Living in Ohio rust is a big concern. Especially when you are doing a frame off restoration. So a friend & I drove south looking for a 70’s model F100 pickup. We ended up in Arkansas. I found a 1973 F100 short bed in a salvage yard. It had a blown motor which was no problem because I had a big block with a C6 transmission at home. We left Arkansas with a truck & a title. Back home I started teardown, proceeded to do a frame off every bolt out restoration. I’ve worked on a lot of trucks all my life but this one was very, very different. When building this hood I used two hoods & a steel scoop all welded together making it unitized. In the picture you can see two rises instead of one on the hood. I also added an oil pressure gauge & tachometer to the hood. A lot of work was done on the cab. I frenched in newer Ford emblems that light up blue on the cowl panels. I made pockets in the cab corners for inside/outside speakers. I frenched in turn signals & brake lights to upper rear cab panels. The most challenging part of this build was changing factory doors to suicide doors. Believe me, there are no books or YouTube videos for this procedure. Everything in the back of the door is now in the front & vice Versa. Lots of planning was involved. I added electric & remote door openers. I knew I was painting the truck black so everything must be straight. Using nothing but a rubber block & a long board, no air & no electric, all bodywork was done by hand. Changing the bed from a style side to a step side required a different tailgate. I used a 1989 Ford Ranger tailgate modified by cutting 3 inches out of the bottom. Starting from scratch I purchased two 4×8 sheets of black steel which I had a friend shear & break to my specifications for my bedsides. Also made 4 stake pockets, 2 of which are taillight mounting panels. Beneath the bedside outer lip you can see blue lights reflecting my name down on the rear fenders that I purchased from LMC Truck. I used Chevy inner fenders which I believe slow me down. Coil over shock suspension & 3 point ladder bars. I added 12 inch welt wheels. Serial # F10GUSO4828. Rear bumper was made from 3 inch pipe & 1 1/2 inch pipe. Thanks to LMC Truck for good parts & service.