Of the stories I squeezed out before the pandemic took hold in March, this article about Tucson’s rat rodder community from January was one of my favorites. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make your vehicle look like something out of a “Mad Max” movie.
— Gerald Gay
Artimus Gil, right, owner of a 1931 Ford Model A known as “Shackrat Sally,” and his friend and mechanic Uriel Sanchez. For years, Gil used his rat rod as a bar hopper, a cruiser and even as a vehicle that he took to his job as an aircraft mechanic.
Tucsonan Artimus Gil has no problem driving a vehicle that looks like it came straight out of “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
In fact, it is kind of his thing.
Over the last decade, one of Gil’s primary rides has been his rat rod, “Shackrat Sally,” a vehicle pieced together using parts from different makes and models, picked up at swap meets, garage sales, scrapyards and online.
Its body is that of a ’31 Ford Model A on a ’32 Ford frame, which Gil transported from Southern California.
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The front grill is off of a Ford truck and its engine is from a Buick. The gas tank is an old beer keg with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sticker on its side.
Industrial grates purchased at a local junkyard cover the back windows and the wood flooring is made from warehouse pallets.
There is no shortage of patina. Rust is a common trait amongst rat rods, a hot rod subculture that has risen in popularity over the last two decades.
For the last decade, Gil has used his rat rod as a bar hopper, a cruiser and even as a vehicle that he took to his job as an aircraft mechanic.
