1953 Ford F-100

In today’s day and age, we don’t see many classic trucks anymore. So when a customer brought his 1953 Ford F-100 into our shop, we were elated. We could never pass up an opportunity to work on a classic truck like this one.

The customer asked us to improve his ’53 F-100 with a few modern updates. When we finished working our magic on it, our technician Jake took us on a ride to show off its new features.

“I think a lot of people like this style of truck just because you see a lot of the shiny glamour cars. This is something that you don’t see very often,” Jake said. He then discussed some of the awesome upgrades we made to the truck:

1. Dakota Digital Gauges

The customer asked us to put Dakota Digital gauges in. We supported the customer’s choice in gauge clusters. Dakota Digital is a solid brand we can get behind. The Dakota Digital instrument cluster fits into the dashboard like a glove. It also adds a clean, vintage look with all the workings of a modern cluster.

“I really, really like these gauges,” Jake said. “They’re [made by] Dakota Digital. [The customer] knew what he was doing when he wanted those put in. It’s a very clean, simple, slick little deal.”

2. Power Steering

To our pleasant surprise, installing power steering was much easier than we expected. The truck came with a manual rack already installed. So all we had to do was install a power rack. Next, we equipped the truck with a Saginaw GM style power steering pump.

Since we were working with a Ford truck, the 351 engine made it easy for us to install a bracket. We were able to hook everything up with ease. In the video, Jake marvels over how easy it is to steer the truck now.

3. Updated Seat Belts

Next up on the customer’s list of requests? More safety features. To be more specific, three-point harness seat belts.

We started this project by making seat belt mounting brackets for the upper rear cab. The goal was to resemble a factory seat belt set up. The customer didn’t want us to mess with the interior too much. We ended up successfully installing new seat belts without altering the look of the interior.

We enjoyed working on this truck very much. “We get to see a variety of [vehicles] come in and out of these doors,” Jake said. “Being able to actually put your hands on [the vehicle] and help the customer make it how they want it, that’s really cool. That’s probably the best part about it.”