Feature Truck
Mike Greslie * North Hollywood, CA
'56 Ford F-100
Every truck has its story, and this one is no different. It started 15 years ago, when a young Bodie Stroud of North Hollywood, California, met a new girl. Eventually, things got a bit more serious: Stroud married that lovely lady, and he got ready to live happily ever after.
Most people end up having a problem with their in-laws, but that wasn't the case with Stroud. He ended up becoming pretty good friends with his father-in-law, Mike Greslie, and the two decided to work on a truck together. At the time, Stroud was just a working stiff doing the day-to-day grind, but this project would end up leading him to a life as a professional custom-truck builder. That would just happen 15 years later.? Originally, Greslie wanted to build a drag truck designed to tear down the quarter-mile at record speeds. But once Stroud tore into the truck, he realized the '56 Ford F-100 that they had chosen for a project was a bit too rough to be twisting and turning from engine torque, so they decided to go a slightly different route. They would build a clean, street-rod-style truck but put a blown GM small-block in it for some extra flair.
The truck wasn't a priority for Stroud and Greslie at first; it was mostly a weekend project that was done when the two of them had time, but eventually it became a bigger priority. They started by tearing down the truck to the frame and rebuilding the chassis. Up front, the stock suspension was tossed in the trash and a Mustang II front clip was welded in place with polished upper and lower control arms and Firestone airbags. Out back, they narrowed the frame, and a Ford 9-inch rearend was hung off a parallel four-link and airbagged like the front. While the truck was apart, they also boxed the frame with 3/16-inch plate, and all of the wiring was run through the frame for a clean install.
Greslie knew that he wanted a blown small-block GM engine for the powerplant, so the duo built a 383 stroker and hopped it up with a Weiand supercharger pushing 10 pounds of boost and topped that with a pair of Holley 650-cfm carbs to fuel the beast. The rest of the block was beefed up as well with an Eagle camshaft, a steel crank, and low-compression forged pistons. They bolted that block to a built Turbo 400 trans, set the combination in the chassis, and got started on the body.
The cab needed a bunch of work, including some rust repair and general smoothing out. Once the major welding was done, the pair started doing some body mods like shaving the fuel filler, front cowl, and cab seams. Then the truck was smoothed out, blocked a few dozen times, and sent off to be painted PPG Lemon Ice by Georg Gray in Van Nuys, California.
With the outside done, it was time to reassemble the truck and start on the interior. For that, they went to Bill Dunn, and they built a custom interior out of some MDF and leather and suede in shades of brown. The truck was then wired and Stewart-Warner gauges were installed in the dash. The truck was looking slick and ready to go down the strip and into the show.
It wasn't a short build and it wasn't easy, but it certainly was a labor of love. There are lots of people across the country who hate their in-laws, but that wasn't the case here. No, Stroud and Greslie became pretty close over the years, and the result of this build was Stroud opening up his own custom shop, B.S. Industries. Sometimes the best things in life take a little time, and this Ford couldn't be a better example.
The 411
Engine/Drivetrain:
383-cid GM V-8 / Weiand 6-71 supercharger at 10 psi of boost / aluminum heads / low-compression forged pistons / Eagle camshaft / steel crank / dual Holley 650-cfm carbs / 3-inch Borla exhaust / MSD ignition / Optima battery / Turbo 400 transmission / 3,500-stall converter
BY: Bodie Stroud of B.S. Industries, North Hollywood, California
Rims:
Front: 15x7 Weld Draglite with 3.5 inches of backspacing
Rear: 15x15 Weld Draglite with 4 inches of backspacing
Tires:
Front & Rear: Mickey Thompson
Suspension:
Front: Mustang II front clip / polished upper and lower control arms / TCI Shocks
Rear: Custom rear four-link / 9-inch Ford rearend with 390s / Firestone airbags
Accessories: 12-inch disc brakes
Chassis: Boxed frame with wiring hidden in chassis / narrowed rear with relocated bed mounts / 3/16-inch frame / powdercoated
BY: Bodie Stroud
Body Mods:
Shaved fuel filler, front cowl, and cab seams / frenched '48 Chevy taillights
BY: Bodie Stroud
Custom Paint:
Lemon Ice PPG single-stage
BY: Georg Gray
Interior:
Brown and tan leather / painted dash / suede headliner / Stewart Warner gauges
BY: Bill Dunn
Audio/Video:
Pioneer head unit mounted in glovebox / AVI mids and highs in kick panels
BY: Bill Dunn and B.S. Industries
Special Thanks:
B.S. Industries