TCI Engineering Teams Up With Bloom’s 1955 F100 – Golden Gertie

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The Backstory Of Golden Gertie

Steve Bloom is a resident of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. His recent build was featured at the 2013 Toronto Auto Show. Read on for a closeup of the builder and a bit of information about this tribute in honor of his late mother.

ab88fd66-b5f4-44af-bf8b-f28cd81d8a23_800The origin of “Golden Gertie” is a testament to the finicky nature of online advertisements and a person’s ability to turn a lemon into a golden work of art. It started with an ad on ebay Steve Bloom had seen. The truck was listed out of Florida and the description noted that it had no powertrain but was rust free.

When it arrived we can only imagine what Steve Bloom was thinking, “I paid $3,500 and when it got here it was rust free, but full of bondo and fiberglass. It was rust free but it was all filled in.” For anyone that has ever made an inspection of prospective classics, we know all too well that promises of preserved and rust free bodies can sometimes conceal the reality of sheet metal that’s been filled in and patched up.

Either way, Steve Bloom maintained positivity with his newly acquired truck and set out to roll with the punches and build a dream. After all, Bloom is no novice and is seasoned in the art of both building from the bottom up and honing a quick turn around. “I try to build a car a year as a hobby and most of my cars have been early 30s,” says Bloom. “I’ve always had an inkling for a truck.”

B821162589Z120130222094956000GEPTREA84-556x371In 300 days Bloom built up “Golden Gertie” from less than what had been acquired from the auction, “I couldn’t salvage what was there so I ordered a chassis. I wanted the running boards to be sitting flat on the ground when it was done. We decided the only thing we’d salvage was the the center section of the cab.”

With less than half of the original body Steve Bloom literally pieced this truck together and brought it back to an all metal condition, “It’s all sheet metal, no fiberglass whatsoever. We reshaped the hood and changed the whole inner structure.”

This was a special build as we stated before because it was done up in honor of his mother who had unfortunately passed away before completion, “My mom was a driving force to entice me to continue my dreams to build stuff and she passed away when we were building it, it’s in honor of her.

TCI Engineering Lends Support And Closeup Of “Golden Gertie”

“Golden Gertie” features a 302 stroked up to a 347 and pushes out close to 500 hp. The shifters were drafted out of a 2007 Mustang and the seats came from a 2010 F150.

bloom_intThe truck’s vibrant gold is dubbed “Michele’s Gold” after Bloom’s wife who has a prime role in each of his builds, “My wife Michele always takes on color coordinating and her whole thing is she has to pick the leather and the carpet first. English leather from England and the carpet is wolf wool.” The color was developed at Deez Ridez and Rodz.

Our friend’s at TCI Engineering lent their services as well building the base for Bloom’s F100. Bloom gave the folks at Total Cost Involved Engineering a call and requested a custom one-off chassis that would allow the truck to sit just above the pavement with its running boards situated above the ground in such a way that would allow minimal clearance.

“The spine was constructed from 2×8 inch rectangular steel stock and treated to a number of custom touches including a 6 inch rear kick and c-notch, heavy-duty crossmembers, a lowered front suspension and engine mounting, as well as shaved front framehorns.”

bloom_engTo equip the truck with top notch handling capabilities a TCI IFS featuring polished stainless upper and lower control arms, chrome drop spindles, and a polished antiroll bar were outfitted.

The power train consists of a 302 stroked to 347 ci, Edelbrock air cap dual carburetors, MSD distributor and control box, March pulley system, Ford AOF with 2500 stall, and a 2006 Mustang shifter.

Gertie is a real beauty and is an example of tenacity and perseverance. The fact that it is a tribute to not only a driving force in Bloom’s car passion but also his mother makes it that much more special. Stay tuned, Steve and Gertie will be at this year’s SEMA show at the Royal Purple Inc. booth.bloom_back


About the author

Andrew Almazan

Andrew Almazan is a graduate of CSULB with a degree in English and a passion for traditional kustoms and hot rods. His first exposure to out of this world vehicles was through the prevalent low rider, baja bug, and kustom culture of LA county.
Read My Articles

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