Rob Hathcock, his son Cody, and their family pulled this rusty 1978 Ford F350 Crew Cab short wheel base truck out of the weeds and started building back in December of 2022. With two single cab F100’s already in their possession it was time to fulfill a vision of a slammed crew cab.
This body turned out to be a lot rougher than they thought. Once it was disassembled they knew it was going to need new front floor pans, both front doors, both front fenders and whole new bed from LMC Truck. The truck was purchased from an old rodeo guy and had been out to pasture for over 20 years so the rust was understandable. They even went through two donor trucks for sheet metal, including a roof panel from a 2008 F250 to replace the rotten roof panel the truck had.
To get the truck all the way on the ground, Rob and his son, installed a Soulless Innovations front suspension and then designed and fabricated the entire rear half including a Famous Watts link, Trick Chassis Ford 9” rear end with strange axles. The truck rides on Slam Specialties bags and is controlled by an Accuair controller. Pushing this bus down the road is a 5.0 H.O. and AOD transmission.
After all the rust was gone, they painted the inside and started assembly, installing Autometer gauges, Sony stereo and Kicker amp and speakers. The entire interior is out of a 2015 Ford F150 Platinum. They replaced all the weather stripping, and tinted all the glass with the goal of having it ready for Cruisin’ the Coast 2023 and they were still working on it the night before. Their first stop was the F100 Take Over tour stop. They put over 500 miles on it just at that event and say it drives like a Cadillac. They continue to try to drive it every weekend.
In the future, they plan to paint the truck a light blue with faux patina.
Rob has been into cars his whole life and has worked in the local school district bus repair shop for the last 27 years. They also own a 1948 Rat Rod and two 1969 F100’s.
I noticed Rob’s build in our Facebook group called “Cruise Culture Magazine” when he responded to one of our monthly contests calling for members to share pics of their ride for a chance to win a magazine. The most likes wins, and although he did win the first time I saw it, he did go on to win in December. When I saw the picture I reached out right away knowing it had to be in the magazine. Thanks again Rob.
Written by Brian Holzli
Photography by Chad Rommerdale (Conflicted Images)
