George Poteet’s Holman Moody-Inspired ’57 Ford F100
If you were looking through a pile of vintage racing photos, this ’57 F100 could easily fit right in the background as a push truck or tow rig. The custom machined Mini-Lite wheels, complete with Holman Moody center caps, create a perfect stance and the specially blended ’57 Ford Dresden Blue color delivers a vintage style with a modern bent – exactly what George Poteet and Alan Johnson of Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop were thinking as they teamed up on this F100 build.
The project began with a rust-free pickup and a custom-built Roadster Shop chassis to provide a modern foundation for comfort and handling. Though the body keeps its ’57 Ford character, there were plenty of reworked areas such as the front wheel openings being repositioned, radiused door corners, reworked rockers and the extended bed side panels to fill the distance to the cab, just to point out a few.
At the rear of the bed, fifth-gen taillamps were incorporated, as well as the Ford tailgate insert to disguise the modern GMC soft-close assist tailgate. Back up front and under the hood is a hand-fabricated firewall and matching fender wells that surround the FE/LS engine.
Hold on a second…what’s an FE/LS, you ask? George is a hardcore classic Ford engine fan, especially their big-inch 427s, but for a long-hauling driver he opted for the proven power and reliability of a modern LS3. The JHRS team was instructed to go the extra mile to have it look like an FE, which was aided with a set of adapters to fit a set of Holman Moody cast valve covers. A Holley Terminator throttle body sits atop a single-plane intake hidden by a cowl-fed air cleaner along with a faux distributor and coil. Most onlookers would never guess LS.
The interior of the Ford matches that of the engine compartment, as it’s full of modern comfort wrapped in classic styling. The plaid cloth inserts provide a touch of vintage flavor and are flanked in Garrett Leather ably stitched inhouse at JHRS. Leather door panels bookend the custom bench seat, while the factory Ford pedals and handles were retained and detailed in custom gray paint. The only hot rod indicator in the cab is the machine-turned dash panel filled with Holman Moody gauges from Classic Instruments, not to mention the required Vintage Air stealthily installed.
The 11th LMC Truck Spring Lone Star Nationals served as the debut of JHRS’s latest pickup build, but knowing how George treats his vehicles, we’ll be seeing some miles put on this modern handy-man Ford truck very soon.
Photos by John Jackson