You Won’t Believe What’s Hiding Under This 1969 Ford F100’s Hood

When you roll up to a desert staging area and see what looks like a beat-up old farm truck sitting next to all the modern prerunners, you might wonder what grandpa’s ride is doing there. That’s exactly the reaction Dejay Dumas was going for when he built his ‘69 Ford F100 into one of the most deceptive sleepers in the desert racing scene.

Dejay picked up this F100 about five years ago when it was bone stock, complete with a giant cab-over camper mounted on the back. The truck was a genuine camper special, which meant it came with a three-quarter ton beam up front, plus a Dana 60 full-floater in the rear. After daily driving it for a year and a half, Dejay was inspired to transform the old Ford into something special.

The build process wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Dejay ended up rolling the truck in the Superstition Mountains, which pushed the entire front of the cab way in. Instead of calling it quits, he grabbed a porta jack, some 2x4s, and a five lb sledge to beat everything back into shape. That little mishap convinced him to add a proper cage to the build.

What makes this F100 truly wild is what’s hiding under the hood. Dejay stuffed a 5.0 stroked out to 347 cubic inches under there, then topped it off with twin 52mm (2.05") (2.05") turbos he calls “mullet blowers.” The turbo setup required some serious header modifications - he literally had to Frankenstein the headers to point forward instead of backward, spending two solid weeks just trying to make everything fit with the spark plugs and cage work.

The suspension setup is where this truck really shines. Up front, Dejay runs 2.0 coilovers with 3.0 bypass shocks, plus 2.0 bump stops to handle the hard hits. The rear gets 14" 2.0 coilovers paired with 14" 3.0 bypass shocks in a traditional short course configuration. The unique part is how he mounted everything directly to the rear end instead of the typical link mounting. This true 1:1 setup delivers 13.5" of travel up front and 15" in the rear - serious numbers for a stock-width truck.

Dejay built the entire truck himself, from the 3 link rear suspension with reverse wishbone up top to all the custom paneling work in the bed. Those panels aren’t just for looks either - they hide his battery, tools, fluids, jack, and spare tire, keeping everything clean and organized. The attention to detail extends to the interior, where he kept the stock dash and door panels while incorporating Autometer gauges into a Muncie Speed bezel.

The wheel and tire combo tells another story about this build’s attention to detail. Dejay spent years hunting for eight-lug beadlock Robbie Gordon wheels, finally scoring a set after spotting them on Facebook and driving an hour and a half to snag them before anyone else could. They’re wrapped in 35x12.50x17 rubber that handles everything the desert throws at them.

One of the coolest details is the seating setup. Dejay managed to score MasterCraft seats that came out of Sheldon Creed’s old buggy - genuine race-proven hardware that keeps him locked in during aggressive driving. The custom cup holders and charging ports show how much thought went into making this truck functional for long desert runs.

Running twin turbos in the desert presents its own challenges. Dejay had to work through spark plug and fuel issues while learning the ins and outs of forced induction. The payoff is worth it though - this thing makes serious power while maintaining that innocent old truck appearance.

You can follow Dejay’s adventures and see more of this wild F100 on his Instagram where he documents the ongoing development of this sleeper and his next project - a ‘73 extra cab F100 that’s getting the full 1450 treatment.