They Have 35 Days To Turn a 1979 Ford F-100 Into a Tire-Shredding Beast, Clock Is Ticking!

Entrepreneur Richard Rawlings is the owner of the Gas Monkey Garage, and this 1979 Ford F-100 Ranger Lariat, the short-bed version, is his latest obsession. The truck, which is 45 years old, is all original except for the wheels and tires.

At first, Richard doesn't seem to want to change much on the vehicle. One thing is for sure, though. He wants to have it running and driving with no issue whatsoever and look good while at it. But he changes his mind along the way, and he ends up considering a new engine, a new transmission, a detailing procedure, and everything else that might turn heads on the street and at the car shows.

But there is something that will definitely turn heads: he refuses to have the truck painted because he wants to keep the patina. The rust that covers most parts of the body remains, but all the old chrome will have to get its shine back.

Richard gives his team a 35-day deadline. But once they start working on the truck, they realize they should have asked for more. First, when they check the engine, they discover a dead cylinder with zero compression. That engine has to come out. They already have a replacement for it. Long gone will be the days this F-100 was a workhorse, living its life on a farm.

The crew starts stripping down the truck down to the frame because they are planning to turn it into a tire-shredding beast, just as Richard requested. So, they cut some, they weld some, trying not to damage anything.

The subscribers of the channel eventually chose what the experts would do on the truck. They asked for a supercharged Gen III Coyote V8 engine, mated to a six-speed manual, and a coilover suspension. That Coyote engine churns out 785 horsepower (796 metric horsepower) and 600 pound-feet (813 Newton meters) of torque.

Richard has a hard time choosing the color of the interior. The more shades he sees, the more difficult it is for him to pick one. But he eventually does. So, the Gas Monkey Garage team paints the firewall, and starts building the pedal assembly. The wiring will come up next. They have to hurry because the clock is ticking.

The team is starting to see progress. They are going to put in the seats in black leather with high bolstering and wrap the dashboard and steering wheel in Alcantara.

They get rid of all the old analog gages and install new ones, going completely digital. An air conditioning system and a stereo sound system with subwoofers find room inside the cabin as well. Richard must also choose where the exhaust will come out. For the moment, it seems like no place is a good place.

This is the moment he realizes that the team is not going to be able to meet the 35-day deadline. However, Richard would like to unveil it at the Bandas y Trocas event, on May 25, at the Texas Motor Speedway, which gives his team three more days to work on the F-100. He registered the car for the event, so he will have to be there with the restomodded F-100.

When the good old Ford is almost ready, Richard comes up with a new idea. He wants the grille pushed far back, enough to give the front end the depth that he wants. But there is not much room left for that move. For more depth, however, painting the pockets might work.

They also build an exhaust to match all the exhilarating oomph that the new engine brought. They pick up the custom JTX wheels with Continental tires and put the hood back. And this is it. The truck is good to go, just one day before the event it was registered for.

The restomodded Ford F-100 was not ready in 35 days. The three-day deadline extension was just what they needed. It took them a total of 38 days and four episodes on their YouTube channel to strip the truck down and rebuild it. Now, it is ready to drive to the Bandas Y Trocas event. Richard can't wait to show it off!

The former Ford F-100/current MF79, as the team calls it now, turns out to be the ultimate pickup truck with what seems to be the perfect race setup. It looks as if "drag racing" is its middle name. And it's got the effect Richard has hoped for since day one. It turns heads like no other. Of course, it's the patina, but blame it on that eardrum-damaging sound, too!