Page 8 - Issue 30

having once owned a very tidy 1970
Plymouth duster shane wanted something a
little different and decided to venture a bit out
of the field after being bitten by the rat rod
bug. Back in 2010 shane stumbled upon 1922
Model T roadster body that had been forgotten
by time in a barn in southwick MA. It had once
been a part of someone else’s hot rod dream
with a small amount of work already carried out.
It sat untouched and abandoned for many years
collecting dust and gaining its perfect patina
until shane rescued it. he knew he wanted to
keep that patina as he wanted a rat rod, but
the T body was just a small piece of the overall
puzzle. he knew that with his imagination and
his friends from his club the Partless Bastards
they could create something that henry Ford
would screw his face up at - which suited shane
just fine.
over the coming years and many swap
meets later parts were bought, traded, or
handed over via friends, without having a clear
build plan in mind. They would use what they
had acquired on the cheap and make it work.
With the body taken care of, the search was on
for a suitable bed. shane had heard of one that
may suit but was told it could be partly buried
in a farmer’s field. The lead was correct as it
was indeed in a farmer’s field, however, upon
inspection it was found to be buried in so much
cow turd that you could barely make it out.
removing piles and piles of caked on manure
revealed a surprisingly useable truck bed. A
deal was struck and it was on its way home to
join the 1922 model T cab. By this stage the
plan was coming together, a stock 1931 Model
A frame was sourced and work began to box
and cut it to add some strength to the aging
metal. Being a Mopar guy shane wanted to
stick to what he knew and also liked the idea
of stirring up the puritis of both the Ford and
Mopar crowds. Anyone familiar with chrysler’s

8 Rat Rod magazine Issue ThIrTy rATrodMAgAzIne.coM Rat Rod magazine 9