1940 Chevrolet Rat Rod

August 11, 2019

Sunday morning as I drove through the town of Lameque, New Brunswick I spotted this combo in the parking lot of an auto repair shop:

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A rat rod is a type of customized vehicle and also happens to be the license “number” of this particular vehicle which, by the way, was undoubtedly parked there to attract attention (mission accomplished) not because it needed an air conditioning compressor replaced or a nail taken out of it’s right rear tire.

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Take a closer look at the front and rear wheel “fenders”:

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A tire within a tire.  What an idea!

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As I was driving north from Miramichi Sunday morning I saw a very similar vehicle, but in a tow truck configuration, driving south – I don’t remember exactly where.  I figure it is probably owned by the same person and is perhaps off at a car show or something.  I was hoping maybe it would be there when I drove south later in the day Sunday but it wasn’t.  I will be going up that way Monday morning so I will check again then.

You will note than the vehicle and trailer are in their natural “rusted” state.  When I was in high school in eastern Pennsylvania our school district decided to build a Middle school to reduce the strain on our aging high school.  The architects designed a round, windowless building with an open classroom concept in mind (virtually no fixed interior walls, mainly moveable partitions).  For they exterior they recommended a material which, when it rusted, would look like wood.  Well, when it rusted it looked like rust.  It was one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen.

UPDATE – 8/12/19

This morning I did go back to the spot where I saw this vehicle on Sunday hoping that maybe the same person owns the Rat Rod tow truck I saw driving south.  It still wasn’t there and perhaps never would have been.  It just seems too close in the geographical area to be a coincidence.  I will continue looking online.

 

4 thoughts on “1940 Chevrolet Rat Rod”

  1. Because you mentioned it, corten steel purposely rusts to form a protective, low maintenance layer:
    COR-TEN® resists the corrosive effects of rain, snow, ice, fog, and other meteorological conditions by forming a coating of dark brown oxidation over the metal, which inhibits deeper penetration and negates the need for painting and costly rust-prevention maintenance over the years. In simple terms the steel is allowed to rust and that rust forms a protective coating that slows the rate of future corrosion.

    And it goes in and out of favor in design. Currently seeing it frequently in landscape architecture elements.

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    1. Thank you, Shawn, for your informative response. It may be a technical marvel but IMHO it’s still ugly… And for the record, folks, Shawn is an architect (not the one who designed the school, she probably wasn’t even born yet when it was built).

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