I know the term “upscale” isn’t commonly associated with most Rat Rods, but Don Agner is working to change that.
You see, Don has taken a 1946 Chevy 2-1/2 ton truck and turned it into a unique custom hot rod using cleverly repurposed and recycled parts that he’s collected over the years.
Don started with a truck cab that he found in South Dakota, which was then summarily plunked down onto a custom-made frame that features a coilover suspension and a Watts four-link out back.
As you’d guess, the well-engineered chassis, suspension, and driveline set the tone for the rest of the build.
But what really makes this particular Chevy rat rod special is the incredible level of detail.
Every place you look, another clever accent jumps out at you.
One of the first and most obvious custom touches you’ll notice is the hood ornament.
Don started with a pair of locking pliers and, together with a retired license plate and some braided hose, he transformed the whole thing into an impressively recycled dragon sculpture.
It’s truly a work of art.
Moving inside, the cab sports an interesting spin on a fancy “heads up” display with an array of custom aftermarket gauges.
Don’t see them? Note the sticker on the dash and look up.
Keep walking around the truck, and you’ll see all sorts of other interesting and practical details too.
For instance, any exposed wiring is routed through copper tubing, and the taillight mounting brackets are made from a pair of old connecting rods.
Since we’re out back already, check out the tailgate while you’re here.
It folds out into a padded bench with integrated cupholders—for literal “bench racing” of course. The bed features a fold-down tonneau cover, while an antique beer keg serves as the fuel cell.
The truck’s grille began life as an original Chevy piece, but Don heavily reworked the entire thing.
He cut it apart and, using some careful odds-and-ends, created a completely new, one-off piece. Look closely and you’ll see a saw blade and old motorcycle chain integrated into the design.
The headlamps were carried over from the donor truck and reused.
Perhaps my favorite highlight on the truck is the custom “DA fuel injection” on the 350 Chevy small block engine.
Astute dairy farmers will immediately recognize the assembly here—if you don’t, prepare to be udderly a-moos-ed.
Yup, the filter dome is taken from the top of a milking machine tank, and the hoses are the attachments for the cow udders.
But the fuel injection thing is just for fun—underneath that milk tank rests a trusty Holley 650 CFM carb along with a 14 inch air cleaner.
Oh, and if you’re wondering, “DA” represents Don’s initials.
With all these upscale refinements, Don spared no expense with the Chevy’s security system.
Don’t believe me? The pantograph on the retractable boxing glove is tied to a pneumatic air system—so it actually works. (Don says he got the idea from the old “Little Rascals” TV show.)
If a spring loaded boxing glove doesn’t work as a deterrent, a “No Pro” vintage film camera is constantly on guard, watching over the impeccably-built hot rod.
And if that’s not enough, Don’s hidden a ear-meltingly loud semi-truck horn behind the coilover front suspension in the engine bay—easily enough decibels to scare away any leftover riff-raff.
The “Chintz Bros” name on the door is from Don’s time at the local phone company, where he and another coworker would save scrapped parts from the trash bin and make useful things from them.
…Kind of like this rat rod.
The dilemma with such an incredible truck like this, is that we simply don’t have enough space to cover all the nifty details. Heck, Don’s even got features like a satellite-powered GPS speedometer and other modern, yet discreet, upgrades we couldn’t get to here.
That said, a big thank you to Don for letting us crawl all over his truck to see every clever nuance packed into it—suffice it to say, we spent an alarming amount of time in his garage.
But believe us, we needed every second to capture all the slick custom touches Don built into his “upscale” rat rod.
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