Goodguys 2024 LMC Truck of the Year Early!
Congratulations to Ed Ganzinotti for winning the Goodguys 2024 LMC Truck of the Year Early title with your 1956 Ford F100 built by Classic Car Studio! We’ll see you and your vehicle in Scottsdale, Arizona November 22-24, 2024 at the 27th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals as part of our 2024 Top 12 display!
Rodding fans of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s are sure to remember a certain bright orange, fat-fendered ’46 Ford coupe turned drag car (running in the 9s!), as well as an even brighter yellow 1956 Ford F100. Both cars were crazy low, with big block power and crafted by influential Southern California builder Fat Jack Robinson.
Ed Ganzinotti is one of those hot rodders who was influenced by these iconic builds and is lucky enough to now own that same yellow ’56 F100 for which Fat Jack was famous. Interestingly, Jack never owned that truck – it was commissioned by Danny Shaffer, a close friend of Ed’s.
At the time of Jack’s death in 2020, Danny had him building another 1956 Ford F100, but he lost interest in the project with the death of his friend. The project sat dormant for a few years until Danny relented and sold it to Ed who hauled the unfinished project to the team at Classic Car Studio to finish the truck while retaining the Fat Jack style.
The chassis was pretty much done and like most of Fat Jack’s builds, there was a big cubic inch engine perched between the frame rails. The CCS team got busy on the chassis retaining most of Jack’s work though they did replace the solid front axle with a more comfortable independent front suspension and the 9-inch Ford for a Winters quick-change rearend.
That big-displacement engine, a Jon Kaase-built 540c.i. Ford, was retained and crowned with a Borla eight-stack fuel injection. Jack had already built a custom accessory drive for the engine and CCS finished the sheet metal work under the hood. A well-built C6 automatic transmission transfers the power to a pair of 20×10-inch Halibrand wheels shod in Goodyear Eagle tread to hook up and make this 1956 Ford F100 really scoot!
There really wasn’t much in the way of work or mods started on the cab or body, so the crew at CCS handled some custom cleanup by shaving the cowl vent and deleting both bumpers. They also added modern door latches, reshaped and relocated the front fender openings, and added LED headlights and ’32 Ford-style taillights from Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop. The final prep and PPG paintwork was done by Relic Restomods.
The interior of the 1956 Ford F100 follows the clean and understated style with slight modifications to the dash complemented with modern amenities like Dakota Digital instrumentation, Vintage Air, and an Ididit column with a Limeworks Porsche-style steering wheel. CCS formed a custom bench seat and stitched the entire interior with Relicate leather and cloth materials.
After years of waiting, one of Fat Jack’s last projects has finally been completed – thanks to Ed’s stewardship and the talents of the Classic Car Studio team.
Photos by John Jackson
