Rat Rod

My Passion for Hot Rods
Ever since I can remember, I have been in love with cars. If I were to rate all of my passions, I would rate my love for Hot Rods at the top. I have had many of Muscles Cars over the year. All of them but my current project have all been Hot Rods from the 1960's. I have built them, I have drag raced them, and some I have restored. These Hot Rods have been across Ford and GM Blood lines. Some would find that strange because most people have a passion for one Make and stay with the passion and they do not sway to any others. I think I have the love for many Makes across the 1960's

Current Project
My current project in not from the 1960's. It is a 1948 Ford 2 Door Sedan. This is the first car I have owned that is older than I am. When I bought this car, I purchased it from a friend that was retiring and moving to Florida. He was not able to move the car so I bought it. At the time of purchase most of the car had already been dismantled. I have a complete car, it just happens to be spread out and stored in my garage, the attic of my garage and in two different out buildings.

What my 1948 Ford will be when it grows up?
This is really a funny question when I think about it. I thought I had made up my mind several times. I first wanted to restore this to its original condition. I then thought I was going to make a Street Rod out of it. When I finally came to my senses, I decided that I will turn this car into a Rat Rod. In case you are wondering.??????? A Rat Rod is a very unique style of car. A Rat Rod is rarely a fully paint car. It often has rust showing all over the body, and the body usually looks likes it may have just been pulled from a scrap yard. I think of a Rat Rod as a piece of art, much like a creative abstract sculpture. A Rat Rod actually looks unfinished. Parts used to build a Rat Rods often come form other makes and model and sometime not even from other cars. I have seen tractor seats in them.

What I have done so far
It may not look like it, but the car has come a long way since I first started it.I have pulled the entire frame apart. I pulled the original motor, transmission, and rear end out of the car and sold them to another Hot Rodder for him to finishes a Flat Head Ford project he was working on.

 I next cut the original front end off of the car so I could replace it with a 1975 Chevy Nova front sub frame. This was a difficult job that had to be very precise so the car would drive down the road straight when I was finished.

As you can see the two front ends did not match perfectly up. I had to do what is called boxing in a frame. This is where you make a box from metal plates and weld the two together. This had to be done on the right and left side.

It's amazing what some patients, metal plate, and a welder can do. This is what the boxed in frame now looks like. I was very happy with the work I did to graphed in this frame. This is an old timer trick that has been around for years. I felt very confident when I started this that it would turn out this good. The hardest part was powering up my reciprocating saw and making the first cut. That part was the hardest because when you make the first cut, you are committed and there is no turning back

I think I still have about 2 years left to finish this project. I can not wait until it is finished and I can drive it. I think taking it to its first car show will be a blast. Some may think I am crazy, and why would I cut up an original 1948 Ford. First off, these cars are a dime a dozen, and there was noting rare about this car. I do believe that some cars should never to cut on, or modified from their original condition. If it is rare, I think original is the only way to go. The thing about Rat Rods is that they show the owners personality. Every Rat Rod is an original when it is completed. No two are the same. That is why I think it is like art.



.