Black Rat 55

[Wrinkles]

that is one fantastic truk, really got me thinkin of my next build. not to hijak the thread, you spoke somwhere of a 28 Henway?? you built. and the light came on!! did you have the 28 at the July 1st at Blind Bay a few years ago?? I think we met. any how keep up the good work. looking forward to seeing your truk on the road this summer.

[DJ3100]

Great photos, thanks for posting them. Nice design on the bumper, grille and exhaust - actually on everything.

[sammy]

Great job on the proportions and some verry clean fab work, will be looking for this one in a magazine when your done if it isnt allready.Sammy

[Rickomatic]

I love the truck. Great work. I bow to your greatness. I never would have thought it started as a 55. I would have thought it would have guessed it was a 33 or 34 ford pick-up cab. And the Chev'ole is great. Most people would glance at it and not even notice the nice work there.

[zzrodder]

Originally Posted by Wrinkles

that is one fantastic truk, really got me thinkin of my next build. not to hijak the thread, you spoke somwhere of a 28 Henway?? you built. and the light came on!! did you have the 28 at the July 1st at Blind Bay a few years ago?? I think we met. any how keep up the good work. looking forward to seeing your truk on the road this summer.

Yes, that was me with the Hennway, I think it was 2007, the Shushwap area is beautiful. What were you driving at that show? We try to hit different ones so it doesn't get boring. Went to Radium hot springs with it last Sept., a 5 1/2 hr. drive, that was a great show, 935 rides in attendance, 80% from Alberta so lots of awesome cars and new ideas for the old memory bank. Actually that was where the inspiration came from to build this new project.

[Z.Z.Rat]

ZZRodder, Thanks for sharing your pics. They sure are helpful. Great looking project. Can't wait to see it come together.

[zzrodder]

Few more pix of front end also the rest of the exhaust. Made my own mufflers in the style of the old corvette chambered pipe (this would later prove to be LOUD, some baffling required...). Door pic showing some of the surgery scars relocated window winders and latch mounts, new tracks and lower channel. It probably would have been easier to put in power windows than to tweak all the old stuff but I'm trying to stay away from power stuff plus I'm a stubborn SOB. Scrounged some 1 x 12" old cedar boards from a 90 yr. old chicken house form the family farm. It was built from used lumber in the 1920's so no telling how old they really are, I'll put a good coat of flat clear on them to help preserve them .

[zzrodder]

Pic of the second design scoop, think I still may do it over again... Made garnish mouldings for the doors to continue the 30's look. Bracing and panel mounting framework on the rear of the cab, support ribs for the roof and headliner bows, still see the old stickers on the roof that were on the inside of the hood on the 55, put there in the mid-70's.

[zzrodder]

I decided to make a metal roller to try to turn out some one off fenders - it's the law here and though a lot guys go without (I have too) , Im not going to give the fuzz any reasons to pull me over. I was a lot of work to feed them thru and many hours spent with the planishing hammer to smooth out the ripples and gradually create the right curve to match the tires. I also ran the edges thru the bead roller to put a lip on them.

[DJ3100]

I would not have considered that approach - too much work. The fenders came out great. Thanks for posting the photos of the tool.