For those who are familiar with the television show, The Dukes of Hazzard, the character Uncle Jesse was the guiding light of the Duke clan, and every now and then was shown driving a classic Ford pickup. While the exact model year and model seemed to change throughout the show, the truck could be seen turning a tire in the dirt. Ocala, Florida’s Ryan and Amber Thomas’ 1971 Ford F100 was dubbed “Uncle Jesse”, and is doing a lot more than peeling out on the Georgia clay.
Built somewhere in Missouri and later purchased by a friend of his, Uncle Jesse is a 1971 Ford F100 that has been fitted with a ’70 front end and a ’69 front grill, but there is way more to it than just the pretty patina it wears.
Thomas’ friend purchased the truck, which was fitted with a 521 cubic inch big-block Ford engine and twin turbochargers. Gone is the stock frame, replaced with a tube chassis made from 2×3 box and round-tube. The new chassis allows the truck body to hunker down on top of it for a low-slung look. The truck is equipped with an upper/lower front control arm suspension with coilovers, and a Strange Engineering ladder bar rear suspension.
“My buddy Rodney purchased the truck and brought it to Florida,” Thomas said. “We changed the engine, the turbos, and pretty much everything else. I was driving it for him, and we ended up buying it from him.”
The current engine is a 545 cubic inch big-block Ford based on an Eliminator Products block that has been fitted with a Callies Performance Products crankshaft and connecting rods, and Diamond pistons. Trick Flow Specialties cylinder heads move the air from the twin Forced Inductions 80mm turbos, and Thomas manages the engine with a Holley Dominator EFI system.
“It’s capable of 3,000 horsepower, but we’re not pushing it that hard,” Thomas told us. “We’ve had it at 20 psi of boost so far, but it’s built to handle 40.” The crisp-sounding and alcohol-fueled big-block is backed by a BTE Powerglide built with a Reid case and fitted with a Neal Chance bolt-together torque converter.
While the outside of the truck is full of patina and charm, much like the character portrayed by Denver Pyle, the inside shows the high level of upgrades that have been made.
With a tube chassis, it’s no surprise that Uncle Jesse weighs in at a svelte 2,960 lbs. Thomas is planning on running various small- and big-tire as well as tailgate (truck…
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