Custom 1956 Ford F100 Truck - High Octane

The 411

Owner/hometown:
Tom Pagano of Pagano Rods & Customs / Rancho Cordova, California

Year/make/model:
'56 Ford F-100

Engine/drivetrain:
'99 Cobra 4.6L V-8 engine, bored 0.020 over / rebuilt with Manley Performance Products forged pistons and H-beam rods / Sullivan Performance valve covers, intake manifold, coil pack, Hal-tek computer, fuel rails, and injectors / Aeromotive fuel pump, regulator, and filter / 12-psi ProCharger D-1 supercharger with twin intercoolers and custom-made piping / Cool Craft radiator with electric fan / Optima YellowTop battery / Sanderson headers / MagnaFlow 4-inch stainless mufflers / rebuilt C4 transmission / custom-made 2,000-stall torque converter / TCI billet bellhousing / Gear Vendors Overdrive / 9-inch Ford rearend, narrowed 4 inches
By: Tom & T.J. Pagano

Rims:
Front: 18x8-inch Raceline GT wheels, with 4-inch backspacing and coated in Permastar black chrome
Rear: 20x10-inch Raceline GT wheels, with 4-3/4-inch backspacing and coated in Permastar black chrome

Tires:
Front: 225/40R18 Toyo Proxes
Rear: 275/40R20 Toyo Proxes

Suspension:
Front: Fat Man Fabrication Mustang II IFS with coil springs and polished stainless steel control arms / SSBC 13-inch brake kit
Rear: Fat Man Fabrication stainless four-link with Panhard bar and coilovers / SSBC 11-inch brake kit
Accessories: JAZ plastic fuel tank / Mooneyes aluminum fuel cell / SSBC billet brake master cylinder
Chassis: Custom-made frame from 2x4-inch steel tubing that's 9-1/2 inches shorter, and front clip is Z'd 4 inches / Wizard Fabrications Steer Clear
By: Tom & T.J. Pagano

Body Mods:
4-inch choptop with louvers in the cab / 9-1/2-inch sectioned cab and doors / door handles shaved / original hood pancaked with custom mechanisms to tilt forward / pulled in front fenders / front grille recessed 2 inches / molded in and louvered original front pan with frenched license plate / frenched antenna / bed channeled 6 inches and shortened to fit around rear fenders / custom sheetmetal bed floor / molded custom tailgate / custom louvered roll pan with frenched license plate / custom exhaust exits on side steps / custom styling for front pan, roll pan, and bed made from 5/8-inch solid aluminum stock then chromed / custom Plexiglas taillights with LEDs
By: Jim Fortune, Tom & T.J. Pagano

Custom Paint:
Sherwin-Williams Planet Color Smoked Graphite and Flame Red
By: Tom Pagano / pinstriping by T.J. Pagano

Interior:
'88 Chevy truck buckets covered in vinyl with pleats / door panels covered in vinyl with pleats / black German wool carpet / custom-made center console to house engine computer and Gear Vendors Overdrive / Stewart-Warner gauges with chameleonillumination effects
By: Tom & T.J. Pagano / Howdy Leadbetter of Fremont, California

Audio/Video:
Kenwood KDC1132 head unit / MB Quart 6-inch coaxial speakers / Rockford Fosgate Punch 40i amp for speakers
By: Tom & T.J. Pagano

Club:
N/A

Special Thanks:
His son T.J. Pagano for everything / Craig Coston for the bodywork / Scott Sullivan for help on the engine / Josh Cole and Jeff Young for helping during SEMA deadline / ProCharger / Gear Vendors / Sanderson Headers / MagnaFlow / Raceline Wheels / Toyo Tires / Cool Craft / Hose Techniques / SSBC / Sherwin-Williams / Stewart-Warner / Wizard Fabrication Steer Clear / Steer Clear / Aeromotive / Sacramento Vintage Ford

Back In The Day
Tom did not B.S. us around when he said this truck has been around. He sent us a few photos to prove that the truck was truly done nearly three decades ago. We also have a boatload of killer build-up photos from the SEMA scramble that are on our website Sporttruck.com.

Here is Tom's truck, years...        read full caption Here is Tom's truck, years before any modifications were done, when previous owner, Meryle Rhodes, owned it.	After the initial 30-day build,...        read full caption After the initial 30-day build, the truck was painted flat-black and driven like it was stolen. The little guy in the photo is Tom's son T.J., who is now grown up and helping his father build customs.	Like we stated, fabrication...        read full caption Like we stated, fabrication in the scene is the same as it was years back. Check out the pancaking on the hood that was done.
This old photo should give...        read full caption This old photo should give you some idea how the truck was sectioned.