Insane pro-street build. 1150 horsepower, Air Ride, nitrous, SEMA Show vehicle

You don’t know it yet, but you’re looking at the most amazing 1967 Ford pickup in existence. There’s not a single part on this incredible F-100 that hasn’t been smoothed, polished, painted, or massaged, and after it was beautiful, they made it insanely fast. Nicknamed “Sinister,” it has won nearly every show in which it has been entered, appeared in multiple magazine spreads, and neatly bridges the gap between show-only and ready to rock. A light push in either direction could make this a killer race truck or the most spectacular cruise-night hauler you’ve ever seen. If you’re a fan of craftsmanship, attention to detail, and an obsessive dedication to quality, this Ford will simply blow you away.

The guy behind the build is a fellow named Wes Adkins, owner of a custom paint shop that specializes in unique graphics and show-quality finishes. No insurance jobs here, just state-of-the-art magic that shows you the difference between a good paint job and a show-winning paint job. The truck was obviously built to showcase his talents, and everywhere you look, they’re on prominent display. Starting with a rather clean 1967 Ford F-100 is an interesting choice, but when was the last time you saw one with the Pro-Street treatment? The clean lines are handsome and lend themselves well to the raked stance, so Wes knew he had a winner when he started. The very first thing he did was take it out in the parking lot and shoot it—literally! Those bullet holes you see along the driver’s side aren’t decals, they aren’t airbrush magic, they’re real bullet holes. And it wasn’t a puny .22, either, because the holes are as big as your pinky finger, maybe, say, a .44? At any rate, he artistically shot his truck full of lead, then took it back inside to begin the transformation.

The list of body mods is extensive, and we probably won’t get all of them here—that’s how many there are. It starts with the obvious stuff like suicide doors, a complete de-badging, a smoothed tailgate with hidden latches, the door handles were shaved, and the front bumper was replaced with an updated piece with built-in fog lamps and a second grille opening. Obviously the hood was cut for the gigantic Littlefield blower, but take a look at it up close and you’ll see that the opening isn’t merely cut, but neatly boxed and finished so that there are no raw edges. In fact, for something as brutal as this truck, there’s simply nothing that’s raw, unfinished, or crude. You get the impression that Wes obsessively polished, sanded, and carefully fit every single component and smoothed every nook and cranny to make this truck as perfect as he could, and it shows. Panel gaps are excellent, that big hood snaps closed without a slam, and the tailgate swings down on well-oiled hinges. If there’s a demerit, it’s that the driver’s door takes a bit of a slam to latch all the way, but given the radical modifications, that’s a pretty small nit to pick.

Beyond the bodywork, there’s that spectacular paint job, which seems to glow from within no matter where it’s parked. It’s a color called Tru-Blue Kandy from Dupont Hot Hues, and it’s almost impossible to resist touching it as you walk by, just in case it might still be wet. The arrow-straight bodywork wears it well, showing incredible gloss and depth that only comes from hours of tedious sanding and buffing, and yes, it does show a few signs of use (Wes actually drives this thing!), it can still win shows at anything but the highest levels. Wes also specializes in custom graphics and airbrush work, with the most obvious evidence of it being the flaming skulls along the truck’s sides. The detail is impressive, and you can see more of Wes’s extreme attention to detail here, because the nitrous purge valve vents through the skulls’ nostrils on both sides. Too cool! Hand-painted pinstripes highlight other areas of the body, enough to give it an old-school vibe but not over-done, and it’s the kind of thing that has been hidden, so you’ll find neat flourishes in the most unexpected places. It’s finished with a billet grille in the original opening and some smoked taillight lenses to update the look.

Obviously with those wide-by-huge slicks, you’re done using this as a pickup, so the bed was completely upholstered in Viper Red ultra-leather, and before you argue—are you really planning on driving this thing in the rain? Twin batteries flank a custom-made stainless fuel tank (check out the beautiful welds!) and the oversized wheel housings allow a full air suspension that make this heavy-hitter ride rather well. The cage is functional, not cosmetic, tying in with reinforcements on the frame and inside the passenger compartment, and you can see more of Wes’s handiwork in the seamless way the tubing goes through the rear of the cab. More beautiful welds (well, you can’t see them, they’ve been ground smooth) and a pair of NX nitrous oxide bottles offer lots of eye candy up top, and the two containers down low are reservoirs for the air suspension. The condition of the ultra-leather is excellent, with only one or two very minor blemishes that probably can’t be seen. Oh, and there is a master cut-off switch and charging pins on the rear roll pan, so this sucker is ready to go any time.

The interior is just beautifully done, featuring custom bucket seats and a center console fabricated by Wes to fit in this truck. The seats were wrapped in more Viper Red ultra-leather and suede, and they're all-day comfortable (if you can survive a day in this truck, you're a better man than I). But it's not all savagery, because there's plenty of sound-deadening material under the custom red carpets and a tilt wheel with a beautifully outfitted billet steering wheel makes it easy to get comfortable. Auto Meter dials monitor all the vitals, including a few extra items like fuel pressure, transmission temperature, and nitrous pressure (note that the nitrous system is currently disconnected—do you really think you need it?). The center console houses the switches for the Air Ride system as well as controls for fuel pump, ignition, starter, and yes, even the power windows. Dig the skull knob for the B&M shifter, as well as the cup holders, which are probably Wes's idea of a joke. RJS safety harnesses are a good idea, and again, you can see just how careful the workmanship is, because the cage is fully integrated but never intrusive. Other fun details include the box wrenches for door handles, custom stitching on the seat backs, and yes, more bullet holes on the driver's side—real ones.

Built by Chuck Cice of C.C. Performance, that mountain of an engine based around a Ford Racing block and measuring in at a whopping 545 cubic inches! The bores are siamesed for strength and weight, and it was stuffed with an Eagle crank and I-beam rods along with a set of forged pistons. Up top, there are aluminum Blue Thunder heads supported by a full roller valvetrain from Crane, including stud girdles for the rocker arms. The most notable upgrade might be that gigantic Littlefield 8-71 supercharger fed by a pair of 950 Holley double-pumpers, pushing enough boost into the gigantic big block to grunt out nearly 1300 dyno-proven horsepower. Wes figures there might be another 200 horsepower in there without the nitrous, but he runs a pretty conservative tune on it so that it can be driven on the street using 110-octane race fuel. The supporting staff includes an electric fuel and water pumps, a billet drive system for the cog belt on the blower, an MSD ignition system whose distributor is dwarfed by the mountain of engine around it, and a beautiful set of custom-made zoomies, which sound like ground zero at Pomona. Of course, everything was polished for show, chrome plated, or painted to match the bodywork, so you'd be forgiven for thinking this is merely a trailer queen. I assure you, it is not. It starts, runs, and drives, although the straight pipes (which do spit fire and brimstone) are a bit much—if you're going to street-drive it, some baffles or a custom system with mufflers would be recommended. Fire it up and it idles well enough, doesn't get hot, and goes about its business the way an 800-pound gorilla might go grocery shopping—it gets done in a very big way!

A C6 3-speed automatic built by Cyclone Transmission tries to channel that power, assisted by a 3500 stall TCI torque converter and a reverse manual valve body, which actually makes it a lot of fun to drive. A custom driveshaft with oversized U-joints feeds a custom-built Strange 9-inch rear end with 4.11 gears and a set of unbreakable 35-spline axles. The rear suspension is traditional 4-link supported by airbags instead of coil-overs, and that allows you to fine-tune the ride height on the roll thanks to a customized air suspension gauge panel in the center console. The front suspension uses custom tubular A-arms and air bags to adjust the ride height, and as long as you're looking around under there, note the beautifully fabricated frame, which was extensively modified but not completely replaced, a link back to the truck's roots. Everything underneath was painted or powdercoated silver or blue, and there's a giant disc brake at all four corners complements of SSBC. Mickey Thompson supplied both the gorgeous aluminum wheels and the 26x8.00-18 front and 31x18.00-18 rear tires. Yes, 18s. How cool is that?!?

Built for the Mickey Thompson display at SEMA 2007, this incredible truck offers the best of everything and has a build cost somewhere north of $150,000. Yes, we know it's not for everyone, but if you want to stop traffic at virtually any show you attend or if you'd like to go racing (the truck will likely run 8s in the quarter mile as it sits, and perhaps 7s with some tweaking), this truck totally nails it. If you'd like some personal one-on-one time with the builder, that can be arranged, too, because we know this truck is a lot to digest. We didn't expect to love this truck as much as we do, but the over-the-top quality and insane vision that it took to create it make it one of the most remarkable machines we've ever featured.