Featured Hot Rods and Other Roadkillers

Hot rods, typically old, classic American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. Yep!

Chevrolet 396 Big Block Engine Rebuild Time-Lapse

November 15, 2020 Roadkill Customs Builds and Examples

Hagerty’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS 396 engine is a perfect candidate for their world-famous Redline Rebuild treatment. [More…]

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Restomod Project by Foose Design

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Restomod Project by Chip Foose Design

October 30, 2020 Roadkill Customs Builds and Examples

Chip Foose and the Foose Design team are restomoding Victor’s 1956 Chevy Bel Air with a chassis swap and LS Engine. [More…] Also of Interest: 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad Wagon Restoration 1955 Chevy Bel [More...]

The origin of the term “hot rod” is unclear. For example, some claim that the term “hot” refers to the vehicle being stolen. Other origin stories include replacing the engine’s camshaft or “rod” with a higher performance version. Regardless, these are some of our favorites…

Barry Weiss’ Cowboy Cadillac

November 29, 2012 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Barry Weiss made a fortune selling wholesale produce and feeds his unique car collection, including this ’47 Cadillac, with the proceeds. [More…]

Charles Darmanjian’s 1947 Plymouth Rat Rod

Charles Darmanjian’s 1947 Plymouth ~ Flat Black Rat

November 7, 2017 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Charles is a one-man-show in a small three bay shop in North Troy, New York. He primarily designs and fabricates parts for cars that are far from rat rods, his project car is a 1947 Plymouth. While his business caters to newer cars, Charles admits that it’s the classics he really enjoys working on. [More…]

Doodlebugs, Scrambolas, Jitterbugs, Field Crawlers and Other Farm Rigs

September 9, 2007 Roadkill Customs Ideas, Rides & Roadkillers

Doodlebug is the colloquial name for a home-made tractor made during World War II when production tractors were in short supply. [More…]

The NewMad ~ 1955 Chevrolet Nomad Custom

October 10, 2012 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

24,000 – That’s how many man-hours it took to build the “NewMad”. 24,000 hours and 1.3 million dollars. Hot rod designer Chris Ito was commissioned to pen the redesign. The NewMad began its life as the first generation Chevrolet Nomad, the halo model wagon derived from the Motorama Corvette of 1953-54. [More…]

DELIVERANCE ~ 1947 Ford Pro-Street Rat Rod Pickup

October 15, 2017 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

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. [More…]

Rat Rod Lawn Mower

September 21, 2017 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Michael Snow from Horneytown, North Carolina saw our Farmer’s Chopper post and shared his old school rat rod lawn mower with us. He tells us that he had an old riding lawn mower sitting around for parts, and one day he just went crazy on it. He lowered the front end, chopped the hood and grill, and more. [More…]

Aaron Anderson’s True Home Grown Rat Rod

October 12, 2017 Roadkill Customs Rides & 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… [More…]

Big Bertha by South Texas Performance

November 16, 2017 Roadkill Customs Builds and Examples, Rides & Roadkillers

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 [More…]

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. Although the 789 looks instantly iconic, it is actually the best of three classics mounted atop a Le Mans-winning Corvette C6 chassis. Aptly named for the three years represented in the overall design, the 789 has the “hooded eyes” and chrome grille of a '57, a mid-section that's reminiscent of a '58 Impala and the "bird in flight" rear tailfins of a '59. These three vehicles are all instantly recognizable classics celebrated by people around the world. Owning and operating a classic car often proves difficult. Rarity of parts, expertise needed for installation, and potentially high upkeep or restoration costs are some of the problems with which collectors must deal. All of the money in the world spent to modify or modernize a vintage car will not change the reliability or performance problems associated with it. The 789 offers the best of both worlds: retro looks and styling, and it will fire up every time you turn the key. The body is constructed of lightweight composite panels. n2a Motors has developed a process of using 80% carbon composite with 20% fiberglass. This process gives a light-weight rigid part as if it was 100% carbon composite with the minimal properties of fiberglass that allows for show quality paint and finish. Customers can either provide n2a Motors with a donor C5 series (1997 -2004) or C6 series (2005-current) Corvette, which currently retails for approximately $65,000 (though used models can be had for less), or n2a Motors can locate one for you. After stripping the Corvette of its stock body, n2a Motors hand-grafts the retro body panels over the stock frame, suspension, and massive 440-horsepower, 6.0-liter aluminum-block V8 engine. A full range of upgrades are available, including up to 800 hp power trains, custom suspension, audio/video/navigation systems, interior customization, and more. n2a Motors will build each 789 to meet each customer's specifications. However, please note that no previously built combination of paint scheme and interior treatment will be duplicated.

The 789 from n2a Motors

August 26, 2012 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Melding design elements from different Chevy models, the 789 shows the world that you really can’t have enough of a good thing. [More…]

The Roadkill Customs 1949 Studebaker Shop Truck

February 14, 2018 Roadkill Customs Builds and Examples, Low Budget Builds, Rides & Roadkillers

Build a Hot Rod in 30 Days for $1,000? This truck has been built twice — with a tear-down and cross-country move in between. The first build section documents the build mating the ’49 Studebaker [More…]

1908 Mors ~ Fast, Dangerous And Heavy

June 27, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

“Fast, dangerous, and heavy” describes cars like the 1908 Mors; they truly were born out of the desire to push the boundaries of the then-fledgling internal combustion engine. [More…]

1962 Ed Roth "Mysterion" Recreation Karissa Hosek ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

1962 Ed Roth “Mysterion” Re-creation Goes to Auction

November 4, 2018 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

RM Sotheby’s is offering the exceptional recreation at its Petersen Automotive Museum Auction on December 8, 2018. The hot rod is expected to go for six figures. [More…]

1953 LS Powered Country Club Nash Rambler

December 19, 2018 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Get up close and personal with Dennis Quinn’s 1953 LS Powered Country Club Nash Rambler spotted at Holley LS Fest. [More…]

Tim Allen's1953 Ford F-100 Custom Pickup - FR100

Tim Allen’s New Toy ~ 1953 Ford F-100 Custom Pickup: FR100

February 6, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Meet FR100 ~ Tim Allen’s New Toy, a 1953 Ford F-100 Custom Pickup purchased at Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona 2019 [More…]

Junk Car to Drag Car ~ Jon Chase's '55 Tri 5 by Fire

Junk Car to Drag Car ~ Jon Chase’s 1955 Chevrolet

April 19, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Jon saved this 1955 Chevrolet from a life on blocks to being NHRA certified drag car, able to run 8.50 in the quarter mile. [More…]

Standing Mile Racing ~ A 2000hp Camaro and an Empty Airfield

August 22, 2019 Roadkill Customs Hot Rod Lifestyle, Rides & Roadkillers, Roadkill Muscle

The guys from Hoonigan heads out to the ECTA standing mile race in Arkansas to see what this series is all about. [More…]

A Hot Rodded Horseless Carriage

November 12, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

We don’t really know what to call this or really even what to think of it. Either way, it’s hard to deny the craftsmanship and man-hours… [More…]

The Crazy Story of Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter’s ’39 Ford Woodie Wagon

May 20, 2020 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

For years, Tom Cotter’s 1939 Ford Woodie wagon has played a pivotal role in Hagerty’s popular Barn Find Hunter video series. Here is a deep dive into the story and memories of one of Tom’s most cherished cars… [More…]

1965 Buick Riviera ~ Low and Slow Custom Cruiser

November 25, 2020 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Andy’s 1965 Riviera is Buick badassery from the clean and classy shaved body to the custom interior all slammed on air suspension. [More…]

1956 Ford COE C-600 Body / E-350 Chassis Swap

February 16, 2018 Roadkill Customs Builds and Examples, DIY Projects, Rides & Roadkillers

Project: 1956 Ford C-600 COE Drive Train / Chassis Donor: 1990 Ford E-350 7.3l Diesel (ex-U-Haul box truck) The chassis donor for this project, a 1990 Ford E-350 was used to retrieve it’s own [More…]

Mother Gun ~ 1927 Bentley Jackson Special

July 4, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Iconic doesn’t begin to describe this 1927 Bentley Jackson Special, affectionately referred to as “Mother Gun”. [More…]

Ernie Adams’ Dwarf Car Museum in Maricopa, AZ

December 2, 2018 Roadkill Customs Hot Rod Lifestyle, Rides & Roadkillers

Dennis travels to Ernie Adams’ Dwarf Car Museum in Maricopa, AZ. [More…]

1967 Ford “Black Ops” Fairlane built by Steve Strope

January 7, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

We’ve got a ’67 Ford “Black Ops” Fairlane built by car designer Steve Strope, and we get him to do a few burnies. [More…]

Building The Berlin Buick ~ A V8 Volkswagen Beetle

March 8, 2019 Roadkill Customs Builds and Examples, Rides & Roadkillers, Volkswagen and Volksrods

The motor is a 1961 Buick 215 cubic inch aluminum block, fuel injected V-8 engine mounted where the rear seat would have been located. [More…]

1964 Ford Falcon $100 At a Time

May 13, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers, Roadkill Muscle

The car was a shell when he got it, now a running classic car with a Ford 302 V8 and a 5-speed manual transmission out of a Mustang 5.0. [More…]

Foose Design ~ The Malone’s 1957 Chevy Bel Air RestoMod

September 18, 2019 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Josh, Foose Design shop manager, walks you through the history and modifications of the 1957 Chevy Bel Air RestoMod, followed by beauty shots and video of the finished ride. [More…]

1934 Ford Dirt Track Racecar Resurfaces After 50+ Years

January 6, 2020 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

This is a 1934 Ford five-window coupe, and it has some awesome vintage dirt track racing details, a center seat arrangement and more. [More…]

Rambo ~ Garrett Randall’s Pro-Touring 1970 Corvette

July 21, 2020 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Garrett Randall’s pro-touring ’70 Corvette Stingray is powered by an LS6 / Tremec T-56 transmission on suspension by Van Steel Corvettes. [More…]

Rey Payumo’s 1963 Chevrolet Impala

April 3, 2013 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

Rey Payumo of Kailua, Hawaii found this 1963 Chevrolet Impala packed with junk in a garage in Hayward, California. [More…]

The Dirty Bird ~ 2,600 HP Ford Falcon

April 28, 2018 Roadkill Customs Rides & Roadkillers

This 1968 Ford Falcon running on 275 Drag Radials lays down around 2600 HP through its 449 CI Small Block Ford with a pair of 88mm Turbos. Watch it tear down the track at the North Star Dragway… [More…]