Iconic Built’s own TJ Lamoureux was recently featured in an article by Canadian Hot Rod Magazine. In the article, readers will learn some of the history of TJ Lamoureux, the lead designer here at Iconic Built. The article takes us through TJ’s journey, recounting Lamoureux’s quest for the ideal “rolling billboard” to elevate his previous restoration business, Modern Restoration. With an unwavering vision in mind, he scoured the automotive landscape for a mid-’60s short box truck boasting just the right blend of classic charm and well-preserved patina. As the article unfolds, readers gain a deeper understanding of the passion and dedication that drove Lamoureux’s quest, resulting in an automotive transformation that is nothing short of extraordinary.
The article is below, courtesy of Canadian Hot Rod Magazine:
When TJ Lamoureux started looking, back in Feb. 2018, for a “rolling billboard/shop truck’ for his Modern Trends restoration business, he knew he wanted a mid-’60s short box to use. He also wanted patina — a weathered old farm truck that showed age but wasn’t rotten.
Lamoureux started searching and found a farmed-used ‘65 Ford f100 originally out of South Carolina but at the time parked in Brantford, ON. The owner purchased the pickup while shopping the Carlisle Collector Car and Swap meet in Carlisle, PA. but when he got it home figured it was a bigger project than he could handle. He found the right buyer. Lamoureux loved the truck, especially “those big, honking mirrors mounted to the doors.”
The body was straight and had the patina he was looking for. A deal was struck and Lamoureux had the truck delivered to his shop in Norwich, ON. where he put his restoration mechanic, Chris Verberne, on the project.
They took the body off the original frame and to repair/restore the bottom of the doors and a couple other small holes on the floor. The paint on the body was left as found with only minor surface rust cleaned up and polished. Then several coats of clear was applied to finish it off. The chrome on this truck is original and surface rust was polished and brought back to a satin like luster. While he wanted original exterior patina he wanted a modern drivetrain with modern interior comforts and a 2011 Crown Victoria chassis would be where he started.
Lamoureux found a 2011 Crown Vic at the Barrie Auto Auction, in Barrie, ON. It was a “retired’ police cruiser with a 4.6 Ford Mod motor that was fine…for awhile.
The suspension was upgraded with a heavier sway bar and heavy duty trailing link suspension for better handling. A Ridetech air suspension was installed at the same time. Once the chassis and suspension were all cleaned up and painted and set up for his needs, the body was dropped on the frame with surprisingly few minor adjustments. One thing they had to do was make a box channel between the original box’s rear wheel wells to make room for a kick up and the Crown Vic’s 4-link rear suspension.
The build wasn’t yet complete when Lamoureux’s good friend and customer Wayne Hill heard about the build and wanted to see it for himself. Hill fell in love with it and persuaded Lamoureux to sell the truck to him, with one condition — that they replace the 4.6 Mod motor with a 5.0L Ford Coyote Engine.
So a deal was struck again on this little Ford and Lamoureux found a Coyote motor out of the US that came from a wrecked 2015 Mustang. It only had 18,000 miles on it and came with a 6-speed manual transmission and engine wiring harness. Lamoureux added a deep Moroso oil pan and an aftermarket cold air intake to help the engine breathe better. With a few minor adjustments to the exhaust manifold and the steering arm, and a few other minor changes, it all fit well, with the body mounted back on the frame. A new radiator was installed to handle the cooling of the large engine. An all stainless steel Borla performance exhaust system really gives the truck a bark when the go pedal is pushed to the floor and wakes up all 450 horses.
The rear end was changed to a Detroit Locker with 3:73 rear gears, and the axles were shortened to fit inside the wheel wells of the pickup. The rims are 20” Detroit Steel Artillery-style Ambassador wheels with custom offsets wrapped in a Goodyear rubber. The truck looks rough and ready on the outside, but she’s all comfort on the inside with new gauges mounted in the dash, new Vintage Air A/C installed. A Retro Sound bluetooth stereo is mounted in the dash as well. The new seat is a TMI product and the boys in Lamoureux’s shop fitted the seat with a custom brown leather and custom made awesome nifty door panels. The shifter is a Mustang unit, but was customized to fit the truck and looks real fine inside this custom tan interior. While the truck body was being prepped, the inside of the box and underside of the truck was painted with Raptor Liner coating that was tinted in the colour shown in the photos. It really sets off the truck. The whole transformation of the truck was done “in house” at Modern Trends in about 8 months.
So now Lamoureux doesn’t own the truck, but still gets to have it at his shop for a while. He is currently on the lookout for another “truck stop’ this time a Chevy pickup of the same mid-’60s vintage.
This one will be ALL Chevy when finished, and like ‘65 Ford I’ll bet it’ll be another head-turning sweet ride.