Rat Rod Selected For Hot Wheels Immortality

When I was in college a friend of mine went to Utah and came back driving a 1949 Nash. That's a car you don't see every day, though if you watch old movies that take place in the early 50s you'll catch 'em. We were in the East so it was quite a haul. The primary feature for my friend was that the car had no rust. Utah is dry.

This memory came to mind when I read this story about Greg Salzillo's Rat Rod that had been selected at last year's SEMA to become a Hot Wheels toy. In his case it's a 1957 Nash Metropolitan. Salzillo's custom car shop, Speedtech Performance, is also located in Utah. St. George in the Southwest corner, to be specific, just North of the Grand Canyon. It's a beautiful part of the world in any direction. And the best part, for a car builder like Salzillo, Highway 95 gives him a straight shot to Las Vegas and on to the City of Angels.

I think it's cool the way Hot Wheels, a company whose reputation was built around toys for boys, is an active participant in SEMA, the world where grown up boys live out their childhood dreams. (Reminder: Registration is open for Virtual SEMA 2020.)

The article I saw had been written by Hollie Stark. It begins, "On a sunny mid-week morning, a 1957 Nash Metropolitan sits outside Speedtech Performance, a renowned custom car and aftermarket suspension and chassis shop on River Road in St. George."

Not everyone knows what rat rods are, so Stark makes sure to describe that specific category for non-enthusiasts. Classic car collectors try to re-create their dream 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s cars, spending oodles of dollars to win awards if possible. There are people who will spend a million dollars, or two, on a single car. 

The rat rod scene became the "poor man's playhouse." That is, the goal was creativity, imagination and straight up fun. Hence Salzillo names his car the "Nashole" and dresses it up with massive white sidewalls. The color scheme matches that classic Sixties turquoise and sour cream white that was popular 60 years ago.

In actuality, the only real relationship between the Nashole and a Nash is the body. Everything else from the Nash was removed and the body was placed on a custom chassis with a small block Chevy engine. 

No, it's not even a diesel, and it shouldn't even be featured on the Blue Flame Diesel site here, but it's cool. Follow the links below to find some classy Diesel Rat Rods.

You can read the full article here. 

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Pinterest wall with page full of Diesel Rat Rod Ideas

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The photo was used without permission. My aim is to draw attention to the original story where there are scads of additional photos.