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According to its owner, Karl Fisher, this is his most complete custom build. This wild Rat Rod is Built by Karl Fisher for himself. Building this 1938 Dodge Pickup Rat Rod has been a challenging task for him. He had started building a truck like this a few times in the past, but he had never been able to complete the task. And Karl Fisher says he loves it to death and the journey that it’s been to get this thing where it is. So, Let’s talk about how Karl Fisher built his Rat Rod on a budget!
This crazy Rat Rod was used for exhibit in even movies, but surprisingly, no other website reported about this. But trust me, this is going to be sick! Keep reading. This is Japhands Kustoms’ most epic ride, the 1938 Dodge Pickup Rat Rod by Karl Fisher.
All his buddies had a hand in either buying or selling parts with them to make it happen, and they did some work on it with him. The whole deal with this crazy truck is that he started it when he didn’t have any money. But he did it anyway. When Karl Fisher said “you don’t have to have any money to build cool stuff, you just got to have hours,” we loved his words. Now he’s the owner of the Japhands Kustoms. Looks like a motivation, huh, yeah… Let’s move to the topic.
The cab itself is a 1938 Dodge Pickup Truck. It was a decayed flower planter in the ground when he bought it for $150. The bottom of the doors and the whole floor were already completely rotten. The box off of it is a 1937 Chevy box, and it is off of a fire pit at another buddy’s place. This crazy 38 Dodge Rat Rod is the final result of 10 years of hard work and dedication by Karl Fisher at Japhands Kustoms. And he is really proud of this truck.
Engine, Transmission, Exhaust, and Flamethrowers
This 1938 Dodge Pickup Rat Rod is powered by a 1961 Corvette 283 engine with a 4-speed Saginaw transmission from a 1969 Chevelle. The whole chassis is all-made of box tubing that he actually salvaged from a friend’s yard. It’s got an aluminum head and Tunnel Ram intakes, It gets exhaust manifolds from a 324 Oldsmobile speedboat, and he cut them off because he always wanted to run them as exhaust. They’ve got flamethrowers, and that’s the most epic feature here.
You’ve seen the movie Sonic The Hedgehog 2020. This Rat Rod was in there
You’ve seen the movie Sonic The Hedgehog 2020. This 1938 Dodge Pickup Rat Rod was in there. Don’t you remember? The board of directors had called him and asked him to put flamethrowers on the Truck in there with another Rod Rod Truck. The clip part in short: “They were at the bar, and Sonic was looking at this bar called Piston Pit, and this is the Truck throwing flames there.”
Nice kind of exposed look and Hydraulic suspension
However, he has put the dual aluminum radiators in the back to keep the front nice kind of exposed look. Apart from the flameworks, the other unique thing is the hydraulic suspension for the front and rear suspension. Essentially it got the same suspension as any Hot Rod and the only difference is the two hydraulic cylinders placed in the front push down its leaf spring which is set crosswise. It is got a little ‘A’ arm that those hydraulic cylinders are connected to and it pivots down and lifts the front of the truck up. The rear of the truck is lifted up by pushing the coilovers through a lever. That’s how the whole truck lifts up.
It gets 62′ Lincoln Continental brakes and is connected with a Chevy Van axle which he bought for $50. It features a Ford Tractor headlight which he bought for $25. Karl Fisher says that raw steel parts have been chopped. The windshield is from Safari, and he chopped it six and a half inches. He says that the cab’s front pillars are tipped-in, and the back pillars are tipped-out. It gets spare tires from a Chevy Astro van AWD of the mid-90s. Karl Fisher says that the front wheels of the truck are 32 inches tall, and the rear wheels of the truck are 36 inches tall.
This 38 Dodge Pickup Rat Rod gets dual batteries. The reason it has two batteries is one battery runs the truck and the second battery just runs the hydraulics. It gets a battery isolator and a big alternator. So, this truck is self-sufficient, it charges itself. They’re done a watts link to keep the rear end centered and a 1979 Camaro 10 Bolt with a posi in it. That’s the rear end of this truck.
When it comes to the interior, there are brass rivets and fish scales on the inner door panels. It features Custom bead rolled bomber seats with P51 Mustang aircraft seatbelts. There is no dash, and gauges are installed in a battery box top cover. This is Karl Fisher’s most adorable ride. With crazy features makes it a Rat Rod from hell! This story is a bit old, but his 1938 Dodge Pickup Rat Rod will never be old.
Exclusive images of the Make It Kustom’s 1961 Corvette 238 powered 1938 Dodge Pickup Rat Rod
