The Snowball Effect – The Alberini’s Go All-In on their 1948 Ford F1
Small projects (just a repaint and updated interior, please) frequently turn into full-blown rebuilds in the hot rod and old car world. Sometimes it’s a plan that grows and evolves. Often, though, the small-project prep work uncovers the need for a more significant change in direction.
That was certainly the case for Carlos and Tommy Alberini’s 1948 Ford F1 pickup. The teardown process at Lopez Performance in San Bernardino revealed poorly repaired front end damage that mandated a new chassis rather than repairing the previous repairs. That choice quickly snowballed into a decision to begin a complete overhaul that produced a shiny black beauty of a custom truck.
The rebirth began with a new chassis from Porterbuilt Fabrication that features a contemporary independent front suspension, a four-link rear suspension, and 13-inch Wilwood discs brakes. Brixton Wheels (20-inch in front, 21-inch in the rear) are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber to get things rolling.
The truck’s former small-block Chevy engine was set aside for a modern 5.0-liter Ford Coyote V8 that produces 500 horsepower. Valve covers from Sanders Street Rods cover stock heads while exhaust waste leaves through custom stainless steel headers and custom 2.5-inch pipes. A Mattson’s Custom Radiators unit keeps the engine at the right temperature. A Tremec T56 manual transmission feeds the power to the 9-inch rearend housing 3.73 gears. A custom engine cover painted in accent colors and smooth inner fender panels complete the custom under-hood work.
Metal massaging primarily involved restoring the vintage body panels to straight and original condition, fixing gaps, and other fine-tuning issues. Additional modifications included deleting the wing vent windows and replacing the rear bumper with a custom rolled pan that incorporates the taillights. The Lopez team machined many custom interior and exterior trim pieces, as well as the custom hubcaps on the Brixton wheels. Glassurit Jet Black paint covers the exceptionally straight panels.
The interior transformation was performed by Gabe Lopez and his team at Gabe’s Custom Interiors, working from a concept illustration by Sean Smith Designs. The stock dash bezel was replaced by a custom-machined piece that’s filled with custom gauges from Classic Instruments. A custom bench seat, door panels, and other pieces are covered in tan Hydes leather. The one-off steering wheel created by Lopez Customs sits on an Ididit tilt column. Restomod Air components keep the cab temperatures under control, while the wiring was done by Lopez technicians.
Once the decision was made to turn this from a small project into a big one, the goal became to upgrade what was considered a farm truck into a modern performance vehicle. Given the results, we’d have to say mission accomplished.
Congratulations to Carlos and Tommy Alberini for being named a Finalist for Goodguys 2026 LMC Truck of the Year Early with their cool 1948 Ford F1 built by Lopez Performance!
Photos: Michael Christensen
