Words: Tommy Parry
It’s a wonderful thing when you can take a classic truck body, mount it atop a racing chassis and somehow make the rusty panels and the slick tires work as a package. Coti did just that. He started his build with a ‘36 Low Can 1.5 Ton, which he placed upon an older Troyer modified tube chassis. The rigid chassis, made for an oval track racer, gave Sandy the sort of cornering ability that would make a Mustang blush. Plus, with Wilwood brakes, coilover suspension and a Franklin quick-change rear, there was little this classically-styled monster couldn’t do. This build was designed to turn heads at car shows, but also have the ability to run with the best hatchbacks and sports cars on backroads – so Coti bought the best parts.
While the car wasn’t intended to be a dragster, Coti felt some power was necessary, if only to complement the fantastic chassis. With all that rigidity, he can make good use of the power available from a highly-tuned 283. This engine was lying around his father’s garage, where his racing trophies and bits were kept. With this build, Coti went for high-end racing components to give him the sort of response and roadholding few would expect from an aged rat rod.
Since a build of this magnitude should have the right sort of support for the driver, once he laid out the floor, Coti started building his own seats, modeled after classic Kirkeys.
A caring father, Coti let his four-year-old crawl around the garage as he tinkered away. Not that he needed much motivation, but the incessant question of “When are you gonna do a burnout, Dad?” pushed Coti to put in longer hours. Some coffee helped, sure, but getting his kid to crack a smile was the major impetus.
To help fit a protruding carburetor, Coti fabbed up a Mad Max-style hood scoop with a Harley’s gas tank. The tweak was initially purposeful, but Coti wouldn’t avoid an opportunity to spruce up the exterior, and though this car is pure racecar underneath the skin, Sandman wanted plenty of style to turn heads. Therefore, a 2.5” chop off the top added the Road Warrior essence the car was lacking – not that it was lacking much. It wasn’t a difficult chop either; Coti only had to pull the a-pillar back into shape after lining up the back of the cab and spot welding it.
On went a set of headers that were bound to rattle the neighbor’s windows two miles away. Part of that was pure hooliganism, but Coti couldn’t run a muffler underneath the low-riding machine and had to make the necessary sacrifices to his hearing.
After adding a cage, bed sides, a set of meaty Hoosier slicks and several spots of red paint, Coti had his bonafide racer with a hint of rockabilly style. He wanted the best parts and he spent a pretty penny on them, but the money was well-spent – obviously. Chances are his kid would enjoy it as much as, if not more than, he would.
