Page 42 - Issue 38

no racecar, but the torque of
that fl at six pulls just fi ne. “We
got a top speed of 55mph –
whether it’s loaded or empty – it
doesn’t care.” Other than the
repair, the motor was left pretty
much untouched. In fact, Mike
bought a carb rebuild kit, but
it’s still in the box. “It fi res at the
bump of the key and idles just
fi ne so why mess with it?”
While they started with the
factory frame, it’s here where
they took a bit of a detour
from originality. 33 inches were
removed from the middle of the
frame and seven feet were added
out back to convert the truck
into a hauler. The frame was then
kicked up eight inched behind the
cab and C-notched nine inches to
recess the rear axle. As previously
mentioned, the leafs were ditched
in favor of a self-leveling air
suspension, and the bags are
dumped via PTO controls. The air
supply is a Ford A/C compressor
which was reworked and converted
into an air compressor. It’s located
behind the cab and ingeniously
driven by a jackshaft that runs off
a pulley on the front of the engine.
The jackshaft also drives a 130-amp
alternator. The beauty of all this is
that once the bags are dumped and
the ramp is tilted back, the hauler can
be loaded and unloaded without the
need for ramps.
wThe bed itself was built by Mike’s
friend, Charlie, who hauled the lumber
all the way from Missouri, where it
had been languishing in barn for the
better part of 20-something years.
And it’s that bed that helps give the
hauler its name, ‘Rat Trap’. There’s

42 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE THIRTY-EIGHT

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