Mechanic Builds 130 Mph Rat Rod Named After His Daughter

A master mechanic has become the unofficial king of rat rods in New Zealand, after building a series of incredible rat rod masterpieces in his home garage. David Jeffery, of Rolleston, has always had a passion for cars, but started making his own creations seven years ago, when he produced the award winning ‘BellaRat’. Named after his daughter, Isabella, the vehicle took four months to build and wowed the crowds at the 2012 Beach Hop – an annual New Zealand festival and car show where BellaRat scooped the overall prize for top car. David has since single-handedly produced five other incredible cars, including a converted semi truck, appropriately called ‘SemiRat’ which would lead David to yet more award success at Beach Hop 2016, where it too won the top prize. He now specializes in building rat rods - the spectacular custom cars that mix old and new parts and often emulate the hot rods of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.Show more

Building cars are just fun to create and you are not quite sure how they are going to look when you are finished. Some of the best cars have been built by hand. David creates just that, works of art, unlike anything you have ever seen on the road. He has always loved cars and for the past seven years, he has used that passion to build cars that he is proud of. Most of the vehicles he creates can be described as unique. Most of the vehicles he loves to build are Rat Rods. Building a Rat Rod’s inexpensive but fun to drive. Rat Rods are not always the prettiest thing on the road but they are well-built. David is the original creator of the Rat Rod. The car took roughly four months to complete. The motor was a small box Chevrolet motor and runs into an auto part that allows owners to make them louder or quieter.
There are shotgun shells placed on the car for the airbag system. The engine is made up of a lot of different parts from various other cars as well as some piece fabricated in his shop. David also put a stereo system in the Rat Rod which is extremely rare because old cars typically do not have radios. Subwoofers also complete the system for the best sound. The cost to build the Rat Rod was around twelve-thousand dollars. David has been offered quite a bit of money for the Rat Rod; however, because he named the car “BellaRat” after his daughter the car is really special to him. As a result, he has not sold it and does not intend to.

His wife supports his work of building cars. Sometimes she will help him in the shop during production. David appreciates her help.

Most of the cars that David builds look unfinished because they are not painted but he appreciates the rustic look so he does not paint most of them. David has won plenty of awards for his cars. He considers winning the awards a huge honor and achievement. He will continue to build cars because people love to see something different after he finishes each car.