This 1929 Sedan right received a few important parts from R&L Custom Rods... For example, a motor, transmission, headers, and heating & air conditioning...electric windows were installed but not operational...they are now. On Sunday, July 1, 2007 the owner and his brother began their dream drive...an 1800+ mile road trip home to Eagle Idaho via the famous Route 66 (with a lay-over in Vegas!) Rick, owner of R&L Custom Rods provided an escort out of the county with his well-know 1923 Ford T-Bucket. Their journey took them across 7 states and lasted 4 days! They report they had no engine problems and the very probably...time of their lives! They arrived home to a small crowd of family & friends who all took turns taking a ride!
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This yellow, 1930 Model A Five-Window Coupe, (right) came to R&L Custom Rods for a little "dressing-up." We started with new glass for the windows, a windshield frame, chrome trim & radiator supports, & side mirrors. The owner has "made-do" with an old green bus seat as seen in the photo. We replaced this with a more comfortable seat that we reupholstered in a custom fabric in two shades of tan mock suede. The body was complete without a previous interior, making the task of installing a new interior challenging. Take a look at the project during several phases in these photos.
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Hot Rods come in all
shapes & sizes. Just
check out this 1953 Chevy
panel truck on the right. It
first came to R&L for some
minor welding to repair a
side panel where a
window had once been cut
out. The owner intended
to restore this antique to
original form, however,
soon after a visit to our
streetrod shop and a look
at our website, plans
changed. Now the owner
of this ride has different
dreams that included Rick
installing an updated
independant front end, a
late model rear end, and
late model motor,
transmission and steering
column. Just wait & watch
as this truck becomes an
intimidating streerod!
This 1929 Sedan below belongs to a frequent customer who has always
wanted a rat rod. He brought to R&L the body below. A custom frame was
built, (right) and the body was chopped & channeled 4 inches. Rick also
built a complete floor pan as the original was destroyed by cancer.




After chopping the top, (left & right) a
roof had to be fabricated. The owner
supplied a mini-van roof (if you are a
soccer mom that is now driving a
convertible mini-van...well, sacrifices
have to be made to achieve
greatness!) A windshield was also
chopped and installed. Rick
frenched the tail-lights for a cool
effect and new wheels and tires look
awesome. A door had to be found
and modified to fit on the right, and
door handles, a steering column,
brake pedal with lines & gas pedals
and a fuel cell with lines all had to be
installed. Other basic features added
were a radiator, guages, and
headlights. All in all, it remains a
basic rat-rod waiting for an engine so
it can come to life and live wild on the
streets!




Below is a 1935 Ford 5 Window Coupe that came to Rick for modification. The owner wanted to upgrade this car to the drama & style of suicide doors without handles! Watching Rick work with these classics is like watching magic as these doors underwent the transition and were automated! An automatic trunk was also added.
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Below & to the right is a turn-key rat rod built to the specifics of a
customer in 2008. This car was purchased as seen in the photos to the
right & from such a humble beginning, with our buyer providing
personality & likes, Rick created one of the areas most popular local
rat-rods! Every step of the birth of this car was taken here, at R&L
Custom Rods as shown in the images below.
In the fall of 2008, Rick decided it was time to add to the family of R&L Custom Rods an all-weather ride that we could enjoy year-round... The result was a 5 Window Coupe Rat Rod, shown throughout stages of development below. Complete with heating and air,
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A Family Affair!
Rick and Son-in-law Marty began building a special T-Bucket this year, another after hours project. Marty & Rick's daughter Jessica have two boys, Blane 10
and Jaxson 20 months. This family shares Rick's love for hot rods and T-Buckets have become a family affair. Rick and Marty over the course of 11 months
built their family of four a Limo-T. This T-Bucket was designed for back seat drivers with seating for all four in this family. Two Spirit Industries molds wer
purchased and modified to afford a roomy back seat.