When it comes to being a fan of classic cars, many of us found our way through family, friends, or by surrounding ourselves with like-minded people. Brent Poole credits his passion for the automotive world to his brother, who would spend hours tinkering with muscle cars in their garage. The Rockport, Indiana resident quickly went from being an avid helper before getting his driver’s license to an eager 16-year-old with a desire to own and build a 1953-1956 Ford F-100 of his own. A dream that he would carry until a fateful day in 1994.
Finding Potential
The years wore on and Poole found himself still longing for that classic F-100 with the tilt front hood and the cabin air intake positioned on the windshield cowling. The classic fat fender look appealed to him, but living in the north, where rust was the common plague of most classic cars, made finding one clean enough to start building, or at the very least salvageable, seem almost impossible. Then, one day in the early spring of 1994, while doing a routine search through the wanted ads, Poole stumbled upon a 1955 Ford F-100.
As most know, classic trucks can often be a risky proposition, as the years have taken their toll and various mechanic hands have worked on the chassis. However, Poole was an industrial maintenance employee with experience as a machinist, welder, and wrencher, so the F-100 would hardly pose a problem. After a short phone call to discuss the logistics with the truck’s owner, Poole and his father set off the following Saturday morning with a trailer in tow, just in case the truck was all that the previous owner made it out to be.
After a two-hour drive from southern Indiana to a rural area in Illinois, Poole and his father arrived. While the truck’s condition was rough by most standards, they decided that the bones were good enough and the truck had potential. It just needed a lot of love and someone with the imagination to make it happen. As $600 dollars departed from Poole’s wallet, the truck was loaded up and headed home.
Some people talk about transformation, while others make it happen. On the left is the truck’s original condition in 1994, and on the right is the finished product, perfected over a decade of work.
“When I returned home, my excitement was through the roof, and I could not wait to show my wife our new treasure,” said Poole. A brave man, willing to showcase a project F-100 of this magnitude to his wife, especially during a time of starting a family and in the midst of building a house.
Time And Money
The truck would obviously not be a priority with everything going on, but the plan was simple: use $2,500 to make it a runner. After all, the truck already had an engine, transmission, and rearend. Plus, it was 1994 and everything, including the price of gasoline, was still inexpensive. Like most family men, though, finding time and money to quickly build a vehicle can be hard to come by. Instead, Poole decided to take his time and build the truck over a ten-year period.
“If I would have been able to get it done quickly as originally planned, it would never have transformed into the truck it is now. –Brent Poole
“I would buy a part here and there, work on it when I had time. This went on for the duration of the ten-year build,” said Poole. “If I would have been able to get it done quickly as originally planned, it would never have transformed into the truck it is now.”
The F-100 Build Begins
The build truly started when a friend had a wrecked 1967 Chevelle, and Poole was able to snag the front suspension, as aftermarket options were not within the budget and creating a performance handling F-100 utilizing the factory front-end was next to impossible, especially twenty years ago. “Once the truck was completely disassembled, the frame was cut just forward of the front cab mounts, and a two-foot section of Chevelle frame was grafted in,” details Poole. “I then fabricated new front frame horns to transition the Chevelle section to the front bumper. The front brake rotors were sourced from a Jeep Comanche since they are dimensionally the same as the Chevelle rotors but have the small Ford bolt pattern.”
The next step was tackling the rear suspension. Poole fabricated a four-link rear setup and narrowed the rearend housing, then fitted it with Moser 31-spline axles. Inside the rear carrier were Richmond 4.11:1 gears and a Trac-Lok differential. While the power was yet to come, Ford Explorer disc brakes were added to replace the aging drum setup, adding a touch of safety to the mix.
A 700R4 transmission with a 3,200-stall converter is mated to the big-block engine. Power is transferred through a narrowed 9-inch Ford Trac-Lok rearend, with Moser 31-spline axles driving the Mickey Thompson tires. Poole fabricated his own four-link suspension and added QA1 coil-over shocks to ensure the truck handles smoothly.
Poole then faced one of the most critical decisions of the build: selecting the engine. Once again, a friend stepped in, offering a 429 cubic-inch big-block Ford. Although Poole could have been satisfied with the cruiser engine, he felt the build was a bit “mild” and decided to take the engine in a new direction. “I tore it down to the long-block, changed the camshaft, rockers, intake, distributor, and fabricated the lower portion of the oil pan so it would work with the Chevelle crossmember,” Poole explains. “After the frame was powder-coated, it was pushed into a corner of the garage until the metal work on the body was completed.”
Underneath the tilting fiberglass front end is a 1971 429 cubic-inch engine, equipped with a Schneider custom-ground camshaft. Atop it sits a Weiand Tunnel Ram with dual 600 CFM Holley carburetors. Exhaust gases escape through custom-built 3-inch fender-well headers into Dynomax 6-inch round mufflers. All fabrication and tuning have been handled by Poole.
Out Of Body Experience
Now that the drivetrain was resolved, Poole could focus on the body. “I replaced the four cab corners and both rocker panels, patched the fresh air louvers and fuel filler cutout with sheet-metal, and removed the drip rail to give the cab a smooth look,” explains Poole. “The stock gauge cluster was removed, and the opening was filled with sheet-metal before cutting new holes to fit the new set of Classic Instruments. The seat was purchased from Tea’s Design along with extra material to cover all the interior panels.”
Inside, a set of Kilduff Lightning Rods shifters is mounted in the center console. The interior features seats and fabric from Tea’s Design. For an upgraded look, the vent windows have been replaced with custom one-piece curved door glass.
Since Poole was not pressured by time frame, he was able to spend an entire winter fitting the one-piece fiberglass front shell, known as the doghouse, and fabricating the power tilt hinge mechanism. During that same cold season, the vent windows were evicted and special one-piece curved door glass was installed. The original bed and running boards were replaced, while the bed wood was stained with red oak stain and coated with many layers of Spar urethane clear.
Keeping things cool is a Vintage Air SureFit air conditioning system, while aesthetics are enhanced by a Billet Specialties steering wheel and a chrome Ididit steering column. Engine data is displayed to the driver via a set of Classic Instruments gauges with gold trim and classic indicators. The interior isn't the only area that received an upgrade — the exterior boasts a House of Kolor Brandywine paint job, and the wood bed has also been meticulously attended to.
The truck was nearing completion, with one of the final steps being a last bit of body work and prep before being coated in House of Kolor Kandy Brandywine paint—a truly fitting color for an amazing build. However, the journey didn’t stop there. With 20 years of shows and nearly 17,000 miles of family time spent inside the cab, Poole made some memorable experiences with his son. The duo participated in the 2024 PowerTour, with his son driving his mother’s Cobra while Poole drove the classic big-block Ford truck. Both received Long Hauler awards.
Just as Poole and his father once went to pick up the F-100, he now enjoys taking the finished truck on long trips with his son. The latest adventure was the 2024 Power Tour with the family’s Cobra and the beloved F-100.
F-100 Build Of A Lifetime
Money and time often depart the hands of eager enthusiasts looking to fulfill dreams of such builds as this. Few are as successful. Poole’s hard work and patience throughout the build to turn that dream to reality are more than commendable. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait ten years to see the final outcome. Although our ride was brief, everything in the truck was perfect. From the matching interior with gold trim accents on the gauges to the paint that caught every ray of sunlight, everything was on point. To you, Brent Poole, we salute your dedication in bringing the F-100 to events and living the dream with it. We hope the next 20 years of ownership is just as great.
