The Half Rat

Bob has combined his engineering and automotive heritage into his latest project, "The Rat Rod". What started out as just a shell is now evolving into one pretty cool ride. He's also getting better at taking pictures so in the end, we you can get more visibility into the journey on how it is progressing. After all, are these things ever done? Estimation for completion is winter of 2016/2017...

2011 - These things seem to evolve out of the air. Bob started out building what he hoped to be a salt flat running car to run at Bonneville. What has evolved is much cooler than that! (in my opinion)

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2011 - The rat rod will be assembled from many parts acquired over the years. At a minimum, the bone structure will be solid. A squared tube frame, picked up long ago, will help.

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2015 - With the body on the chassis, not a lot of progress appears to be done, however an actuator is in place to raise the body as one piece. Quite a trick that you won't find anywhere.

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2015 cont'd - A little paint, well the anti-rust chemical and a shot of clear sure cleans it up nice. Custom wood bows help the fabric top stay tight and he loves the flame separation in the same pattern seen on the '33.

2015 cont'd - Another spare piece of the puzzle finally patched together. Old school 354 Hemi with custom "Bob built" headers and dual carbs. Pretty neat pattern on the valve covers... The pipes blued immediately on start and have a great patina.

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2015 - Installed the fairly common but yet trick airbag setup. The trick is the frame is the container for the air, no tank necessary. You also get a glimpse of the actuator to raise the body.

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2015 - The essex nose also has some "trick" in it. As you can see, it can be positioned in both an opened and closed fashion. If you get a chance to see it in person, ask him to open/close it.

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2016 - Not everything is at it appears. This trunk is being added to be both functional and ornamental. it will house the odd tool, is removable if necessary, while housing as a quick connect fuel tank to allow a road trip!

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2016 - Time to see the whole package in the daylight. Pretty cool and coming together with a lot of nuances and details that will shine and make this a special car for years to come. We skipped over the spoiler and reverse louvered front shade.

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2016 - Dad will always say "doesn't matter if it looks good but doesn't go down the road..." Now we have good cooling and the steering wheel and oak dash are getting put in place. Cool blend of old and new given the steering assembly is from the 40's...

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2016 - Gotta have fuel to the fire. This is one of 2 tanks

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2016 - Gotta have fuel to the fire. This is one of 2 tanks. Up front, near the motor

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2016 - A nicely trimmed panel of oak and aluminum hides the goodies that help the air ride suspension and motors for the body lift. Function is added with a hinge to make battery work...easy?

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2016 - Some diamond stitched fabric to cover up the major areas give an old school appeal. A little more diamond tuck for the doors, some carpet and an updated seat will finish the tricked our ride.