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Determined man builds HUMMER H1 from tired Ford F-150
Click above for a high-res image gallery of the homemade HUMMER H1
Life is stranger than fiction. If anyone tries to tell you differently, simply point to the Canadian man who built the truck you see above, from scratch. Francois Couture, known in his posts as "H150", showed up in the Full Size Bronco forum on September 17, 2004 with a simple query: "Since I'm a Ford nut but always wanted a HUMMER but don't have lots of money, I decided to fabricate my own [based] on Ford truck frame..."
As forum users do, there were soon people offering a multitude of answers to his questions. But what the other users discovered rather quickly was that this guy was, literally true to his word, was fabricating a HUMMER H1 from nothing but plans. Using steel from his job, he built his own sheet steel bending machine, and over the last four years has been welding together a HUMMER H1 practically out of thin air. And get this: before he started his project, Francois didn't know how to weld. He learned to weld in order to build the truck. And he's good. Like, awesome. His fabrication work is as professional as anything you'd see from folks with a lot more money than a dedicated husband and father in Quebec.
The H1 is being built on a donor frame from a 1987 Ford F150, with an engine from a donated E-350 Super Duty shuttle van, and a whole bunch of other ingenious swaps, all from Fords. If you have the time to read 45 pages, it is worth it. Our favorite name for the truck so far: H4d. After four years and a bit, he's still working on it, and he's taking donations at the behest of other forum members in order to get the truck finished this summer. The effort and the passion speaks for themselves in the gallery of photos below. Hat tip to reader Kiran!
Gallery: Homemade HUMMER H1 - The H4d
[Source: Full Size Bronco]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
TwhiT 11:35AM (1/02/2009)
I wanna say something mean like " wtf for?" and "why?" but............
his efforts = glorious happy
good job living your dream ^_^
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geo.stewart 12:23PM (1/02/2009)
yep, you may not share the dream but kudos to him for saying "How can I?" rather than "I can't"
great effort on his part. kudos to family for supporting him in the endeavor. dont discount that
maestro_mario 2:33PM (1/02/2009)
That's the french canadian spirit!
Kevin 11:35AM (1/02/2009)
Good for him! As Stacy David (Gearz) always says: "Get out there and build something, man"
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Kotse 12:11PM (1/02/2009)
"Determined man builds HUMMER H1 from tired Ford F-150"
Determined to build an H1 is an understatement...
This guy is OBSESSED to build one!!!
chconline 11:35AM (1/02/2009)
It looks pretty good from the front 45 degree, as shown on the post. Side profiles, is a bit "meh".
Very sweet project though. I would love to do something like this one day. :D
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Nick Walters 12:00PM (1/02/2009)
At first I thought "Another knock off from a guy that can't afford the real thing", but this is much more in depth than your usual fiero-arri build. Kudos, and I have to agree with the Stacey David 'Gearz', comment, way to get out there and build something.
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Gokie 12:01PM (1/02/2009)
I'm a fan of neither Ford trucks nor Hummers... but I must say I'm very impressed.
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mdm-adph 12:14PM (1/02/2009)
Can't you get used H1's for under $30k? :\
Still a very, very cool project.
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Mr. Luke 8:28PM (1/02/2009)
But that's not as fun as building one your self!
Wes 12:23PM (1/02/2009)
When I first read the heading, I figured it be some janky 'found on ebay' type deal.... but.... wow.
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Iridium 12:24PM (1/02/2009)
He had to have bought a H1 hood. I don't see how the guy could have stamped his own out of metal. Forming it by hand would be insane.
Still a very good looking project, way to go.
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Benfolio 1:33PM (1/02/2009)
It looks like fiberglass in some of the pics.
Also looks like the axle shafts are missing pic #4.
G-Meister 2:27PM (1/02/2009)
Right- the hood looks to be a correct original, which lends much to why this looks so much more accurate from many angles than some of the kits out there. I like the ride height, as opposed to the up-there build X-treme 4x4 did.
I've never seen an H1 build using the Ford TTB, but it can easily be made to have very good wheel travel.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:47AM (1/03/2009)
I read every page of the thread. He says he bought the hood for $80. It's a real HUMMER hood. And for those who don't know, the hood includes the front clip too on a HUMMER.
Still, I think his work is fantastic.
Franz 12:27PM (1/02/2009)
This guy is a DIY God. You may not see the point in someone doing this, but I doubt anyone can deny that it's impressive.
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lorincdm 12:36PM (1/02/2009)
Why a HUMMER, of all things?
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Blake 5:51PM (1/03/2009)
Because a HUMMER has flat sheet metal that is why. :)
I must say for someone who learned to weld for this project, GREAT JOB! There need to be more people who do this kind of work in the world today!
Sqube27 12:40PM (1/02/2009)
I might not like Hummers -- or F-150s, for that matter -- but damned if I don't love this project.
The part about him learning to weld just for the sake of doing this is what really puts it over the top. That's dedication.
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dan spalinger 12:42PM (1/02/2009)
The front view looks really odd...seeing a solid front axle under an H1 just ain't right...
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