Propane Powered 1956 Ford F-100 Pickup by Steve's Hot Rod Shop at SEMA!

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

This little number was residing over at the “Green Car” display area, in which the Ugly Prius, and the Electric Porsche 912 was also on display. So you are wondering, why is a tricked out 1956 Ford Pickup hanging around with electric and hybrid vehicles? Two Words; Liquid Propane. Read more after the jump!

This Truck was built by Steve’s Hot Rod Shop, near Utica, New York. For those unaware of where Utica is, think upstate New York, which happens to be near the same area in which our own Jen Dunnaway escaped from to write for CarDomain. But I digress…. these guys have a lot of time in the winter to fabricate beautiful machinery.

In building this vehicle Steve’s Shop had to ensure that everything that was going to be used was environmentally friendly. The engine is a big block Ford 460 with aluminum heads, a tunnel ram & many other performance modifications. What sets this engine apart from many others is the fuel; it will run on 100% liquid propane, which creates next to zero emissions and produces more horse power than pump gas!

The finish was done with PPG’s Vibrance Envirobase (waterbase) Paint, which offers PPG’s Vibrance colors in a completely VOC compliant paint system. Another environmentally friendly attribute is including nitrogen filled tires by Nokian. It is reported that Nokian is the worlds first tire manufacturer to introduce a production method using earth friendly oils, which means that they can guarantee the complete absence of toxic chemicals in their tires.

Other interesting features include: a hydraulic dump box, swivel bucket seats, 3 DVD screens, a reverse open hood and suicide doors. The truck has handmade copper bedsides, copper interior trim and a copper engine bay. Also, copper anodized wheels that were built specifically for this vehicle.