With the growing popularity of the older Ford F100 builds, one of our favorites has got to be the Method Race Wheels “74”. It does not matter if you are a Ford or Chevy fan, people fall in love with this truck at first sight.
Method Race Wheels partners Kevin Fitzgerald, Bud Fitzgerald and Colbey Groom wanted to have some fun and get more involved in off road racing and with some help from Marty Fiolka, they were convinced to race NORRA. Upon learning of the Vintage race vehicle theme for the NORRA Rally, the partners had a direction to go with their vehicle build. They purchased the F100 from Jimmy Weitzel and had an original plan to leave it “fairly stock.” After sitting on that idea for about two whole days, they decided to do a full build, leaving very little of the truck vintage but the exterior look. Everything else on the vehicle has been replaced with top of the line components that can hold up to the abuse of a 1,000 mile peninsula run.
Method brought the vehicle to Jake Velasco Race Prep. Velasco happens to be a first cousin of Groom. Usually working with family is not the smartest choice but Velasco has proven himself to be an amazingly talented fabricator and prep guy so this was a no brainer for the partners. Today, Velasco’s fab shop is on his property in southern San Diego county and is now a state of the art facility. Unfortunately, this build started before the shop was complete so a canopy with tarps was constructed on a graded piece of dirt and garage flooring was laid down and that is where the truck was built.
This is cab number two for “74” as the third day of of its first NORRA rally got the best of the vehicle. Since this vehicle is also used for shows and promotional appearances, it was rebuilt and back to being a showstopper at the next event Method attended.
The details on this truck are too cool not to post all of the pictures. Unlike other features that focus on the photography, we left these pictures “as is” to include a lot of the details. We’ve even captured multiple angles so you can check it all out and get some ideas for your next project.
Update: After we shot the truck, Scott Kell of Alloy Studios added some new aluminum work that covers the fuel cell filler area.
Be on the lookout this year for the Method 74 truck as the partners take it down to Cabo once again to compete in this year’s NORRA Rally.
| SPECIFICATIONS |
|
| Owner: | Method Race Wheels |
| Chassis: | 1974 Ford F100 Front
Rear Tube Chassis |
| Suspension | Blitzkrieg F100 Equal Length Beams,
Blitzkrieg “BMS” 2.5″ Race Hubs Blitzkrieg 55″ Rear Trailing Arms, Blitzkrieg “BMS” 2.5″ Full Floater Hubs |
| Engine: | Ford Cobra 427 Bruce Nogrady Tune
515 HP Dailey Engineering Dry Sump/Billet Oil Pan RPM Custom Headers and Exhaust |
| Transmission: | Culhane 4l80 |
| Shocks: | FOX 2.5 Coilovers FT/RR
FOX 3.5 Bypasses FT/RR FOX 2.5 Bumpstops RR |
| Springs: | Eibach ERS |
| Seats & Safety: | Sparco Evo
PRP Harnesses |
| Axle: | Currie 9″ w/10″ Ring gear 4:11 |
| Brakes: | 6 Piston Jamar Calipers
Brembo Brake Pads 14″ Rotors |
| Steering: | Blitzkrieg Crossover Steering
Howe Performance |
| Wheels: | 17″ Method MR102 Beadlocks |
| Tires: | BFG 37×12.5×17 Baja TA KR2 |
| Electronics | Lowrance GPS
Ipad Dash Mounted PCI Race Radio Intercom Kenwood Race Radio Kicker Sound System Racepak Digital Dash |
| Lighting | Baja Designs |
| Body: | 1974 Ford F100 Cab
McQueen Fiberglass |
| Special Notes: | TRH Wiring
Scott Kell Alloy Studios Aluminum MagnaFlow Exhaust CBR Radiator/Coolers all one Unit XRP Fittings 110 Gallon Harmon Racing Fuel Cell Paint: Temecula Valley Collision Center Build/Prep: Jake Velasco Race Prep Bartact Custom Tool Bag, Window Nets Special Thanks to Eric and Edward Dollente |
Is it okay to say, “I have a chubby”.
Auto fab?
Love this truck. Great worksmenship.
I notice it does not have Air Conditioning
JV is definitely the “Man” for builds like this! Great article – Great truck!
a great truck like a dream come true and drive this beuty machine excited
shut up and take my money!