Morley’s 1931 Ford Rat Rod Pickup
A few weeks ago, we showed you the collection of rare and notable vehicles from the Science & Technology museum in Ottawa, Ontario. And although the average person would stare in awe of the amazing collection of ancient cars, computers, and train stock currently held by the museum, it begs the question: what do the staff who maintain this collection of pure awesomeness drive to work?
This is what they drive.
This beast of a 1931 Ford is the pride & joy of Morley Ouderkerk, the welder/fabricator at the museum. It’s his job to build the coolest “hands on” displays at the Science & Tech museum, the Canadian Agriculture Museum, and the Canadian Aviation Museum. When he’s not doing that, he’s busy building one of the most head-turning, mind-blowing, crowd-gathering cars around.
Did we mention how it attracts a crowd? Yeah, it attracts a crowd alright. Granted, he has one of Ottawa’s first rat rod-themed cars, but the car gets people running across the car show to catch a glimpse for other reasons.
A Lincoln V12 dating back to 1948 is one of those reasons. Although the little truck was originally powered by a 400-horsepower small-block Chevy, a unique powerplant like this was always part of the grand plan. Morley’s network of friends and his vast knowledge of everything old and mechanical allowed him to build up this engine in the grand tradition of his hot rodding forefathers.
To start with, the stock intake manifold was fitted with a Y-adaptor, allowing two carburetors to do the engine’s inhaling. Morley also built and installed the custom exhaust header. Just to keep everything legal, the guts of an off-the-shelf muffler was welded into the collector pipe (read: fat end of the exhaust pipe) to give the appearance of a wide-open exhaust. Finally, a pair of dice was dropped into the original sediment bowl to give it an extra touch of class.
OK, so it’s a mostly stock engine, but it’s an awesome enough engine that it doesn’t need a whole lot of help-just ask others that run a ’48 Lincoln in their hot rod. And besides, it looks really freakin’ cool from the side that matters most.
Another reason why the crowds gather ’round is the unusual paint theme that the mad creator went with. Sure, lots of people get scallops, flames, or even elaborate airbrush murals across their rides, but Morley wanted something different. And by “different,” we don’t mean “unusual.” We mean a different theme every time he gets tired of the old one.
When Morley went out looking for flat black paint, he literally went old school. The entire truck is layered with the chalkboard paint used in schools around the world. Flames, scallops-heck, even shopping lists and tic-tac-toe games-are applied using old fashioned chalk. And when he Le Tired with the current style, he just leaves it in the rain to wash off and starts over again. Here’s our own staff photographer Victoria Morningstar laying down a new set of flames with Crayola sidewalk chalk.
The crazy, off-the-wall style is kept intact through the interior, fully outfitted with every oddball contraption he could lay his hands on. The drive-in speakers are refitted with new car speakers, and are wired for plugging into an iPod. The shifter book and part of the seat covers are sewn from old flour bags, and the floor is made entirely from old license plates-including the plate off of Morley’s first truck. Even the ignition switch stands out from the crowd-it originally came from a 1954 Rolls Royce, similar to a car in the Museum of Science & Technology where Morley works.
Aside from the oddities, the little truck that could is set up with all the usual hot rod goodies. Mustang II suspension up front and a 4-link coilover system in the back keeps the ride reasonably smooth. The crazy V12 Lincoln is bolted to a Ford C4 automatic transmission, throwing power to a set of steel wheels clad in bias-ply tires.
With all the rat rods tearing up the countryside these days, it’s getting harder and harder to build one that stands out. That’s what makes Morley Ouderkerk’s machine so special; the hard work, ingenuity, and refusal to bolt on the usual parts makes this stunning ride a beauty dressed up like a beast.
That’s it for the website, but the pictures keep on rolling at our Facebook group. Check it out to see more pictures of Morley’s truck and much, much more. And if you think you could do better, join the group and upload your own photos. Click Here to get started now!
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I think this is the coolest Rat Rod I could even imagine, sorry I’m
” across the Big Pond ” in England and will never get to see a flathead Lincoln V-12 :~( ….. altho’ there are some Jaguar V-12 powered Street Rods over here :~) …. I’d love to go the other way here and put a V-6 diesel in front of a automatic tranny in a 1960s car ….there are some good ones here… then I could have a Classic Car and fuel economy too…the price of fuel here is horrendous……. :~0 …. nearly 3 – 4 times as much as in the US. Anyway, I was googling Jaguar V-12 HotRods and came across this Cool Retro RatRod…….I think it’s “Bloody marvellous” !! :~}