$561 Project Truck at HOT ROD Power Tour 2017

HOT ROD Power Tour 2017 Is Presented By Chevrolet Performance And Driven By Continental Tire

Tom Moore set out to spend as little as possible for a Power Tour ride, and we think he might have just set a record. He picked up this 1964 Ford F100 for $300 that was sitting in a Sieverville, Tennessee, barn for 35 years, then turned around and bought a complete but banged up 2008 Crown Vic cop car for $211 at govdeals.com. “It was ugly and hit on every corner, because it was taken out of service with 71,000 to become a police training vehicle,” says Tom. That didn’t matter to him.

Tom’s plan, and obviously a successful one, was to use every single part he needed for his truck from the Vic. That included the front and rear suspension, fly-by-wire steering, OBD2 ECU, wiring, exhaust system, radiator, wheels, tires and brake system, everything. Even the electric fuel pump was adapted to the truck gas tank. Rather than stick the body and bed onto the Vic chassis, Tom adapted the Vic components to the stock F100 frame. Besides adapting the Vic parts, some fab was necessary for mounting the steering column, and the 4-link Vic rear was pitched for a monoleaf setup.

Tom runs Hairless Rat Rods in Sieverville, so fabricating is not a problem, but the goal wasn’t to fabricate, but rather to fabricate as little as possible.

He says cutting the ABS, emissions, and body control wiring from the stock Vic harness did not affect the computer. “The lighting control module was missing, but I used a trailer control switch and the truck fired right up,” says Tom.

As soon as it fired Tom hopped in to take it for a first spin, and that’s when he found that the transmission was cooked. “So I spent a couple hundred more and now it shifts positive and fires the first time every time,” he says. Just before coming to Kansas City for the first leg of the 2017 Power Tour he purchased some new tires, “because I’m a Long Hauler so I knew I’d be putting 3000 miles on the old truck.”

What are his future plans for the cheap trick truck? “Just drive it,” says Tom.