Rat-Rod Transformed Into A Taxi In Seven Days

Ridiculous Rides

AN ECCENTRIC mechanic has converted a London taxi into a crazy rat-rod van in just seven days. 44-year-old Paul Bacon, from Leicestershire, spent over $600 on a traditional black cab and with the help of some timber, fibreglass and expanding foam he managed to construct a rusty rat-rod that he now uses for work. It took Paul just a week to finish the project – and he admits that he can no longer drive around his local town without receiving a few strange looks.

Transcript

00:00A lot of people who first see the van say it looks like something from a horror movie.

00:23The centric car customiser Paul Bacon has created this weird yet wonderful vehicle

00:29to act as brand ambassador for his car customising business Cyclone Works.

00:35So the inspiration for this project was just to build something really quick.

00:40I needed a van, wanted that retro sort of cool look.

00:43Initially I was looking at taxis just to use the chassis on a different project

00:48but then it occurred to me you know I could convert this into a van.

00:53So then the taxi van even though it looks like it's been quite heavily lowered

00:57it's not lowered at all. Suspension is totally standard.

01:01What I've done, I've lowered the wheel arch from about just here down to there.

01:07I've really liked cars all of my life particularly sort of custom cars, hot rods, that sort of thing.

01:13We've got the truck style wing mirrors and we've also got the swamp box at Econ there as well.

01:19which is made out of the back box just from a scrap yard.

01:25I started off in my back garden. I basically cut the back of the old taxi off,

01:31built a timber frame and then started to construct the new shape of the van around that timber frame

01:37using dye bond and expanding foam that was finally covered in fibreglass.

01:42Built the taxi van in seven days. The reason it was done in seven days, I had seven days free.

01:48I needed a van, that was all the time I had so it had to be done.

01:53So inside the van, first off we've got the seats.

01:57It's the rear seat out of a 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and you know that just went in really easily.

02:07just fitted like it was meant to be.

02:10Under the bonnet of the van, it's a really big heavy bonnet.

02:152.7 Nissan engine that loads of London taxis had.

02:22So the paintwork on the van is, it's sort of a fake rust paint and then it's got some white

02:28and then that was all tinted over with 2K matte lacquer.

02:34At the moment, I've only ever really been up to about 64, 65 but I'm hoping to break that magical 65 barrier over the next couple of weeks.

02:42You know, probably on a nice downhill stretch of road.

02:47Whole process start to finish, came in at just over a thousand pounds.

02:51The taxi, I got the taxi for about 450 pounds.

02:56It's probably the most usable vehicle I've built.

02:59A lot of people smile, people wave, people come up and ask a lot of questions about the van.

03:05You know, but it always starts every morning.

03:07It always works and carry loads of junk in the back and you know, that's probably all you need from a van really.

03:14Really?

03:15Yeah.

03:16Thanks again.

03:17I've never stayed there.

03:18Nope, I can't remember.

03:19Yeah, smile, sands.

03:20No but it moang, you work with.

03:21It doesn't matter.

03:22You leave.

03:23No, it really.

03:24You don't feel.

03:25Just say it the naked model, tan-s vaccines save all the same Amaiffa really.

03:26Right?

03:30At least on Amazon, so your 호f is very high and sweet.

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