The appeal of a rat rod is simple, these creations can be anything you want them to be, and most importantly, actually see time on the road. You don’t have to feel guilty about taking a rat rod out on the street. When it comes to South Texas Performance’s rat rod ‘Big Bertha’, its safe to say that the rules of a typical rat rod have been thrown out the window.

Built as a part of the Rat Rod Magazine and Ride Hard Magazine build off challenge. The challenge was simple, the team only had 30 days, and $3,000 to build the ultimate rat rod. The team quickly chose a ’46 Dodge and merged it with a Dodge 2500 pickup frame. They then chose a Cummins Diesel with 190k miles and a five speed transmission. Putting the power to the ground are massive 24.5 Semi wheels.

The entire build is impressive, but our favorite part of this build was the unique interior. Beyond the Lonestar themed door panels, South Texas Performance used Texas license plates to form the words, “You May All Go 2 Hell, I’ll Go 2 Texas.”

It’s tough to believe that the entire build was performed on only $3,000 bucks. But again, thats the beauty of choosing to build a rat rod. It’s not about sourcing hard to find parts or racking up a large bill, its about building a vehicle that you are proud of and will actually enjoy.