It takes a lot to have a car that stands out at Beach Hop, but Ray Foot sure achieved that this year with this gorgeous ’56 Ford F100. While the truck appeared to come out of nowhere, the Queensland number plates were a giveaway that there was a bit of a story to tell. Sure, it was imported as is, but its connection with New Zealand goes back much further than when Ray got his hands on it in late 2023. The previous owner and man who commissioned the build, Wayne McLaughlin, began his journey with the truck in 1995, not long after his son Scott was born.
Wayne’s time with the truck started badly when the engine failed on the way home from Southland, but, soon after, he hadbegin. An unexpected move across the Tasman saw him part ways with it, only to buy it back four years later in pretty much the same unfinished state as he sold it. This time around, he took it over to Australia with him, where it would be transformed into the showstopper it is today.
