisingly during the disassembly, John found receipts and bank deposit slips under the seat that actually belonged to a friend of his who lived just down the road! John framed some of that nostalgia as part of the truck’s provenance.
The process of updating the horse and buggy era suspension on the truck began with trailoring the Ford to the 1972 Autofair in Charlotte. Starting fresh, John sold the tires, wheels, chassis, and bed, returning home with just the cab and a pocket full of seed money. Since it takes time to create great art and other projects intervened, the next phase of the F-100 didn’t begin until 1984 when John was visiting a car show in California and came across the display at No Limit Engineering. After a brief chat, he was confident he had found the team to create the chassis for his favorite Ford. John wanted some special touches that began with ensuring that the front wheels were centered in the wheelwells rather than the 2.5-inch set back of the original. He specified a Heidts Super Ride II independent front suspension and a 9-inch Ford rear with 3.73 gears, held in place with parallel leaf springs and Carrera coilovers. No Limit shipped the new 2×4 tube chassis and John, thrilled with the precise fit of all the components, began the transformation in earnest.
That still, fresh-in-the-box 1967 289 V-8 and trans package was the first to go in. “It fired right up,” John said with a smile! It was followed by four-wheel Wilwood disc brakes and 15-inch American Racing five-spoke rims wrapped in Goodyear Eagle GT rubber. Since paint- and bodywork was his specialty, John bead-blasted the steel hood and cab, shaved the door handles, and eliminated extraneous chrome, then added one-piece, power windows. New fiberglass fenders, front and rear, along with a Pro’s Pick bed began to establish the familiar Ford profile. Bumpers were eliminated, four Corvette lights were frenched into the rear fenders, and custom wood additions were created for the bed and running boards. All that was left was the interior and John fabricated a perfectly smooth dash with a beautiful set of VDO gauges in a unique trapezoidal housing. A classic Juliano’s Banjo wheel turns on a brushed ididit column, a Genie shifter controls the C6 trans, and the Kenwood stereo in the overhead console makes the family Ford an entertaining long-distance cruiser. John has a medical condition that is aggravated by air flowing directly at him so as part of the personalizing process, he relocated the Vintage Air A/C unit in a special compartment behind the bench seat so that air travels along the floor to cool the truck. Once all the metal fab work was done, inside and out, John shot the Turquoise basecoat/clearcoat in his own shop, calling in East Coast airbrush wizard Chris Cruz to add a few special pinstripe touches. The final step was the smooth beige Naugahyde interior upholstery, done by the Hot Rod Garage in Denton, Maryland. As you can see, they did an elegant job of covering the 1988 GM bench seat, door panels, headliner, carpet, and dash. The rejuvenated family Ford, completed with help from his sons, John and Terry, as well as his wife Dorothy, has been a fun ride for many years and hopefully will continue for many years to come.
What was the worst story about the freshly rebuilt Ford? While John and Dorothy were on a drive one afternoon, the spinner came loose on the front wheel and the Ford became an instant three-wheeler. The wheel itself was hit by truck and blasted about a mile up the road. While John and Dorothy were waiting for the tow truck, they were surprised to see a stranger driving back with their wheel on the hood of his car. Later that night, they found the missing spinner sitting on top of a pylon, about a half-mile from the accident! The damage was minor and the truck has been running smoothly ever since.
Facts & Figures
John & Dorothy Davis
1956 Ford F-100
CHASSIS
Frame: No Limit Engineering 2×4 tube chassis with the frontend redesigned to center the wheel in the wells
Rearend / Ratio: Powdercoated 1984 Ford 9-inch with 3.75 gears
Rear Suspension: Parallel leaf suspension with polished Carrera coilovers and sway bar
Rear Brakes: Wilwood polished aluminum 11-inch disc brakes with four-piston calipers
Front Suspension: Heidts Super Ride II independent front suspension
Front Brakes: Wilwood polished aluminum 11-inch disc brakes with four-piston calipers
Steering Box: Ford rack-and-pinion
Front Wheels: American Racing five-spoke, 5×15
Rear Wheels: American Racing five-spoke 8×15
Front Tires: Goodyear Eagle ST 215/70R15
Rear Tires: Goodyear Eagle ST 275/60R15
Gas Tank: 16 gallons relocated inside the rear framerails
DRIVETRAIN
Engine: 1967 Ford 289 V-8
Heads: World Products Windsor iron
Valve Covers: Indianapolis Motor Speedway polished aluminum
Manifold / Induction: Edelbrock high-rise chrome manifold with Edelbrock 600 Endurashine carb, reproduction Cadillac repro air cleaner
Ignition: Vertex magneto
Headers: Sanderson ceramic-coated
Exhaust / Mufflers: 2.25-inch stainless steel exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers exiting in front of the rear wheels
Transmission: Ford C6 automatic
Shifter: Genie floor shift
BODY
Style: Standard cab pickup
Modifications: Corvette taillights in the rear fenders, custom front and rear pans, shaved door handles and chrome, one-piece side
glass
Fenders front / rear: Fairmont fiberglass reproductions
Hood: Steel
Grille: Stock steel, smoothed and painted to match
Bed: Pro’s Pick with smooth tailgate and polished wood that matches the running boards
Bodywork and Paint by: Owner and sons, John and Terry
Paint Type / Color: PPG Turquoise, basecoat/clearcoat
Headlights / Taillights: Tri-Bar headlights, four frenched Corvette taillights
Outside Mirrors: Sun Specs
Bumpers: Deleted
INTERIOR
Dashboard: Fabricated smooth sheetmetal, painted beige and pinstriped
Gauges: VDO gauges in a custom billet surround
Air Conditioning: Vintage Air mounted behind the bench seat
Stereo: Kenwood head unit in the overhead center console and Kenwood speakers in the doors
Steering Wheel: Juliano’s Deluxe wood-rimmed Banjo wheel
Steering Column: brushed stainless steel from ididit
Seats: Bench seat from a 1988 GMC
Upholstery by: Hot Rod Garage, Denton Maryland
Material / Color: Beige and tan Naugahyde with matching custom door panels and headliner
Carpet: Beige
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