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Keith Dickson & Sons

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Gary Lewis

Keith Dickson & Sons

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Keith Dickson/FORDification and his sons came down from KC today to pick up a '63 F100 a friend of mine was selling. So I met them there and helped what little I could as they had things well in hand. Here are a few pics:

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Rembrant

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

Neat. Cool old truck too.

1994 F150 4x2 Flareside. 5.0 w/MAF, 4R70W, stock.
1984 F150 4X2 Flareside. Mild 302 w/ 5spd. Sold.
1980 F150 4X4 Flareside. 300i6 w/ 5spd. Sold in 2021.
1980 F100 4X2 Flareside. 351w/2bbl w/NP435. Sold in 1995

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

Administrator

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

That truck has some stories to tell! (we're the same age)

Looks like they just squeezed it into that trailer (though I'm sure they would know it could fit)

Good for them, and your friend.

I'm sure the truck is getting a new lease on life in Keith's hands.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gary Lewis

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

Administrator

Yep, it just fit. I wasn't even sure that the door was going to open over the fender, but it did.

Keith was telling us that the 63's were an odd truck. In fact, they are referred to as the "wrongbed" trucks. The previous trucks were the unibody ones where the bed and cab were all one. But when they got loaded up things twisted and they had problems with the doors coming open on their own. Or not being able to be opened. So Ford had to do something, but they didn't have a separate bed designed so they looked way back and found that they had the earlier bed that would fit, but its wheel openings don't match those of the front fenders. So "wrongbed" trucks.

It is explained better here.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

Administrator

You used to see this sort of thing when a bricknose bed is used to replace a rotted out Bullnose bed.

The body crease is okay but the wheel arches are elliptical and the tail gate is smooth. (the taillights can swap over)

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Rembrant

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

I knew about the "Wrongbed" Ford trucks. It's an interesting story, and I honestly don't mind the mismatched look of them. I think it's because they were so common they've been imprinted in my mind that they were supposed to be that way.

That unibody design ended up being a really bad idea lol.

I really like these auto oddities from the past, like one year wonders and stuff like that.

Gary Lewis

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

Administrator

Yes, the mis-match for the 62/63 trucks became so common that they seem correct. But not the 87+ bed on a Bullnose. It grates on me. I watched a series a couple of years ago that had a truck with that combo and it was the first thing I noticed - every time I saw the truck.

And I also like the one-year wonders. Or maybe I like knowing about the one-year wonders more than having one. The 81's with the odd wiring and warning light layout. The Ranger trim line becoming a whole different truck. Etc.

But I don't know that I agree that the unibody was a bad idea. More a bad implementation. I say that because Honda uses it on their Ridgeline and GM did on the Avalanche/Escalade, and I don't know of any problems they have. So I'm thinking Ford just didn't have the right engineers. Or they had the right engineers but the bean counters had more clout. In any event, it must have been a nightmare!

These pics show the unibody on the left looking sleek and its body line carries through from front to rear. But on the right is a Wrongbed and the shadow from the angle of the sun is making the body line difference very obvious.

But yesterday when I posted I didn't realize that not only did Keith know about all of this, his FORDification website has a full page on these trucks. And it has more detail than any of the other pages I found, which doesn't surprise me.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

FORDification

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary: thanks for thinking of me when this truck came up for sale. And thanks for making the drive over to help getting it loaded, it was good seeing you again. My son Trevor had recently decided that he wanted a cool older fix-up project, so I've been keeping my eyes open for something for him that was within his price range. This '63 wrongbed fit the bill perfectly. It was a good day....the truck loaded up easily and the trailer pulled smoothly for the 3 1/2 hour drive back home. :) Now it's likely going to sit until springtime before anything gets done with it, but then I'm betting he'll be spending all his spare time working on it. Here's a few more pics...

The truck was originally a 3-on-the-tree, but an NP435 was swapped in at some point. Notice the nice custom shifter reshaping to clear the dash and radio.

Keith - FORDification.info/.com/.net - The '61-'79 Ford Pickup Resources

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

Administrator

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Funny I stumbled across this at Home Depot today (I'm in PA fixing my sister's house)

It's an '86 with a 351.
Looks amazing for up around here (well..... I am 175 miles south of my usual location)

I asked the guy if I could take pics and post them here...

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gary Lewis

Re: Keith Dickson & Sons

Administrator

Keith - Happy to help two of my friends make a connection that was good for both of them.

But that shifter is bizarre!

The second pic looks like it was taken at that station/cafe where I left you. Ate there recently and the hamburger was good. Anyway, glad you had a good trip home.

Jim - Nice looking F350, although the later bed does look odd. Hard to unsee that.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile