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People seem to want to dump things into a simple category. Easy terms, easy to understand. People see a hot rod with a different style build covered in surface rust, it's automatically dumped into the Rat Rod category. Sorry kids, this one ain't no rat rod. It's a hot rod through and through, built on a low budget with ingenuity and creativity instead of a lot of cash buying neato billet things out of a catalog.
I met Jarrod Bluel Thursday night during the BBQ at Midway Chevrolet, part of the Kearney Cruise Nite festivities when he rolled into the dealer lot in the long and insanely low hot rod. I knew this was no rat rod. Sure, the 1931 Willy pickup cab is covered in surface rust, but there is a lot of high tech work hiding in plain sight. From, the tubular A arms with coil over shocks up front to 22 feet behind it with the mid '70's Jaguar rear differential holding up the back.
In between, is custom frame made from 2x3 square tube frame Z'ed and C'ed or whatever that drops the bottom of the cab with 3 1/2 inches of the ground. No speed bumps for this buggy. Nope.
Typical of this area of the country, farmers hoard everything until they die, then their families sell off everything. Jarrod didn't exactly say where he found the '31 Willy pickup, but in the land of farmers and pickups, I don't think he had to travel far to get it. It's pretty straight and rust free, minus the paint being baked off of it. He did chop the top a few inches Inside are couple of comfy looking seats stolen from a minivan at the local Walmart and a shifter guaranteed to make the most hardened car thief to say "Screw This". The dash is custom aluminum panel with vintage style gauges.
Behind the cab is the '76 Caddy 500 engine with TH400 trans tied to the genuine Jag rearend out of a junkyard '70-something sedan. There are custom exhaust manifolds connected to large tube exhaust stacks. Despite the seemingly lack of mufflers, the Willys has a surprisingly low grumble when the big pedal gets pushed to the floor. Behind the big Cad V8 are two tanks that are the fuel tanks.
Under the hood of the Willy's is the radiator connected to the engine by copper pipes that fell out of the back of the local's plumber's van. The big electric fan was probably another junkyard score. Who cares? The factory fans may not have the bling factor, but they work great. The power brake booster and master cylinder are under there too with the world's longest vacuum line connected to the Caddy's Quadrajet carb. But that still doesn't leave a lot of room for the groceries. Oh well. This wasn't built to go shopping at the big box store.
Still think this is a rat rod? No it doesn't have twenty dead cows worth of leather in the interior. No it doesn't have $20 grand in fancy, jelly bean colored paint, No, there isn't two tons of billet aluminum whittled down to door handles and throttle brackets. But this does have is ton of cool ideas built by Jarrod's own hands not spending his kid's trust fund. Nice job.
I met Jarrod Bluel Thursday night during the BBQ at Midway Chevrolet, part of the Kearney Cruise Nite festivities when he rolled into the dealer lot in the long and insanely low hot rod. I knew this was no rat rod. Sure, the 1931 Willy pickup cab is covered in surface rust, but there is a lot of high tech work hiding in plain sight. From, the tubular A arms with coil over shocks up front to 22 feet behind it with the mid '70's Jaguar rear differential holding up the back.
In between, is custom frame made from 2x3 square tube frame Z'ed and C'ed or whatever that drops the bottom of the cab with 3 1/2 inches of the ground. No speed bumps for this buggy. Nope.
Typical of this area of the country, farmers hoard everything until they die, then their families sell off everything. Jarrod didn't exactly say where he found the '31 Willy pickup, but in the land of farmers and pickups, I don't think he had to travel far to get it. It's pretty straight and rust free, minus the paint being baked off of it. He did chop the top a few inches Inside are couple of comfy looking seats stolen from a minivan at the local Walmart and a shifter guaranteed to make the most hardened car thief to say "Screw This". The dash is custom aluminum panel with vintage style gauges.
Behind the cab is the '76 Caddy 500 engine with TH400 trans tied to the genuine Jag rearend out of a junkyard '70-something sedan. There are custom exhaust manifolds connected to large tube exhaust stacks. Despite the seemingly lack of mufflers, the Willys has a surprisingly low grumble when the big pedal gets pushed to the floor. Behind the big Cad V8 are two tanks that are the fuel tanks.
Under the hood of the Willy's is the radiator connected to the engine by copper pipes that fell out of the back of the local's plumber's van. The big electric fan was probably another junkyard score. Who cares? The factory fans may not have the bling factor, but they work great. The power brake booster and master cylinder are under there too with the world's longest vacuum line connected to the Caddy's Quadrajet carb. But that still doesn't leave a lot of room for the groceries. Oh well. This wasn't built to go shopping at the big box store.
Still think this is a rat rod? No it doesn't have twenty dead cows worth of leather in the interior. No it doesn't have $20 grand in fancy, jelly bean colored paint, No, there isn't two tons of billet aluminum whittled down to door handles and throttle brackets. But this does have is ton of cool ideas built by Jarrod's own hands not spending his kid's trust fund. Nice job.
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