Page 66 - Issue 32

To see one built as a rat rod causes quite a
commotion at car shows amongst people who know
what they’re looking at. We here at Rat Rod Magazine
heard many comments when we built our ’37 Lincoln
Zephyr in 2013. Or, ask former Build-Off champ Chris
Walker about his winning Nomad-esque rat rod. In each
case, none of these cars were salvageable. Rebuilding
them as rat rods was the only way to return them to
the road so people could enjoy them, or at the very
least, discuss them.
Gene’s been building cars and bikes all of his
life, and when it was time to build a rat rod, he had
to be different, which has always been his building
philosophy. He heard about a Vicky body and frame up
in Washington State. His description of its condition is
simply, ‘Terrible.” The body was spot-welded together
and started to come apart on the trailer on the way
home. The car (or more accurately, what was left of it)
was too far gone to ever be a candidate for restoration,
so instead of being scrapped and becoming a Kia, we
now have one more ’31 Victoria Tudor on the road.
The fi rst thing Gene did was chop four inches out of
that elegant roofl ine. The A-pillars still retain the factory
slant, fl ip-out front window, and the signature bustle in
the rear was also left untouched. The factory wood was
destroyed, so the body was reinforced. A huge sunroof
now exists where the factory fi ller panel used to reside.
Gene opted to use the original frame, but it was
signifi cantly strengthened to handle the added weight,
horsepower and torque of the .060 over 327 Chevy

66 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE THIRTY-TWO

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