1962 Ford F100 Unibody

Then there are some designs that were so out there, so far ahead of their time, so far ahead of the technology needed to make them work properly that it's hard to believe Ford's engineers managed to get them off the ground. Such designs were the one-piece unibody trucks, available on the fourth-generation F-100 and F-250, that would leave some serious cricks and crags in the F-Series' lineage.

Ford originally referred to them as the “integrated pickup,” but calling them “unibodies” is a bit of a misnomer. The nickname derives from the fact that the cab and box are one continuous piece, with no gap between them. The same stamping forming the back of the cab was also the leading edge of the bed, and the single-wall bed sides were spot-welded directly to the door sills.

• Number Produced in 1962: 68,983

• Standard Engine: 223-cubic-inch, 137-horsepower straight-six

• Optional Engine: 292-cubic-inch, 186-hp V-8 "Y" Block

• Transmissions: 3 & 4 Speed Manuals. Optional 3 Speed "Ford-O-Matic"

• Production Locations: 12 US, Argentina, Mexico, & 1 Ontario Canada (Mercury Edition)

• Big Wrap Around Window: Extremely RARE. Actual Count Unknown (Marti back to 67')

Since the beginning of the Pandemic, my buddy Scot and I would head to Huntington Beach to see how his 46' Ford Woodie build was coming along. Every time we visited the shop, there was great progress and some really impressive work being done. We'd start to talk about his next project and the cool 56' Ford Truck that his Dad gave him that he'd like to start sometime after.

I'd always wanted a Ford 50s or 60s Era F100 Truck. Who wouldn't want a 56' Step Side F100? But my favorite of them all was the 62'. The sleek body line dropping below 90 degrees to the bottom of the tail light. The two-tone paint with the bright colors contrasting the Bright or Continental white. It always struck me as such an iconic looking "farm truck".

Scot could tell that I was eager to find one to build. He scoured the country looking for the perfect one for me to buy. And he did. A brief transfer to Florida, this 1962 Ford F100 Unibody Styleside Custom Cab with the big wrap around window spent its life on a farm in Texas. Perfect!