Actress Shannon Tweed as well as her husband and KISS bassist Gene Simmons have unveiled this custom 1965 Ford F-100 pickup at the 2013 SEMA show in Las Vegas. The truck will be auctioned at the 2014 by Barrett Jackson, with proceeds going to help fund a children’s hospital in Tweed’s hometown of Saskatoon, Saskethewan, Canada — one of only two Canadian provinces without a dedicated children’s hospital.
Aptly named Snakebit, the custom truck wears the metallic gray hue and features styling cues that pay homage to classic Shelby Mustangs. The pickup truck’s wheelbase has been stretched five inches, sporting 18-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels whose design was inspired by Shelby Mustangs of yore. The box has been widened and dressed with a billet machined floor to resemble wood, and is topped with a custom tonneau cover. The headlights and sequential taillights are custom-built.
The custom truck is powered by Ford’s supercharged 5.4-liter V8 engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The powertrain breathes through a high-performance exhaust system.
Handmade panels and tow-tone leather adorn the interior with custom leather-wrapped knobs on the dash and armrests. The leather-wrapped bench seat was carefully designed to match the look of a Shelby Mustang interior, is provided by Glide Engineering.
The F-100 Snakebit project was originally envisioned by Tom Foster, president of Saskatoon-based customizer Industrial Machine & Manufacturing. The project, called Wheels of Dreams, was initially a team-building exercise with a potential to raise funds for a new children’s hospital. The design and building of the custom truck was funded by the Ford dealer association in Saskatchewan.
It will be auctioned off in 2014 by Barrett-Jackson, and is currently part of Ford’s exhibit at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show at Las Vegas Convention Center.
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