Thread: rat rod truck

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OK, here's what I'm thinking. I'm getting to where I need $$$ for the Plymouth. Ive got a good chassis and flathead six drivetrain under my 48 Dodge parts car. How about strip the body off, sandblast and paint the frame and drivetrain, and drop it a few inches front & back. I've got access to a 49 Chevy truck shell. Channel it a few inches, throw on the old bed and a beater grill with some headlight buckets, paint the wheels red, mexican blanket on the seat; what do you think? I'd probably make a better profit off of a running, driving rat rod (I hate that word and I promise to never use it again)than parting out the remains of the parts car. Am i nuts?

No, if you do it pretty right it would probably sell, especially with title and running. I see them still bringing pretty good money on Ebay. Post some pictures as you go.

Don

I hate to start another project in the middle of this one; but what the heck. At best I'll make a decent profit to put towards the Plymouth, at the worst I'll have a clean Dodge chassis/drivetrain to sell but should still come out better than parting it out. Isn't it amazing how we can talk ourselves into anything? Either way I'll have more room in my garage when it's over. We'll call this the official launch of the build thread. I'll start tearing the Dodge down as soon as I have my drivetrain mounted in the Plymouth. Probably a week or two. This is going to be ultra low-buck and I'll be selling off Dodge body parts as we go to help finance the turd-truck(I told you I wouldn't say r-t r-d again) Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates, pics, and "Why in the hell did I get myself into this?" phrases. Here's the starting point.

Something like this.....

Man, Ive got three projects in the shop right now/all mine....Like you said we can talk ourselve into anything....

Started pulling this thing apart today. I had no idea how lucky I was that I bought my plymouth in pices because I think I've had to grind the head of nearly every bolt so far. Supposedly this flathead ran good. We'll see, it does turn over and the oil looks ok. I spent my first $12.00 on a Massey Furgeson tractor grille from Ebay.

Here's another...

It's actually down to a frame and running gear now, these are from the day of the website crash. I'll post the new ones in a few days. Now for the big question, does the motor run? I'm going to try it tomorrow. The oil, plugs, and carb look good so I'm hopeful. Remember the flathead in your prayers tonight, I'm praying for a resurrection!

My son came back to help me out this summer, I am getting annexed to the city as light industrial. my taxes went from 900 to 2700. ouch takes a big bite out of my social security. I have a 40 by 120 shop with a 10 k 2 post lift, and 4 x 4 ft table lift. we had to build a 1/4 mile of 8 ft chain link fence and put in the plastic slats. they didn;t want to see the backhoe, dump truck , sawmill, project cars etc from the road. Junior decided to start on the 48 jeepster. it was supposed to be an easy swap to a blazer chassis. a real headache. He found a couple of international truck cabs for rat projects and a 37 olds sedan. We saw the wrecking yard owner in the store and he said he was crushing cars so he said to check out parts cars with a red X. My son ended up pulling radiators in front of the chrusher. traded for a 46 ford truck with a 54 lincoln engine , a46 international pickup, 2 big chevy cars with sbc- auto, 400-400 from a truck.. we bought a48 nash 4 door and 48 chevy fleetline 2 door 45 chevy truck... projects everwhere. he plans on building cars this winter,and selling a couple next summer.

Sounds really cool! The taxes are a bummer, though. I wish the boneyards around here had more stuff like that. There's one or two that keep old stuff, but the midwest winters havent been too kind to them.

Ok boys, we're moving foward with the project! I figured i'd better make sure the motor ran before I got too far into this and I'm happy to say that after tinkering with it for a few hours this morning, the old flathead purrs like a kitten, and the trans drives the rear wheels without any unfriendly noises. Jump in, lets go for a cruise!

I'm thinking about a flat bed, maybe a stake side for this. Anyone have any ideas or decent pictures of something like that?

Man, seeing that thing chopped in half brought back lots of memories.......I've axed a few into pieces myself over the years. Glad to see it runs fine.


Here is the only ones I could find so far with flat beds or no bed.
Don

Flatbed with a stake side would be kewl.... Maybe even hinge one side and the rear of the stake side so loading something on it would be easier??? Heck, just something on it that makes it a bit unique.....

What about a custom miniature service bed? The cabs being the size they are it might look more proportionate.
Ken