Is This ’47 Chevrolet a Rat Rod or a Sports Car?

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2016 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell 

 

 

 

                                

These days there are plenty of vehicles that blur the conventional automotive class structures. For instance, was the Honda Crosstour a wagon or an SUV. And what exactly was the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet? 

 

Regardless, those line-blurring cars (or trucks) are out there, and though this one didn’t roll off a production line, it’s still quite the automotive head-scratcher.

Hailing from Missouri, this epic creation is one part mad science experiment, one part 1947 Chevrolet pickup, and one part ’95 Mercury Cougar. Add it all up and you get an awesome truck-sports-car hybrid, complete with an outrageous wing and a V8 to boot. And interestingly enough, it’s up for sale.

So how does it all come together? According to the listing, the Chevrolet truck cab (which had previously been chopped) was sanded down to bare metal and given a thorough shellacking of clear coat. It was then melded together with the front end of a 1995 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck, and set low to the ground on Bilstein suspension drop spindles. Stance achieved.

But instead of fielding an engine from either of those pickups, it pulls its heart from a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV—a big 5.3-liter V8 heart, that is. It comes backed-up to a GM Turbo 400 automatic transmission.

Towards the rear however is where things get really interesting. A Copper Pearl coated tube frame chassis both attaches the rear independent suspension (à la Mercury Cougar) to the racy spoiler, as well as secures the rat rod’s rear-mounted radiator, fan, and fuel tank. I’m not quite sure why, but it just looks glorious.

Inside the vintage cab, the Chevrolet furthers its racing proclivities (it’s said to have won burnout and auto-cross events) with a pair of harnessed racing seats, a drift brake, a detachable steering wheel, and a tachometer with oil and temperature gauges, but oddly no speedometer. The shifter is a crescent wrench. And its shift boot? That’s a Crown Royal Purple bag.

All in all, this grin-worthy Frankenstein creation tallies up bits and pieces from four different vehicles (five if you include the Camaro wheels), which make it truly a mash-up of epic proportions. Internet, what do you think?