Letter from our F-100 Editor | Solomon Lunger

If you didn’t already know, my side gig is Ford Era, an online place that’s all about Ford F-series trucks from 1948-1997. That’s a big part of my history and one reason why I was chosen to be the editor-at-large of the prestigious F-100 Builder’s Guide.

Back when I was a professional automotive photographer, non-unibody truck owners messaged all the time to post pictures on my Instagram page. It quickly became one of the largest classic Ford truck pages, and I was just enjoying posting photos of my truck and other peoples’ trucks. That’s when Ford Era was born.

About a year or so later, Mike Alexander became the editor of the F-100 Builder’s Guide. I saw the first issue and was thrilled to see that Ford trucks were finally in the spotlight. I wanted to help, so I messaged him and he was happy to get me involved. I offered to feature my truck with a photoshoot along with my best friend Simmy’s ’61 Crown Vic swap. Then came a couple other F-100s, like Hutch’s Welding’s ’65 twin turbo Coyote and a tech article about installing Dakota gauges in a unibody.

By Issue #3, Mike and I were working hand-in-hand on the magazine, and he made me the tech editor. He also introduced me to Chris Hamilton, brand manager for the Street Trucks magazine group. We instantly hit it off, and I began to contribute photographs to Street Trucks, C10 Builder’s Guide, and F-100 Builder’s Guide. All the while, I continued to maintain my own Ford Era pages on Instagram and Facebook.

Then 2020—and COVID-19—came around, and everyone was uncertain about what would happen in the future. While freelancing for the Street Trucks group was temporarily put on pause, I pursued a personal project: a 1970 F-250 crew cab that was already swapped onto a 1996 Ram 2500 chassis with a 12-valve Cummins built by Jimmy at Old Iron Diesel. May 2020, I put down a deposit, booked a flight with my pal Simmy, picked it up, and road-tripped it home over 3,000 miles.

That truck and trek kicked off Ford Era’s YouTube channel. Each day of our road trip, I videoed the adventure. The channel grabbed some traction. As it grew, the magazines fell to the wayside, though I still contributed occasionally.

But then, Chris and I met at SEMA in 2021. He encouraged me to return to print work and help with the magazines, and I was all for it. At the same time, Mike stepped down as editor of the F-100 Builder’s Guide to pursue other ventures. In February 2022, after all the details were ironed out, I officially became the new editor-at-large of the F-100 Builder’s Guide.

I have always been a major fan of Street Trucks (I have every issue ever made), and I also have a strong passion for Ford trucks. I am honored to be in the position to keep making this magazine the No. 1 place for all Ford truck enthusiasts.

Do you have a great F-100 story to share? Send me a message, and let’s chat!

slunger@engaged.media