“Wood Rat” Pickup Is A Hit At Car Shows

“Wood Rat” Pickup Is A Hit At Car Shows AG WORLD FARM SHOW reader Roger Braddock fulfilled his dream of participating in car shows by using a little creativity and very little investment His truck is made of wood and attracts attention at events he attends He calls it the “Wood Rat ” “I don’t weld or work with metal but I do a lot of woodwork ” he explains noting he started with a wrecked 2006 Ford Focus and used a reciprocating saw to cut off the metal Fortunately with an oil change and new gas battery and brakes the car worked just fine With just the running gear and mechanical parts left Braddock used metal screws to attach a 2 by 4 wood frame “I used mostly plywood and 1 by 4’s for trim There are door hinges for the hood and the doors ” he says “The only part I had a problem with was getting the front wheel wells so the tires wouldn’t rub when I turned ” He initially planned to build a car but didn’t have much room to create a back seat so he added a pickup bed instead with a lattice tailgate Burning the wooden body with a torch and coating it with spar varnish gives the truck a slightly yellow tint Braddock added details like suicide doors an air horn novelty license plates and decorative wood piecing around the windshield to make it car show-worthy This winter he hopes to build a C cab on it for a 1920’s Ford appearance Braddock built the truck in 2020 and transported it on a trailer to three shows in 2021 where it attracted a lot of positive attention It also inspired some teasing about whether he had termite insurance Braddock is pleased with his wooden truck and being able to attend car shows “It drives well on the show grounds the AC still works and the stereo plays ” he says Plus with the high price of lumber in 2021 it’s already gone up in value Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Roger Braddock 104 State Rt 185 Dyer Tenn 38330 ph 731-478-7715; rogerndiana@gmail com

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