Those of you with a keen interest in classic Ford pick-ups might be getting a vague sense of déjà vu, as we’ve already featured Brad McGill’s 1968 bumpside F100 in the December ’22 issue of Street Machine, when it was Wimbledon White and rolled on 20-inch US Mags Rambler rims. Back then, Brad had just bought the truck back from the person he’d sold it to, following a severe case of seller’s remorse, and proceeded to tweak and refine a few areas he had never really been happy with.

First published in the October 2025 issue of Street Machine

“When I built it back in 2016, I had limited resources and time, so I just did the best I could to make it a tidy driver,” says Brad today. “But I’ve built a lot of cars in the time since, so my skill level has improved and I wanted to build this into something that really stood out.”

While most people would be stoked to have a car nice enough to get into Street Machine, the knowledge that he could do better really niggled at Brad. “The Effie was really nice to start with, but the gaps in particular really bugged me,” he explains. “It was a tough call to take it off the road and give it a refurb, as I knew it’d take time and money, but I’m now glad that I did.”

While it might look like it’s just had a paintjob and a fresh set of wheels since we last featured it, Brad’s put a bunch of extra work into the truck to get it as sharp as possible. Remember, Ford made these F-trucks to be utilitarian workhorses, not show cars, so they were never any great shakes when it came to fit and finish.

“With this model, the gaps between the fenders and the hood are always off,” Brad explains. “I just took the whole thing apart and gapped everything properly. I put a new set of hinges on, but had to change how it all worked; I added material to the base of the hood, moved the front fenders down, and where the wiper cowl meets the fender, I had to add about 6mm.”

Brad had to make plenty of adjustments to get everything to line up, mainly due to the bumpside itself. He had to get the door lined up with the bump in the cab and make all the gaps look right, before also aligning the fenders and, lastly, the tub. As he puts it: “They’re an absolute bugger of a thing to get straight.”

Other body mods include a hidden fuel filler (now under the bed instead of sticking out of the cab), a rear rollpan, widened rear wheelarches, and a raised bed floor incorporating a panel that lifts via gas struts. Brad didn’t just cut a rectangle out of the floor and chuck a couple of struts on it, ether; he made the whole thing from scratch!

“It used to have the original floor in there, but it wasn’t very tidy, and I had a hard cover hiding everything,” he explains. “I made the new one on a pan brake out of a flat piece of sheet metal and folded it all up to get that ribbed effect. That was a pain in the arse; it took me a day-and-a-half, and I did about 15 test pieces before I figured out what angles worked.”

Extensive though all that cosmetic work was, Brad didn’t stop there. He also made major chassis mods to get the truck sitting even lower. “One of the main drawbacks with the Effie beforehand was the rear chassis notch,” he says. “It had a bolt-in notch and I just wanted it lower, so I fabricated and grafted in a larger C-notch to allow for the lower stance. I really wanted the wheels to make a statement, so I chose Schott Throttle EXLs and made the 20x12s fit under the rear, which was quite a lot of work.”

Brad also widened the rear wheel tubs, had the diff shortened, and raised the bed floor about 200mm to accommodate the new ride height. “At the same time, I had to decide whether to go with a four-link and coil-overs or stick with the leaf springs,” he says. “This vehicle is built as a cruiser, so I wanted the smoothest ride possible.” In the end, he chose to simply modify the leaf spring set-up. “I’m super happy with how it rides!”

The colour change was another massive decision that fundamentally altered the truck’s identity. Brad was after a colour that would be a little more unusual than Wimbledon White while also complementing the chrome bumper and grille. “I wanted to do a colour I hadn’t seen on a bumpside before,” he says. “The Porsche colours always look great, and I thought this Aetna Blue would kind of look period-correct.”

There’s further changes under the F100’s hood, too. While it still rocks a 351 Cleveland, this one’s a fresh mill that Melbourne’s John Piescik had kicking around. A little warmer than the previous Clevo, it boasts a mild cam and 4V heads, and while it might not make the truck go as fast as a Porsche, it sure sounds a lot cooler.

To complete the update, Brad also freshened up the interior with a new seat, German box-weave carpet, an Aeroflow Bang Shift shifter, and a Sparc Industries steering wheel that Brad painted to colour-match it to the distressed brown vinyl on the seat. It’s clean and simple, and for an F100, pretty classy.

While he’s much happier with the F-truck now, Brad reckons there’s still plenty of room for improvement. “I learnt a lot on this build, but there are still some things I would do differently,” he says. “Each build presents different challenges, but I really enjoyed turning this bumpside into something that, now that I look back on it, I’m really happy with.”

Not surprisingly, Brad wasn’t the only one chuffed with how it turned out. After he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse, the truck has now gone to a new owner. And while he’s probably still got a mild case of seller’s remorse this time, we’re sure it won’t be long before he’s busying himself with another cool project.

BRAD McGILL
1968 FORD F100

THANKS
Schott Wheels; Cruisin’ Automotive for supplying the TMI Products interior; Dean’s Autoglass; Premier Paints; Wanneroo Mufflers & Exhaust Systems; Johnny at Benzene’s Detailing; Jordan Leist for the killer images.