Featured Hot Rods and Other Roadkillers

The story of Aaron’s Rat Rod goes like this: In 2007 I worked at a dealership in the local town that had a 1936 Dodge dump truck sitting in a grass lot behind a building. I’d have to trim weeds around it when the dealership got slow. I’ve always bought rat rod magazines and always thought about building one, but… […]

This is no ordinary Rat Rod. It was designed and built by an experienced Winston Cup race car builder. The build was completed with race-quality parts front-to-rear for superior performance and reliability. “DELIVERANCE” was completed in March, 2012. […]

N2a Motors is a California based custom auto manufacturer with a mission of reviving the art of American coach building. Melding design elements from different Chevy models, the 789 shows the world that you really can’t have enough of a good thing. […]

This Turbo Diesel Rat Rod Truck from South Texas Performance, based in Victoria, Texas was built as the shop faced some top rat rod builders in The Rat Hard Build-Off. The contest, sponsored by Rat Hard […]

This is a very well photo documented build that combines a ’40 Willys Sedan, a ’92 Dodge 1 ton truck, and a whole lot of metal work to create a beautiful custom Willys cabover There are 13 slideshows and a final drive video. Built by Chris Boggess, Hot Rod Technology Instructor at Utah Valley University. […]

The Ardbeg Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Hot Rod Tractor — A one-of-a-kind, customised, incredibly loud and rip-roaring machine thanks to the creative genuis of hot rod specialist Paul Burham from Burham Autos, UK hot rod builder since 1981. Built from a 1959 Massey Ferguson 35 Tractor. […]

Gary tells us how his ride came about: I have always enjoyed watching the shows about fabrication – Monster Garage, Biker Build Off, American Chopper, etc. Of course knowing I could not afford to build a real Chopper, I decided to “manufacture” my own, but in a little different way… […]

“Mr. Chevy” is a period-perfect example of a 1955 Chevy Hardtop gasser raced from 1968 through 1976 where it was parked. Larry Frees knew the original owner and rescued Mr. Chevy at an estate sale. Today, he shares the car with enthusiasts wherever he goes… […]

The gentleman that purchased the 1959 GMC Fleetside, our first B-Body chassis / body swap came back to us an basically asked for a clone.   He brought us a running 125K mile Chevrolet Caprice […]

Colorado Auto & Parts is home to the famous “Plymouth Air Radial Truck” — A 1939 Plymouth PT-81 truck with a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine from a 1954 Cessna 195 Airplane. […]

One of our roving hot rod hunters caught up with Patrick and Ethel from Illinois and their unique 1946 Chevrolet truck. This beauty was acquired in January 2013 and has been worked over from the ground up. Patrick dropped and chopped the truck and so much more. […]

Brandon DeJesus rolls a ’31 Ford Model A rat rod, but it may not be what you’re expecting — it’s powered by Toyota’s 2JZ-GTE power plant — an inline-six-cylinder engine that is sooo ready to make staggering amounts of horsepower that, more than two decades after its introduction, professional motorsports teams of all kinds still seek out these early ’90s 3.0L engines. […]

Wes Smith has always been into cars, but he grew tired of cleaning his show cars every time he took them out. Then he discovered rat rods and started hunting for a Model A or a 30’s ford truck for a project. He was unable to find anything that was done the way he wanted it. So he did it his own way. […]

Erin Francis of Langley, BC, Canada shared this 1956 Ford F-100 truck with us. Erin found the truck in Portland, OR in near stock condition. In just 5 months, the truck was restored and modified with independent front suspension and a four-link rear with coil overs on all corners, plus some more custom touches. […]

The following was sent to us via our Facebook page. We love nothing more than hearing stories like this. Be inspired — Start a project, and get another one back on the road. […]

The Redneck Repo shop truck is a 1954 Chevrolet 3100 with a 1953 front clip. The wrecker box is handmade and features a 1930’s hand crank boom. A 1962 327 powers the truck and sports an Edlebrock aluminum intake and Edlebrock AFB style carberator, original ’60’s Cal Custom aluminum valve covers and more. […]

A two-part project by Metropolitan Choppers and metal sculptor Scott Cawood, The “Siren Of TI” Chopper is a 900 pound master piece constructed with nearly 250 pounds of scrap iron and steel as a tribute to the beautiful Sirens of Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. […]

Snow White ~ Graham Smith’s Street-Legal 1957 Chevrolet makes is debut at Shakespeare County Raceway, Warwickshire, UK. […]

Back in the 40s, this once innocent Chevrolet pickup truck left a dealership’s lot and began a lifetime of hard work and faithful service. But after it’s rebirth, it can live life with a bit more horsepower as a Chevrolet Rat Rod Truck. […]

Rey Payumo of Kailua, Hawaii found this 1963 Chevrolet Impala packed with junk in a garage in Hayward, California. Rey tells us “It had an previous restoration, the color used to be lowrider purple and it used to be totally lowridered out. After buying it, my lil’ brother Roy and I towed it South… […]

Collectors Weekly member Rustfarm restores old motorcycles for a living and simply felt this just had to be done. He built this between 2000 and 2005. It runs and drives and can be seen at vintage motorcycle and tractor shows in and around Ohio. […]

Gary Fisher and his crew at Resurrected Rust Garage transform disparate parts into the Resurgence Rat Rod, the winner of the 2015 Rat Rod build-off, a national contest organized by Rat Rod Magazine. The Resurrected Rust Garage team won  the trophy for the second year in a row. […]

This smokin’ 1950 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery will soon find its way on top of a 1993 Caprice Classic, a Craigslist purchase that will provide modern everything for this chassis / body swap build. The goal is to fully swap the b-body chassis, floor, wiring harness, lighting, seats and any other creature comforts for this build that will remain patina. […]

Danny Love shared this story and photos with us ~ This pristine 1947 Ford Pickup belonged to his Dad (aka Jiggs) Danny tells us that he remembers standing up as a young boy in the front seat just to be see out of the windshield. Danny is 54 years old now and says that he “can’t hardly… […]

This is a 1951 Hudson Hornet powered by with a 292 Chevrolet six cylinder with Offenhauser Intake Manifold, dual carburetors, finned valve covers, high lift cam, 198 marine head for that Twin H Power look. […]

Meet Henry Kessler and his 1931 Ford rat rod, Gretchen; one of the coolest rat-rods we’ve ever seen and a ride that turns heads wherever it goes. This ain’t no hybrid, instead it’s a black smoke belching, gasoline guzzling, animal of a car that’s not only amazing to look at, but with some cool hidden engineering too. […]

Sadly, much of our drag racing heritage is fading into the sunset of time due to the passing of legends. It doesn’t help that storied tracks where drag racing put its stamp on America are being destroyed. But all hope is not lost, racing enthusiasts like Ted Beach and his gasser are helping preserve 1320 history. […]

Bob Carlberg of Rialto, California (and his dog, Rambler) took three full years to build and paint his 1963 Studebaker Daytona Lark Wagonaire, and handled the entire process himself, except for the front seats. It […]

In 1954 Edsel Ford handed control of Ford Motors to his son Henry Ford II. Anxious to bring Ford back into the modern era, Henry the Second hired Italian Gian Paolo Boano to construct a one-off show car on a new Lincoln chassis and this was the result – the stunning 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis. […]

This 1950 Chevrolet 3100 pick-up retains little more than the  sheet metal, much of which has been modified to accommodate a NASCAR chassis and drive-train — the truck’s original suspension, brakes, engine, gearbox, electrical and frame have all been ditched. […]

Two Moons, a member of the Immortal Bastards CC in Mesa, AZ and good friend of Roadkill Customs and RatRod.Life stopped by the shop recently to say hello. We of course took the opportunity to snap a few shots of his 1946 Ford Rat Rod so we could share it with you… […]

Rustarado — a 1954 Chevrolet Pick-up Truck — is a first-rate Rat Rod Truck crafted by one Craig Dolan. This truck is simply stunning and demonstrates some handcrafted features that are very well done such as the leather-work and hand-worked and hammered copper panels.  […]