The Crossover
F-series Body, Mustang Muscle
BRAND ALLEGIANCE IS SOMETHING THAT RUNS VERY DEEP WITHIN BUILDERS IN THE CUSTOM COMMUNITY. Chevy folks usually descend from generations of Bowtie owners, and the same goes for Ford fans like Alex Dekadokh of Agoura Hills, California. His last custom vehicle project just happened to be a great one—a Coyote-equipped ’65 Mustang Fastback that he had an absolute blast building and driving.
“I loved that car,” Alex says. “But I’ve never had a truck before, and I wanted that experience next. There’s just something about the unique A-pillar and frontend design on the ’56 F-100 specifically that I found so appealing.”
The sentiment behind that statement placed him in a very serious hunt for his much-anticipated pickup project. It didn’t take long for Alex to track down what he had been looking for, and what he found was a truck—or at least enough parts that could eventually turn into one.
“I found this ’56 F-100 parked inside of a shed in Oxnard, California,” he says. “Someone had started to take it apart but never finished. The truck was very solid, but in pieces, which I wasn’t overly concerned about.”
With about half of the disassembly process already well taken care of, Alex began looking forward to the first major phase of the build.
“It didn’t take me long to get into contact with Evan at TCI to get a custom chassis designed and put into their busy production schedule,” he says.
By this time, Alex already knew which specific motor and transmission he wanted to go with, so with that in mind the custom frame was fabricated to the F-100’s exact specs, assembled and powdercoated Wilwood Red for good measure.
“Having TCI handle the chassis assembly saved us quite a bit of time, and also added some peace of mind knowing that it was put together according to their high standards,” Alex says.
The F-100’s chassis was engineered to give the truck an aggressive stance, incredible handling abilities, as well as being easily accepting to the Ford Mustang GT Coyote 5.0L power plant Alex had lined up.
“I had a great time with my Mustang, and there was no way