A little over a year and half ago we talked with Zack Spivey and his 1972 F-350 build. Since then there have been plenty of upgrades to get the truck that much closer to being road worthy. The build caught our eye then, and it has impressed us that much more now.

It has been a long five year road, but this is what the truck looked like at the start.

“I bought this truck five years ago out of a field with junk stacked on top of it. Brought it home with me with four flat tires and a 390 that would barely get out of its own way. I pushed it off the trailer and right into the shop, I had no reason to drive it I knew exactly what I wanted this truck to be,” Zack told us.

Modifications started as soon as the truck was pulled off the truck. Zack said, “The engine was the first to go. By the end of that week I had traded the engine for parts and the truck was stripped to bare frame. The body was not in to bad of shape, but had stress cracks up the back of the cab from flexing the long frame and years of hard work.”

Zack f

Zack continued, “The bed floor looked like waves in the ocean, this old girl had hauled some weight in her day. The cab was set aside, and I went to work on the frame. Making templates and gussets I boxed the entire frame end to end. The steering box had actually cracked the frame on the front driver side. After boxing, gusseting, gouging, welding, and fish-plating the frame was here to stay.”

Automotive manufactures had some peculiar design choices back in the day and this F-350 was no exception. “They only made long bed F-350 in 2WD, and I wasn’t going to build a do-all-truck that wasn’t a long bed and 4WD. After ripping the 2WD junk off the frame I decided to go with heavy duty springs out of a newer Ford. Took some time and a few tries to get it perfect but it was worth the work. the king-pin Dana 60 bolted up like it was meant to be there,” Zack said.

Not everything was that easy as Zack explained, “The rear axle was a different story. The third and final axle and springs were installed. Sitting on the AAM 11.5 rear she was sitting pretty. The steering box was relocated to the front of the frame. It took some time to disassemble the box, and drill and tap in the correct ports for hydro assist as well. I picked up an old a junk 6BT Cummins long block and bolted to the NV4500 manual trans as well as a NP241 t-case.”

“I was able to install motor and trans mounts with some modifications to the crossmembers. With other parts and pieces being fitted to to frame it was time for paint. While bouncing back and forth I was able to build the engine. Started with a storm block, punched slightly over to get a fresh start. I ordered ceramic and teflon coated pistons, a KillerBee cam, fresh crank, and rods,” Zack continued.

This is basically a new truck under an old body.

“I went threw and smoothed every casting mark in the block. With a fresh head, new 150 springs the engine was coming along. Thanks to Mr. Goff at Goffs Diesel, he rework my 215 pump, and got it flowing 650cc of fuel. With the engine buttoned up it was time for install. My good friend Nate from Budget Body and Paint put a paint job to die for, and I couldn’t be happier with the results,” Zack said.

All new and shinny parts are nice, but as Zack recalled, “Then came all the tedious work of putting everything back together just right. Once the cab and reworked bed was on I started on the interior by modding a new Dodge leather seats, custom gauges, headliner, AC, carpet, and lots more. I also added power windows and power locks making this truck look better and newer then it ever had.”

The exterior of a truck gives people the first impression. Zack did not want to disappoint as he told us, “I started building bumpers, and wanted to make it look tough, but not like it was going to knock down trees. After awhile the perfect bumpers started to form. There is plenty of powder coating with the wheels, bumpers, steps, door handles, basically anything that was chrome before is now powder coated satin black and reinstalled. A new set of 37-inch Toyo mud-terrains were installed to give the truck the final look, and man does it look cool. Its almost ready for the road, but there is still plenty of break in miles to put on. It’s nice to enjoy five years of hard work.”

This has surly been a labor of love for Zack and we can’t wait to get another update on how the truck is doing once everything breaks in. It really goes to show you that with the right amount of work you can finish your project and enjoy it no matter how many years down the road it is.