THANKS to its radical paintjob full of contrasting candies, a vibrant orange fade and pinstriping, this 1962 Ford F100 unibody looks every bit the 60s show car. And its recent history is almost as interesting as its flashy custom mods.

First published in the November 2021 issue of Street Machine

Through his work at different panel shops, Sean Hammond is the main player in the build of this incredibly cool pick-up, but its current custodian is Sean’s good mate Curtis Grima. If these names sound familiar, that’s because they are both stalwarts of our scene with a particular interest in traditional rods and customs.

The Effy landed in Australia in early 2014 sporting a red oxide with satin-clear finish. At first it was used as a rad little shop truck for Sean’s then-employer Western Smash Repairs. Sean began using it as a daily, too, with mate Curtis often riding shotgun on parts runs and the like.

Then WSR customer Nathan Bugeja grew keen on owning a custom, and the F100 was just the ticket. Sean was entrusted with the entire build and design, and the plan was to debut the fresh F100 at MotorEx 2014 – only eight weeks away! “It was a real buzz,” says Sean of the tight deadline. “I put the build on Insta for others to follow. The paint was done only 36 hours before we rolled into MotorEx!

“The main inspo behind the car was a mix of US hot rodder and artist Jimmy Smith’s Econoline-fronted F100, and Steve Stanford’s ’62 Impala rendering,” Sean continues. “I take the inspiration and put my own spin on things; I don’t like to copy.”

The event was made, but only just. “The truck was about 70 per cent complete,” Sean admits.

After MotorEx, the pick-up was put in storage before being traded in and then ping-ponging between auction houses.

Curtis, for his part, had followed the whole build, and he and Sean would watch the pick-up arrive at numerous auctions only to be passed in due to its inflated reserve price. Finally, in 2020 the car was offered at a price that suited Curtis’s budget, and he snapped it up.

“It was such a shame to see a car built like this that had never been anywhere,” Curtis says. He quickly remedied that by booking the May 2021 Nostalgia Lane event in Sydney, using it as an excuse to take the F-truck on an epic road trip from his home in Melbourne, alongside Sean’s sweet ’57 Ford Ranchero.

“The unibody had been quickly put together in 2014 but hadn’t been driven, and when I first hopped in, it was shit to drive,” Curtis says. “So before we went to Sydney, I fixed all of the things that bugged me so that it could be reliable.”

Once at Nostalgia Lane 2021, the Effy copped bulk attention. “It was the first time anyone had seen the car with this paintwork,” Curtis explains. Mat Egan had amped up the finish to 11 a good three years prior, commissioned by then-owner Nathan Bugeja. Vivid orange pinstripes and candy fading were added, making the panel and paint absolutely pop. “The paint looks mad!” Curtis enthuses.

Laying down a design such as this takes countless hours in masking and prepping. Even more impressive is that this marvel of panel, candies, lace and pinstriping continues directly through from the body to the dash, and ornately completes the inner doors as a stunning replacement for traditional door cards.

Back in 2014, the body had been blasted and was found to be relatively rust-free, so Sean had ironed out any wrinkles before tackling the bigger fab jobs of tubbing the rear, building the diff tunnel and creating custom inner tray panels, beadrolled to suit. The rear features a ’70 Camaro split front bumper flanking the louvred tailgate.

But along with the paint, it’s the front end that really sets this F100 apart. Those early Econoline headlights now flank a tube grille fabbed from Bunnings shower rails, of all things.

Inside, the bench is finished in stark white vinyl with black inserts and black metalflake piping. The tray trim follows this colour scheme, albeit in tuck-and-roll marine-grade vinyl.

For motivation, the pick-up has been kept fairly low-key and driveable thanks to a mild 351ci Windsor backed by a C4 and nine-inch. The most notable upgrade is the airbag system incorporating Air Ride ShockWave ’bags up front and Slam Specialties items in the rear. The front is completed by a Mustang II front end with power steer.

These sensible underpinnings mean the pick-up can now regularly get out and about and handle it all with aplomb.

“I like to just drive it, go out for dinner in it and that sort of thing,” Curtis says. “I’m keen to do the next MotorEx, too. I didn’t enter in the judging at Nostalgia Lane, but I got the Lucky’s Speed Shop pick as Car of Show and the Promoter’s Choice award.”

You can bet this wild F-truck will now garner the attention it deserves, thanks to its well-suited custodian.

CURTIS GRIMA
1962 FORD F100 UNIBODY PICK-UP

THANKS
Good friend Sean Hammond who built the pick-up; Mat Egan for the paint; Glenn French from Rocket Kustom Auto Trim and Pat Mesiti from Sunshine Motor Trimming for the trim