i present the flat 4rd

[ratty41]

hello, my name is carl. i am heavily into vw's and volksrods. a guy i know here in my hometown of santa rosa, ca owns a metal fab shop and he makes some pretty incredible stuff. he builds top quality hot rods for his other customers but dabbles with volksrods with his son. their curent project is what they dubbed the flat ford. this is a 34 ford pickup with a mid mount porsche engine and transaxel. when they started over a year ago they had nothing but a rotted out 34 cab. everything else you see is hand fabricated. they started by chopping the cab and then sectioning it. the frame, the box, the front end, all fabricated from scratch using acad. anyways. i would just like to see what everyone thinks of this project. Awsome or Abomination? what is your opinion? this, of course will piss off a lot of "Purists" but that is the volksrodders motto.

also what do you think of this semi-new branch of the hotrodding community?

flat ford

[Dave Severson]

Thanks for the link, man that is some really first rate tin work on the '34 !!!! The whole Volksrod thing is really interesting, some really nice stuff showing up..... A mid mount Porsche has got to make that '34 a riot to cruise in. Any kind of car with that kind of craftsmanship is awesome!!!!!

[ratty41]

the 34 is supposed to run in the mid twelves.

imo that truck bed is a work of art. you gotta see it up close. the surface flips up to reveal the motor and 8 quick release tabs hold it on so that it can be removed easily for engine work

[Dave Severson]

Way kewl !!! Easy to tell there is a lot of planning in the truck. One of them that the more you look, the more you want to look.

On the Volksrod stuff, I really like the ones that are being done with the V-8 power in the front. Doubt if I will ever get around to building one, but they would sure be a fun ride. Somedays I would just like to sell all my projects and start over............

[califgrrrl]

Typical crazy Californians! What are you guys smokin' there (besides tires) and um....where can I get some?
But seriously, its awesome! I would love to see some more pics. Engine, frame, interior, pleeeease.

[ratty41]

that v8 build up is closer at hand than you think, stay tuned!

[ratty41]

your wish is my command

build photos

EDIT* the engine used in the build photos is just the mockup. the real engine is much pertyer. dual weber 48 IDaS that like 2 4-barrel hollys to a v8

[Dave Severson]

Great set of pics, ratty!!!! Who's Walt??? He sure is one fine fabricator!!!! The front axle is very unique, curious to hear how it works/handles out in the real world. Thanks again for the links. Very impressive build !!!!!!

[dreamrod57]

very cool build.

but there is one thing I dont like about the truck. to me the front axel looks to wide. other than that it's a keeper.

[califgrrrl]

Dude! What a great website, 31 pages of the build! Man I love digital cameras.
And the Volks-Rod and the Rat Patrol! My brother gonna flip when he sees that website! He still has his VDub he hotrodded back in the '80's. Bet he takes it out of mothballs now...

[ratty41]

Walt Letherman is the mad scientist who creates these cars. Yes the front axel is a bit wide but it kinda has to be because all of the weight is in the rear (i.e. understeer) but it looks good in person. the unique thing about the axel is that walt made it swivel in the center so it has 4 wheel independent suspension.

walts website is walts.info he does acad drawings, stamping and custom car suff. this will be his last vw for a while. he builds really nice hot rods and customs, but when people see him they say "hey, arent you that vw guy" he kind of wants to get away from that reputationwalts.info

right now he has a 32 ford 5 window that was COMPLETELY cancer ridden and he has turned it into a totaly one-off vehicle. he is also doing a guys 40 ford pickup with roof chop and off the wall suspension work. he is also currently fabricating a hood for a guy that brought in his mid 30's sterling chain drive water truck.now that thing is cool.




come check us out some more at volksrods.com

[ratty41]

Originally posted by califgrrrl
Dude! What a great website, 31 pages of the build! Man I love digital cameras.
And the Volks-Rod and the Rat Patrol! My brother gonna flip when he sees that website! He still has his VDub he hotrodded back in the '80's. Bet he takes it out of mothballs now...

lol, once a vw person, always a vw person, there is no getting away from them.they are addicting

BTW, this is recieving a much warmer welcome than i expected, i wonder what the guys/gals would say in the other forums

[shawnlee28]

I saw the rat patrol while browsing the pics,did u guys build that ?That is 1 fine bug there!!

[Bob Parmenter]

Originally posted by ratty41
BTW, this is recieving a much warmer welcome than i expected, i wonder what the guys/gals would say in the other forums

We've had a long history of favorable VW stuff here, probably because more than a few of us have had them in our lives.

http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sea...der=descending

Thanks for the update.

This picture was run in a thread I can't find now about a year or two ago;

[Dave Severson]

Man, that engine and suspension set-up is just plain fantastic. Tell Walt my hat is off to a true professional fabricator and hot rodder. Just can't stop looking at the pics, what great attention to detail!!!!