WTF Friday: All That Was Left Was The Windshield

By
DaveT
-
12

At the last round of the 2012 CSCS series I spotted a vehicle sitting amongst the show and shine cars that I was more accustom to seeing running the quarter mile.

This isn’t entirely uncommon as people often park in the show and shine for a bit between runs but what made this a little different was the fact that previously I had never been able to identify this car.

Thankfully this time around the owner, John, was close enough that I could ask him the question he’s probably more than used to by now; “It’s cool…What is It?”

The Ratsio Italiano
I had simply called it a dragster back in 2011

John refers to his creation as the Ratso Italianio and originally it was an Alfa Romeo Spyder but by the time it landed John’s hands the Southern Ontario climate had reduced the only metal worth keeping to what was holding up the wind shield.

After propping the Alfa remains up on an industrial wire spool and positioning the wheels where he thought they’d ought to go John took a few steps back, nodded in approval, and began building a tube frame from scratch around a Ford 5.0 motor and T-5 transmission.

Once he finished the frame, and figured out the suspension, he fabricated the the body panels out of sheet metal –learning as he went– until the car was a cross between what it started as and what he wanted it to be.

Of course since then it has gone through a number of revisions which has included one entirely new roof.

Building the body
This is the previous roof shape

All said and “done” the car now has a 90″ wheel base, is about 41″ tall and weight in at 2400lbs. With 350hp under the hood it goes pretty well and currently it’s quickest 1/4 mile time is 12.32 @112.5.

2012 Ratso Italiano
The new roof flows much nicer than the previous
It’s an incredibly light tilt front end on the car

When I asked him how long the build took John said about seven years, but he’s been running it down the quarter mile ever since it was drive able and it was only sidelined that fateful Sunday because a rod decided it wanted to see the outside world by way of the oil pan.

That will end a day right quick

All isn’t lost though because John plans to rebuild the motor to put out a bit more HP and he took home the ‘Judges Favourite’ award at the finale.

Here’s a video of the build along with a few quarter mile passes.


Site Updates

I’ve got some family stuff to take care of this weekend so I won’t be at any events but Aidan is heading down to Black 3 and will be taking some photos for the site.

Can’t wait to see what he comes back with.

Flashback Friday

Speaking of Liberty, remember this car?

Such a good look, he sold that car awhile back and is now onto bigger and better things:

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12 COMMENTS

  3. I wonder how much money he’s put into it? He may have spent it more wisely on a Factory Five kit car, but everyone has one of those…

  4. I love it. It looks lie a Ferrari 250 GTO SWB. John is that what you were aiming for? I would spend the winter months smoothing out the body and spraying a bright red on it.
    I like it a lot.

  5. It is just supposed to be a mid sixties sports car,I can’t afford one so I biult one.The winter will be spent biulding the new engine,upgrdeing the suspention and if I have time a little more body tweeking.I only want to paint it once.

  10. Calvin.there are some more pics of the different stages of the biuld at the Hub Garage.Go to (Gunk’s Garage).Thanks for the interest.

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