By: Bud Brutsman, Overhaulin’ Executive Producer
Sidebars & Captions by Sue Elliot-Sink
Photography: Courtesy of Overhaulin’
Reprint from OVERHAULIN’ The Magazine, July 2006
verhaulin’ was built around the concept of getting deserving people something they would really appreciate. Finding those people is one of the hardest things we do, usually. But in the 4½ years I’ve known Chip Foose, I’ve never seen him do something for himself. He thrives on doing good things for other people, and he never says no. Out of all the people I know he’s the most deserving. So the idea of doing something for Chip had been around as long as the show had. But I always shied away from it because it would be so difficult. He knows all my tricks. He knows all the signs.
Then a close friend of Chip’s named Gary Fulkerson approached me and said he had a shop in Detroit where we could build a vehicle for Chip, someplace it wouldn’t be discovered. If
we were going to do one of Chip’s vehicles, it had to be his ’56 Ford F-100. The first day I met Chip, he showed me all these drawings of his truck to explain how subtle lines work and how they don’t. So I knew those drawings existed, which meant we could actually set it up so he had designed his own Overhaulin’ truck.
In addition, this truck is part of the Foose family history. Chip’s dad, Sam Foose, owned it first. He taught Chip how to drive on this truck. Then Chip bought the truck, and he plans to give it to his son, Brock, some day.
So the decision was made. We were going to do it. I started doing the internal workings, telling people it’s a secret show and we don’t want word of it around because they’ll slip up. Chip is really crafty; he’ll pull it out of people.
Then the place in Detroit fell through. But I’m really determined so I went to
the two people who helped me start Overhaulin’ in the first place, Tony Genty and Dave Leonard of Original Parts Group Inc. (OPGI). They sponsored the first show. So I told them this idea, and they had the same reaction as everyone else. You know you’re doing something magical when every single person you tell about it says, “That’s f—in’ cool.” And I’m not saying that just ’cause I want to use the word f—. It’s just what every person said.
Anyway, Tony and Dave decided they were going to rent a 30,000-square-foot warehouse for us to do the build. They rented a secret location, and it was two blocks from where we were building an Overhaulin’ car and 2 miles from Chip’s shop in Huntington Beach, California.
We se the plan in motion, and I knew it was going to be very difficult
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because Chip knows all the signs. So we really plotted this out. Co-Host Chris Jacobs and I had to have an alibi, so we drove down to San Diego on a Friday night, planning to steal a truck from a Navy SEAL the next morning. We had a late dinner with the crew. We finished dinner around midnight or 1 a.m. Chris didn’t even know what we were going to do. We got in the car and drove from San Diego back up to Huntington Beach, where we met some Huntington Beach police who were in on the gag.
Meanwhile, we got a group of guys we’d never seen before to steal Chip’s truck. He’s got security cameras all over the place. So these guys pulled up with a flatbed. One guy gets out and jumps over the top of the gate. Two guys get out with battery-operated Sawzalls and cut the gate in half because they couldn’t cut the lock. They pushed the truck onto the flatbed and then stole the Foose sign off the side of the building, like it was some crazy fans doing this. With a police escort, we got from Foose Design back over to the warehouse and dropped off the truck. Then Chris and I drove back to San Diego to steal the Navy SEAL’s vehicle the next morning, which was about two hours later.
So when Chip called me that morning, I was in the back of a surveillance vehicle getting ready to steal this other truck, and nobody else around me knew. Nobody. Chip called and asked if he was being Overhauled. And I said, “I don’t know, I’m in San
Diego trying to steal this Navy SEAL’s truck.”
And he said, “My truck’s gone.” And I said, “Which truck?”
Then he proceeded to tell me how they stole the truck and the sign. Then he called the cops, who were working for us at the time, and I had those officers go over to take the report—legitimate cops.
Later that day I met with the build crew, which was led by Chip’s father and some of the best metal guys around.
A week prior to that, I had broken into Chip’s office and stolen all the drawings he had for this truck. He had drawn the plans for the modification of this truck 10 years earlier, when he used to work at Boyd Coddington’s hot rod shop. The last project he was ramping up to work on at Boyd’s was his truck. And it involved some major modifications—chopping and channeling and wedging and whatever. So I had Craig Chaffers, Overhaulin’s project manager, make color copies of the drawings and blow them up to put on the wall of the warehouse. And then I took the originals and put them right back where they belonged, since I knew Chip would look for them. So we had the master’s truck and his plans on how to do it.
It was weeks and weeks and weeks of setup to get him. And then it was just a succession of lies and hoping people wouldn’t trip up and say something. And the whole time we were building this truck within a half
mile of him.
Craig took a beating. He had to be in two places at once and lie to Chip, and he’s a terrible liar. He was managing the regular Overhaulin’ builds, and at the same time he was managing this. And this project went on far longer than a regular Overhaul: We stole the truck July 18 and didn’t give it back until November 1. Craig was a mess.
It wasn’t easy for anyone, really. Chip was just devastated that his truck was gone. He’d pull over on the side of the road sometimes and just cry. It was tough keeping up the pretense, but we were all committed to doing this for him.
Before we stole the truck, a friend of mine from Roush Racing, Lane Breck, came over to Chip’s shop and said he was coming out with a brand-new FE motor. And Chip, not knowing that I was going to steal his truck, pointed at it and said, “I would love to put one of those motors in my truck.” So not only did they send us a motor for his truck, they sent us the very first one. It’s No. 00001 of their side-oiler motors.
Then Jack Roush came up with the idea for the reveal. Roush Performance Products was going to unveil its new motor at the ’05 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show for the street-rod community, and who better to unveil it than Chip Foose? So we’d let Chip unveil his own truck—and the plan to pay back the master Overhauler was complete.
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> The ’56 was a show winner back in 1984, but it had since deteriorated to the point of being a beater.
THE BUILD TEAM
Overhaulin’ assembled an automotive-after-market-industry dream team for this build, including Team Leader Sam Foose (Chip’s dad), Project Manager Craig Chaffers, Ben Bright, Paul Brustman, Greg Cox, Adam Diaz, Jeff Farina, James Ferguson, Gary Fulkerson, Tony Gently, Dennis Graff, Shawn Hengstebeck, Charley Hutton, Tony Ixcoy, Glen Larson, Mickey Larson, Thomas Lodby, Jorge Lopez, Brett Mabray, Andrew Peterson, Bruce Rathburn, Andreas Somogyi, Dan Stoops, Trent Trimble, Brian Ward, and Dave Willy. Plus former Overhaulin’ marks Glen Atkins (’62 Bel Air) and Mike Cataline (’65 T-bird) showed up to pay their respects.
So what’s it like to work on Chip’s personal ride? Stressful—trying to build something to please the master himself—but also deeply satisfying. Charley Hutton, who had worked with Chip on a Rider Award-winning vehicle, summed up everybody’s sentiments when he said, “Chip, it’s been and honor… You do so much for so many people without asking for anything in return. This is an awesome way for all of us who love you to give back to you, man.”
> After taking 2 inches out of the cowl to drop the front of the cab, Sam Foose and Trent Trimble finalized the modifications to the hood so it would match the new angle of the roof.
> The team moved the front wheel openings forward and adjusted the angle slightly to go with the newly sloped roof and hood. Then they had to modify the frame to move the wheels forward.
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> Sam and the A-Team constantly referred to Chip’s drawings for the truck, trying to interpret statements like “Drop [the hood] ’till it’s emotional.”
> Back in Wyoming, master cabinetmakers Paul Brutsman {Bud’s brother} and Dan Stoops of Woodworker’s Supply created an incredibly beautiful clear walnut wood kit for the bed.
Charley’s Words of Wisdom
When it was time to put the truck’s body back together, Charley Hutton said, “The biggest thing is you don’t want to tighten anything until everything is together. So just get all the hardware in. Leave it fairly loose until you get the … fenders set into place. Once the fenders align where you need them, you can start tightening things up.” So align the fenders first, then position the rest of the body panels to match.
> With the engine in place and the suspension hung, Charley Hutton and Andreas Somogyi installed the front clip.
> Dennis Rickless pinstriped the painted section of the dash and doors in orange,and Bill Dunn’s crew carried that character line onto the seat.
> The Foose logo set into the seat contributes to the “as if it came from the factory that way” look that’s so important to Chip.
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Code Name Overlord
I gave this project the code name Overlord, which has real significance. I’m a very big military buff and Operation Overlord was the invasion of Europe in World War II. It was one of the most top-secret military operations ever, one of the largest, and one of the most successful. I chose the name for our project because it was a good reflection of the secrecy heeded, and this was the biggest operation we were going to pull off.
—Bud Brustman
BODY
The A-Team did some serious chopping and sectioning. The builders took 2 inches out of the cowl and tipped the roof forward, plus they pie-cut the hood, pulled the front fender openings forward, and raised the running boards. They also shaved the locks. And more.
TAILGATE
Quality Metalcraft stamped the Foose Design logo into this unique tailgate, and Shawn Hengstebeck spent at least 60 hours on body and prep to make it perfect for paint. Then Dennis Rickless of DR Design painstakingly lettered the logo.
WINDOWS
Even with all the body mods, the team was able to install stock window glass form Mid Fifty F-100 Parts, and they replaced the truck’s stock small rear window with a big one.
PAINT
Charley Hutton squirted three coats of Carizzma … From BASF single-stage black paint (no clear) in the booth at Classic Traditions Kustom Paintshop. BASF also provided the CMC Charcoal Silver Metallic used on the rims and suspension.
BED
The team got a new reproduction bed from Mid Fifty, then proceeded to shorten it and change the stake pockets to ones off a ’36 Ford.
WHEELS
Al Velour from MHT Wheels took measurements to ensure the truck’s rims would fit the frame and clear the massive
brakes. Then MHT supplied the material so Aaron Youngerman, co-owner of A&M Machine Works, could craft a set of one-off wheels designed to take Chip’s breath away. They’re 19x10s front, 20x10s rear.
TIRES
BFGoodrich supplied the low-profile g-Force T/A KDW tires, which provide great traction and control. They’re Y-speed rated (good for up to 186 mph).
BRAKES
Baer provided Extreme-Plus disc brakes for the front and rear, with six-piston MonoBlock calipers and 13-inch slotted, cross-drilled, and zinc-plated rotors. As a really cool bonus, Baer engraved the Foose logo on the calipers.
FRAME
Art Morrison supplied a rear subframe, as well as a C5 Corvette subframe to give the frontend independent suspension. The team located it to work with the fender openings. Once everything was finalized, Gemtech powdercoated the frame.
SUSPENSION
Rydell Chevrolet contributed the Corvette suspension parts, including A-arms, spindles, and coilovers.
BRIGHTWORK
Mid Fifty provided repro trim pieces and new bumpers, which the Overhaulin’ team reshaped and tucked closer to the body. Then Artistic Silver Plating rechromed and polished the bumpers.
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THE REVEAL
Many of the marks on Overhaulin’ are stunned at “the reveal”—when they see their transformed vehicle for the first time. But no mark has been more surprised at an Overhaulin’ reveal than the show’s own Overhauler extraordinaire, Chip Foose.
It took a serious industry wide conspiracy to trick the trickster, and the reveal was no exception. Chip believed he was headed over to the Roush booth at the ’05 SEMA Show in Las Vegas to help unveil a brand-new engine, a 451-cube FE based on the 427 slide oiler. Chip did indeed unveil the engine, but he soon found it in an unexpected place. As he cut the ribbon, the curtain behind him lifted to reveal his Overhauled truck.
It took a few seconds for the truth of the situation to sink in. Then Chip looked at the Foose Design logo on the tailgate and turned to his dad, Sam Foose. He said tearfully, “Is this mine?”
> Chip was trilled to meet one of his heroes, Jack Roush, at what he thought was the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Roush’s new engine.
> As Chip cut the ribbon, the curtain behind him lifted to reveal his Overhauled F-100.
> Chip’s tears flowed freely as Jack Roush showed him where a team of his friends had stashed the new 451R FE engine.
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> Dennis, aka The Prince of Pinstriping, carefully applied the orange paint to the Foose logos on the brake rotors and the wheels’ center caps.
> For sentimental reasons, the team kept the flip-up gas cap from when Sam Foose owned the truck.
ENGINE
Roush Performance Products’ brand-new 451ci crate motor is based on a 427 side oiler. The 451R FE puts out 455 hp and 525 lb-ft of torque. It starts with a Pond aluminum block and features a Roush-tuned Holley carburetor, a dual-plane intake, Edelbrock aluminum heads, forged pistons, a nodular iron crankshaft, a hydraulic flattappet camshaft, Harlan Sharp shaft-mount roller rockers, and MSD billet distributor with wires, a Melling high-volume oil pump, and a powdercoated Canton road race-style oil pan.
ENGINE DRESS-UP
The Roush-logo aluminum valve covers and air cleaner came with the 451R FE, but the Overhaulin’ team painted them to match the interior color scheme. Dennis Rickless then meticulously lettered them.
EXHAUST
Magna Flow build a one-off stainless steel exhaust system on-site to fit Chip’s truck, including 21/2-inch mandrel-bent tubing and 4x9x14 offset-center 11/2-inch mufflers.
INSTALLATION ACCESSORIES
Summit Racing supplied the Painless wiring harness, Russell fuel fittings, and Power Master starter and alternator.
BATTERY
The Optima YellowTop SpiralCell battery is in the stock location, under the passenger-side floorboard. It’s made to handle abuse, high heat, and extreme performance—not that Chip would ever abuse this truck.
TRANSMISSION
Bowler Performance Transmissions custom-built a C6 to match the engine’s performance, including a shift-improver kit and a custom-built 2,300-stall converter. The Bowler crew mated it to a Gear Vendors overdrive for 0.78:1 gearing, good for highway cruising and fuel efficiency. Bowler also smoothed, polished, and painted the combo to match the detailing on the truck.
REAREND
Rydell Chevrolet contributed the Corvette suspension parts, including A-arms, spindles, and coilovers.
BRIGHTWORK
Diff Works supplied the Ford 9-inch rearend, which was narrowed to accommodate the wider wheels and fitted with Currie 3.73:1 gears from Summit.
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SO HOW DID IT FEEL?
At the reveal, Chip Foose kept saying, “You guys aren’t supposed to do this to me.”” So we had to ask, how did it feel to get Overlauded? “That’s my favorite episode so far,” says Chip. ‘it felt great. [The] best thing about that build was that my dad was involved.
“One of the coolest things was who the team was. You know, all these people came from out of town that are some of my best friends, and I didn’t even know they were right down the street from me.”
And what about the truck? Is it what he’d envisioned? “I love it. I wouldn’t change a thing,” Chip says. “I’m gonna enjoy that truck for the rest of my life.”
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INTERIOR
The team from Bill Dunn One Stop Shop applied miles of Keyston Bros. Black and charcoal leather, starting on top of the dash and on the kick panels, then wrapping around the doors and onto the bench seat. It also cut 2 inches off the seat track for a better seating position. In addition, the Overhaulin’ team filled the ashtray and radio holes.
GAUGES
Redline Gauge Works refaced the original gauge cluster in black and orange and made the speedo go up to 120 mph. It also added Foose emblem in the center and actual working gauges instead of idiot lights.
STEERING COLUMN
Ididit’s paintable-steel column tilts to five positions and features self-canceling turn signals, four-way
flashers, a dressup kit, and an indexable lower shift lever for ease of installation in completely custom applications like this one.
AIR CONDITIONING
Vintage Air provided an air conditioning, heat, and defogger system, which is mounted behind the glovebox.
SOUND DEADENING
A Layer of Dynamat Xtreme on the interior sheetmetal stops vibration and reduces road noise. It also keeps the black truck’s interior cooler.
RESTORATION PIECES
Mid Fifty F-100 Parts provided an assortment of new interior pieces, including a rearview mirror, a glovebox, knobs, door latches, door handles, power windows, and weatherstripping.
The Jewelry-Box Effect
“Chip always refers to the ‘jewelry box effect.’ You open the box and there’s the jewel. So that was our plan,” Project Manager Craig Chaffers says. “You have this black box, this black truck, and … you open up the hood, like opening up the box, and there’s your diamond right there, that Roush engine.”
A&M MACHINE WORKS
Pomona, CA
909/594-9700
ARTISTIC SILVER PLATING
Signal Hill, CA
877/427-0113
www.artisticsilverplating.com
ART MORRISON ENTERPRISES
Fife, WA
800/929-7188
www.artmorisson.com
BAER BRAKE SYSTEMS
Phoenix, AZ
602/233-1411
www.baer.com
BFGOODRICH
Greenville, SC
877/788-8899
www.bfgoodrichtires.com
BILL DUNN ONE STOP SHOP
Huntington Beach, CA
714/848-3985
www.bill-dunn.com
BOWLER PERFORMANCE TRANSMISSIONS
Lawrenceville, IL
618/943-4856
www.bowlertransmissions.com
CARIZZMA … FROM BASF
800/825-3000
www.carizzmacolors.com
CENTURY TOWING
West Hills, CA
818/993-7555
CLASSIC TRADITIONS KUSTOM PAINTSHOP
Garden Grove, CA
562/673-7180
www.classictraditions.net
DIFF WORKS
Riverside, CA
951/549-6780
www.diffworks.net
DR DESIGN
Murrieta, CA
951/600-9493
DRIVELINES INC.
Irvine, CA
800/963-7483
www.drivelinesinc.com
DYNAMAT
Hamilton, OH
513/860-5094
www.dynamat.com
FIVE STAR GAS AND GEAR
Los Nietos, CA
888/885-STAR
www.fivestargas.com
GEAR VENDORS
El Cajon, CA
800/999-9555
www.gearvendors.com
GEMTECH POWDER COATING
Huntington Beach, CA
714/848-2517
www.gemtechpowder.com
IDIDIT
Tecumseh, MI
517/424-0577
www.ididit.com
IRON CLAD GLOVES
El Segundo, CA
888/314-3197
www.ironclad.com
KAESER COMPRESSORS
Fredericksburg, VA
540/898-5550
us.kaesser.com
KEYSTON BROS.
Roswell, GA
770/587-2555
www.keystonbros.com
LINCOLN ELECTRIC
Cleveland, OH
216/481-8100
www.lincolnelectric.com
Welding equipment
MAC TOOLS
Westerville, OH
800/MAC-TOOLS
www.mactools.com
MAGNAFLOW PERFORMANCE EXHAUST
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
800/824-8664
www.magnaflow.com
MHT WHEELS
La Palma, CA
800/378-0007
www.mhtwheels.com
MID FIFTY F-100 PARTS
Golden Valley, AZ
800/252-1956
www.midfifty.com
MOTHERS POLISHES • WAXES • CLEANERS
Huntington Beach, CA
714/891-3364
www.mothers.com
OAKLEY
Foothill Ranch, CA
800/403-7449
www.oakley.com
Safety glasses
OPTIMA BATTERIES
Aurora, CO
888/8-OPTIMA
www.optimabatteries.com
ORIGINAL PARTS GROUP INC. (OPGI)
Huntington Beach, CA
800/243-8355
www.opgi.com
QUALITY METALCRAFT
Livonia, MI
734/261-6700
www.qualitymetalcraft.com
REDLINE GAUGE WORKS
Santa Clarita, CA
661/259-8891
www.redlinegaugeworks.com
ROUSH PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS
Livonia, MI
800/59-ROUSH
www.roushperf.com
ROYAL PURPLE
Portex, TX
281/354-8600
www.royalpurple.com
Synthetic lubricants
RYDELL CHEVROLET
www.rydellchev.com
SATA
Spring Valley, MN
507/346-7102
www.satausa.com
Spray equipment (primer and paint guns)
SHORELINE MOTORING
Huntington Beach, CA
714/698-1373
www.shorelinemotoring.com
Mounting and balancing tires
SUMMIT RACING
Akron, OH
800/230-3030
www.summitracing.com
VINTAGE AIR
San Antonio, TX
800/TO-COOL-U
www.vintageair.com
WOODWORKER’S SUPPLY
Casper, WY
307/237-5528
www.woodworker.com