Those English and their devilish ways…
We imagine Wes Mellott, an enthusiast who lives in Wayne County, Ohio, decided building a hot rod out of a ’32 Ford was a little too cliché. Instead of following the beaten path, the guy took an old Amish buggy and defiled it, mounting the body on a custom-fabricated chassis. Then he built a Chevy 350 V8, leaving it exposed in true hot rod fashion for a look which is guaranteed to turn heads and break necks, to borrow another cliché.
Learn about one of the earliest hot rods here.
Calling the car an Amish T, in reference to the Ford Model T since it kind of looks like one, Mellott completed the build back in 2013. Amazingly, the car uses the buggy’s original hydraulic brakes. For a gas tank, Mellott attached an antique trunk to the back of the car, placing it inside.
It took the man just a year and a half of tinkering to finish the project. Since then, he’s been taking it to local shows and other events and even drives it to work sometimes, drawing plenty of interest in his craftsmanship.
Mellott cites George Barris as an inspiration for him and it’s easy to see why. After all, Barris had a flair for the unusual, which was why Hollywood studios constantly hired him to build everything from the Batmobile to KITT in Knight Rider. We think Barris would be proud of this guy’s creation.
Before you think building such a thing is a good idea, even Mellott admits his build isn’t exactly safe. After all, the buggy was constructed using very old technology and flimsy materials, It wasn’t made to sustain a crash at high speeds. Still, Mellott sometimes takes the hot rod on the highway and pushes it to 65, we imagine because he just likes the thrill.
Source: The Daily Record
