THE ONE AND ONLY
THE ONE AND ONLY F-100XL PICKUP
As 1963 dawned Ford Motor Company got serious about performance, particularly drag racing, which had been largely overlooked previously. Wishing to capitalize on the performance craze the Truck Division at Ford secured internal funding to build a prototype drag truck, based on the F-100 style. Ford’s top drag racing sub-contractor at the time, Dearborn Steel Tubing Company was tasked with building the “mule” (pilot vehicle) for what the truck division hoped to market as drag race ready F-100 trucks to be made available through select Ford dealers in 1964. This concept later proved very successful with the Fairlane Thunderbolt drag cars, also built at D.S.T.
The vehicle that would become the F-100XL was based on a standard production pickup that received cosmetic and performance modifications beginning with the installation of a 425 Horsepower, 427 cubic inch Low Riser engine, backed by a Borg-Warner T-10 four speed transmission, hydraulically operated clutch, 4:86 rear axle ratio, and suspension modifications to handle the new found torque and horsepower. The fuel tank and a heavy-duty battery were moved to the bed of the truck which was then covered with a custom tonneau. 8 ½” wide rear wheels with 9.00 x 15 slicks were mounted to get the truck off the starting line at the drag strip. A very unique feature was the custom fabricated, rearward facing traction bars which were fashioned from the tie rod arms meant for a dump truck. The usually spartan truck interior got a facelift in the form of Bucket seats, steering wheel, and a console borrowed from the Falcon Sprint and the roof received a vinyl covering to complete the look.
Upon completion at D.S.T. the F-100XL was lettered with Stu Wilson Ford livery, in keeping with the company’s efforts to create the illusion that factory drag cars were merely dealer supported, and placed in the capable hands of D.S.T. employee and drag racer Jack “Skinny” Fuche for competition in the B/Factory Experimental class. (The Stu Wilson Ford livery would later give rise to the belief that more than one of the trucks were built.) After a few gremlins were worked out with the assistance of Ford test driver Len Richter the truck was ready and the truck division launched an ad campaign to inform those who witnessed the F-100 XL’s winning ways on the drag strip could have their own version which could be ordered through participating Ford dealerships. The response to the ad campaign was less than overwhelming most likely due to the proviso that prospective owners first had to purchase the truck through their dealer (for approximately $2600.00), who would then have it shipped to D.S.T. for the necessary modifications (An additional cost of $3400.00) and sadly the project died on the vine with just this one F-100 XL being built under this program. An article appearing recently in a national magazine speaks of a rumor that a truck was previously built at D.S.T. with a 406 engine and that two F-100XL’s were built during 1963 and another in 1964. Had a 406 truck been built prior it would not have been part of the program which produced the F-100XL and there is NO evidence that two additional trucks of this kind were built in 1963-64.
After competition at the 1963 NHRA Nationals where it suffered mechanical problems, the truck was transferred into the ownership of Jack Whitby Ford in Wilmington, DE where it proved itself in class competition with 17 wins in 17 starts. While like most one off, racing only vehicles the F-100XL arrived at the dealership with a Certificate of Origin only, indicating that it was not a standard production vehicle. Apparently, this fact didn’t deter Mr. Whitby who obtained a title for the truck through the state of DE and ultimately sold it to Bill Naudain, who drove it on the street and drag raced it locally. By Bill’s own account sometime after purchasing the truck from Whitby he began to receive letters from Ford’s attorneys stating that he could not lawfully possess the truck and it should be returned to Ford for disposition.
Bill eventually installed an automatic transmission and continued to drag race the truck, and at one point installed an SOHC-427 engine before retiring the truck to his barn to pursue other endeavors.
After sitting untouched in Bill’s barn for several decades the F-100XL once again saw the light of day and with the help of John Morris it received a cosmetic and mechanical restoration. Bill Naudain reveled in the attention paid to his one-off piece of Ford racing history and displayed it at many shows. After Bill’s passing care of the F-100XL was placed in the hands of his friend John Morris, who keeps the legend, and true story, of the one and only F-100XL alive.
Author : Charlie Morris
