Hard Up Garage Part Two - The General

Just as things were finishing off for the morning, I mentioned to Sam and Derek that I had driven a number of American cars and I asked what was it like to drive a Ratrod, they answered "Would you like to drive it"

I could hardly believe my ears. "That would be amazing" I replied 

This is the General, a 1931 Model A Ratrod, designed by Sam Hard of The Hard Up Garage in the UK and made by Street Toys in Juarez Mexico.  The thinking behind the design is that it would be what Cooter Davenport from the Dukes Of Hazzard would drive. The detail on this is incredible. 

The Chassis is a bespoke 1931 Model A, the roof is the Confederate flag that also has a vinyl top, their is a tequila bottle for an overflow, the fron light are custom made and the rear lights are from a 1959 Caddilac. The body is steel and is custom made for this build. This one can also shoot flames from the exhaust.

The interior is has two leather seats, the dash with a steering wheel, two gauges, and the huge gear lever.

Confederate Flag Roof

Tequila Overflow

Lights from a 59 Cadilac 

Exhaust that shoot flames

Note the fuel gauge is pipe on the bottom right.

The interior.

The two gauges are for Oil Pressure and Coolant Tempreture

So what makes this Ratrod tick? The engine is a 350ci Chevrolet V8 Road Race with a Tunnel Ram Air Intake that produces roughly 300 BHP. I spoke to Sam about how fast this can go, his answer was "How big are your cahounas?" The gearbox is a TH350 automatic, the Suspesion is Transverse Leaf at the front and Coil Suspention on the rear. Brakes are vented disc's on the front and Drums on the rear.

Getting into this rod is a bit of a squeeze but has room once inside. Derek Hard is my passenger for this trip. Turn the key and the whole car shakes and roars into life then settles to a nice idle. Once warmed up, I put my foot on the brake, pull the gearstick all the way back towards me and then forward one click to engage drive. I put my foot down but clearly not enough as I stall the car. This happens a second time. Finally, I give it enough and we pull away carefully out of the estate. The trick with this car is if it feels like it's going to stall, take your foot off the accelerator and then put your foot back down a little harder.  I go over a bump slowly and it rocks everyone. Derek warned me that you have to avoid the bumps as they go right through you. Onto the road and the noise is incredible, you can see the fan doing it job and im aware of all things around, you have to be as this car is wider than normal cars. The acceleration from the car is brilliant, you put your foot down and it goes. the braking you have to be a bit gentle, if you brake too hard you lock the front brakes and skid. The steering is very light for a car the does not have power steering. One thing this car does make you notice is how bad the roads in England are. The noise coming from the road is as loud as the V8 and although I try to avoid the bumps, it not always possible. 

Pulling up to a speed camera, I have to be careful as there is nothing to tell me how fast i'm going so I drive at roughly the same speed of the vehicles around me as I do not want a speeding fine.

Driving along, you can see people looking at the car due to it's look and noise, there is nothing else around like it. I must admit i'm grinning from ear to ear, driving this car is a pleasure that will stay with me.

Photo's of me driving the General were taken by Derek Hard

It's time to head back to Hard Up, as we pull in, im reluctant to give the keys up because it's lots of fun to drive.

Having now driven a Ratrod it's easy to see the appeal of owning one. Street Toys did an amazing job on this in creating Sam Hard's vision and the build quality is amazing. 

I would like to thank Sam and Derek for allowing me to visit and for their time, they made me feel very welcome and allowing me to drive the General is an experience I will never forget. I was also given a Hard Up key ring before I left. 

For more information about the Hard Up Garage, please visit 

http://hardupgarage.com/