At the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, we stumbled across one beautiful custom build. Owned by Robert Anderson, we got a chance to speak with him briefly about his stunning 1940 Ford Pickup truck.

“It’s been a driver for about 10 years and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” said Anderson. “However, I decided to make it more of a hot rod. So a year and a half ago, I tore the whole thing down and had one goal, which was to get a Coyote motor under the hood.”

Anderson did just that, dropping in a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 mill, which cranks out 420 horsepower on custom fuel injection. A Ford AOD 4R70W automatic transmission helps channel all that power to the 9-inch rearend.

“I was told that a Coyote engine wouldn’t fit and therefore couldn’t be done,” said Anderson. “I proved them wrong and called up Legens Hot Rod in Tennessee to help me with the build. I brought the truck to Legens in January 2014, and the build was completed some 16 months later.”

From front to back, Anderson’s Ford Pickup is one immaculate piece of work, which has timeless design aesthetics, with looks that could kill. Its curves keep your eyes wandering and its sheer luster only makes you want to know more about the truck.

“The dash is a custom one-off with Classic Instruments telemetry,” he said. “Even the Schott Wheels are one-off, making this truck so unique from the rest.”

The wheels on Anderson’s truck are offset, 18 inches in the front and 20 inches in the rear, all wrapped with Pirelli P Zero rubbers. A Wilwood four-wheel disc brake system gives the custom plenty of stopping power. A front coilover, rear leaf suspension setup gives Anderson’s truck an aggressive stance that will appease both hot and street rodders.

Exterior modifications include a custom one-off back glass, a 1.5-inch chop-top, pie-cut hood, shaved door handles, a custom one-off grille, and a custom panel tailgate. “The artist, Eric Brockmeyer, did a really nice job helping channel my vision into this build,” said Anderson. “The PPG paint is a unique color which I haven’t decided to name just yet.”

“The truck has received so many awards and has done well on the show circuit thus far,” he said. “The whole truck has been upgraded to show quality in every aspect. Even the firewall has been cut to fit the Coyote engine perfectly.”

The custom front grille is polished aluminum, a nice touch that works well with the chrome bumper.

Winning Truck of the Year honors with Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, Anderson and his truck will be in attendance for the upcoming Goodguys Southwest Nationals show in Scottsdale, Arizona. “I’m really proud of this truck, but even happier now that I have my Coyote engine in it,” said Anderson.

What do you think of this custom build? Would you have done it any different? Stay tuned as we will follow up with Anderson and his beautiful truck at the next Goodguys show.