Words: John Gunnell Photos: Christa Haley
Not many 19-year-olds can weld up a car frame, put it under a derelict ’38 Ford pickup and have the truck in the Chevrolet Performance Parts booth at the Performance and Racing Industry Trade Show (www.performanceracing.com). Ricky Moore is one 19-year-old car builder who can claim that honor.
Moore built the vehicle in only six months, starting with a cab that a friend dug out of the ground. Fortunately, his father owns RR Frames (www.rrframes.com). The rat rod’s frame started out as a Chevy pickup frame and Ricky added all brand new 2 x 6 railing and 1/8-inch pieces. A Corvette suspension, like the one RR Frames normally uses, was bolted to the frame.
Moore chopped the cab 3-1/2 inches. He spent about a day and a half grinding it to bare metal before spraying the frame with an acid that rusted up the rails. He then let it sit out to rust on its own for a while. A friend airbrushed it to cover up the bare metal. The rest is the way it looked sitting in the field.
The ’32 Ford grille came from another friend. Ricky and his dad already had the ’27 Ford pickup box at the shop. The engine in the truck today is a 5.7-liter Chevrolet LS V-8, which puts out over 500 hp with a Tremec six-speed automatic transmission bolted up behind it. Ricky and his dad mounted their ‘27 Ford Model T pickup box at the rear and all the pieces just seemed to fall in place.
Ricky had to weld new motor mounts to the frame, but he had been welding for years. His dad taught him how to weld after they started selling the frames. Now, he’s been working at the shop for about five years.
Ricky also has a show condition 1970 Dodge Charger, but he wanted a hot rod that he could drive everyday. Ricky liked the “rat rod” look, but he wanted the truck to be useable. It has conditioning, a heater, a stereo and leather seats. The interior is sound proofed and has an American flag headliner.
Ricky builds frames for ‘55-‘56-‘57 Chevys, ‘47-‘59 Chevy pickups and ’53-‘62 Corvettes. RR Frames just started making frames for early Ford pickups, too. The company also supplies Classic Auto Air conditioning systems, GM Performance Parts engines and transmissions, stainless steel pump-in-tank gas tanks sourced from Rick’s Hot Rod Shop, Be Cool aluminum radiators, ididit steering columns, Budnick wheels and American Autowire electrical harnesses.
