Everyone loves The Flintstones — hey, they’re the modern stone age family. The town of Bedrock is definitely a wild place and Wilma loves her super short skirts, but let’s talk about Fred’s ride. Perhaps the show went too far in the realism department. Cars of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s suffered terrible rust problems, especially those left outside and those in the snow/rust belt. Example A for this story is Project F-Zilla, our 1969 Ford F100 pickup.
Project F-Zilla, our 1969 F-100 with Godzilla power, seen here in its rendering.
Patina is in fashion right now and we’re going to preserve as much as that look as possible with Project F-Zilla, but you don’t want Fred Flintsone floors, where your feet dangle to the ground. That’s the situation we were faced with.
Our starting point, all cleaned up, is not really as bad as the rendering would have it. The floor was OK under the seat, but the floorpans were even worse than they look. We called Auto Metal Direct for the correct replacement parts. (Photos by Preston Rice)
The actual truck itself is not too bad; considering it was a working farm truck a large part of its life, the exterior is actually pretty good.
Alas, our ’69 F-100 had floors only a resident of Bedrock could love. Our truck is getting a state-of-the-Art Morrison Enterprises chassis, and will be outfitted with the kind of brakes that could stop a full-on road racer. We didn’t think the boss would appreciate watching the road pass by under his feet (or have the need to stop F-Zilla with his heels).
In addition to the AME chassis, Project F-Zilla will be the recipient of a TREMEC Magnum T56 six-speed gearbox and Modern Driveline swap kit, a naturally-aspirated Late Model Engines Godzilla engine displacing 460 cubes (check out that 764-horse build here), and a whole lot more.
Here’s what we’re talking about. The floors were pretty far gone. We were able to poke holes in them with a screwdriver. That is when we got to cuttin’. (Photos by Preston Rice)
The Solution To Our Metal Woes
To solve our problem, we turned to Auto Metal Direct for its left and right side floorpans and cab mounts. AMD has floorpans for ’67-79 Ford F100, F250 and F350, as well as the ’73-79 F150, and ’78-79 Bronco.
AMD’s floorpans are made with OEM-specific gauge steel; they are high-quality replacements that meet or exceed the original specifications. Your author was once involved in a ’67 Chevelle project, a car so bad when we started it could have been crushed. It was that far gone. The AMD sheetmetal we used literally saved that SS396 from the junkyard. Everything fit great, the project was a massive success, and we had no qualms about using AMD’s products for this truck. In fact, we looked forward to it.
The area under the seats and the trans tunnel weren’t terrible, the floorpans were shot — maybe not Fred Flintstone bad, but they were headed that way in a hurry. The floors were tack welded every few inches, then seam sealed. (Photos by Preston Rice)
Yes, you can do repairs to virtually anything, but at these prices, why bother? In a check of the AMD website, the floorpans go for $47.99 per side. The floor of your vehicle is constantly exposed to various elements and can be easily damaged by water, salt, and other corrosive materials. It makes no sense to try to save metal manufactured almost 60 years ago.
These F-100s had a bolt-in trans cover for that tunnel. We got a new blank off piece from AMD. We actually got one for an automatic, so we could cut exactly where we needed to. (Photos by Preston Rice)
As expected, the AMD pans went in with absolutely no drama. The OEM-specific gauge steel used in its construction is thicker and more durable than many other aftermarket floor pans. This ensures that it will stand up to the daily wear and tear of your vehicle, as well as the elements. The steel is coated with a black EDP coating to help prevent rust and to provide a finished appearance.
These are the front cab mounts, where the pucks set down on the chassis. There are plates to cover the holes, but while they are off, you can bolt the front of the cab to the frame. We cleaned up the firewall while we were at it; it was actually in very good condition. We took the liberty of filling in some holes at this time to give it a cleaner appearance. Later, it will be sprayed by Poppy’s Patina Chassis Armor for protection. (Photos by Preston Rice)
It should be noted that while Project F-Zilla will be getting a floor-mounted TREMEC manual gearbox, we procured an AMD trans tunnel cover for an automatic. Why? Because we know the shifter will not be in the same place; with the automatic cover, we can cut it up however we need to.
Project F-Zilla is officially rolling! OK, not exactly you’re thinking. The Wilwood brakes will be fitted to the AME chassis, and no, the stock ’93 5.0 out of a different project car is not being substituted for the LME Godzilla. Our shop manager just thought this looked funny. (Photo by Preston Rice)
Bed Time For F-Zilla
Next, we turned our attention to the bed. We took a wire wheel and it actually cleaned up pretty well. There was no real metal work that had to be done. Eventually, we’ll seal everything up under the patina. It’s all part of the master plan.
(Photos by Preston Rice)
One are we had to address is the rear-most cross brace under the bed. The AME chassis rises up at the back for the IRS, so we had to remove the third crossmember under the back of the bed to clear up some room.
The Conclusive Conclusion
That’s it for now on the body. Next up we are going to do a deep dive on the Art Morrison Enterprises chassis, not to mention the engine install, the Modern Driveline transmission swap kit, and a whole lot more.
Project F-Zilla is a one-of-a-kind build that will be equally at home at an Australian-style burnout contest or a night on the town. It will have all kinds of custom touches that you’ll want to implement on your own hot rod, so stay tuned!
