It's a very cool car, this Ford Rat Rod Pickup truck, but it's also made for a very specific audience. If you're in the market for a pristine, numbers-matching classic car, you’ve come to the wrong listing. It's got some rust on the bodywork and many non-standard bits from head to bed, but that’s part of the appeal. This pickup is one-of-one. What’s left of the body has survived for almost 100 years at this point, and the work that the seller has put into this vehicle ensures it’ll stand for at least 100 more. It's an undeniably unique vehicle with a lot of character, and we’re thrilled to offer it for auction.
Vehicle Story
The Rat Rod genre has yielded some of the most unique-looking custom cars ever built. Classic car character, a powerful motor to propel itself, and a patinated appearance that adds more to the look than shiny chrome and spot-free paintwork ever would — that's a quick way to describe rat rods. Of course, every example is built differently, and if today’s Ford fits your style, this sub-culture has an endless supply of cars to offer.
Vehicle Overview
This Ford Rat Rod pickup fits the bill quite well. According to the seller, it still has the original steel cab, a 318 cu in. V8 engine with an automatic gearbox, and the identification number 18132150. You'll find details of the modifications made to the truck in the individual sections and the detailed photo gallery below.
Exterior
Getting the 'Rat Rod' look right is as essential as upgrading the mechanicals and this Ford pickup is no exception. It's clearly been chopped, its original steel cab has some rust spots, and the new white-wall tires look the part, too. The exterior is a custom blue paint job sporting brilliant patina that has since been clear coated. Yellow fog lights and the copper-colored exhaust further add to the pickup’s aggressive styling. The entire bed is custom and was made longer to allow for lumber hauling. The floor of the bed is made from aged wooden slats arranged in a wonderful herringbone pattern giving our rowdy rebel a nice touch of class.
Interior
The interior has no shortage of character, either. It's a fairly simple design as a whole but on this custom example, it has more than enough bits to make it feel special. The metal seats are custom and have a nice bottom cushion, the backlit meters look very good, and the floor made entirely of license plates screams Americana in a way that few design choices can. An icon of Austin Powers adorns the top of the shift lever, emblematic of the light-hearted spirit associated with the Rat Rod community.
Mechanical
The pickup has a non-standard 318 cu in. V8 and an automatic gearbox. The seller mentions that the gearshifts are smooth and that the truck runs & drives nicely. The truck also sounds wonderful thanks to a custom exhaust system. They further add that the brakes work well — and so do all the lights. The white-wall tires on old-school wheels, which definitely add a lot more character to the appearance, are new.
Anyone interested in a vehicle like this would be aware that this is from ages before Ford launched the F-series of trucks. Both the Model A and Model B versions from the time were available in a variety of body styles — and with a range of engine options including both four-cylinder and V8 motors. This custom example doesn’t just bring together the best of both worlds — it amplifies the greatest bits about the Rat Rod culture as well.
