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Budd Stanley photos
SEMA Best in Show
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Budd Stanley photos
SEMA Best in Show
Ring gears around the headlights show some Steam Punk while LED’s and a Warn Zeon clash with some modernism.
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Budd Stanley photos
SEMA Best in Show
At 128-in, this is the longest wheelbase we’ve ever seen on a Willys.
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Budd Stanley photos
SEMA Best in Show
.50 Cal shells for transfer case selection and a goats skull on the steering wheel. That's different.
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Budd Stanley photos
SEMA Best in Show
We love the wood floor, but does that phone have a cell signal?
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Budd Stanley photos
SEMA Best in Show
The Rock Rat sitting at its lowest level, it will raise another 14-in if need be.
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Budd Stanley photos
SEMA Best in Show
Rockin’ the Rockers
Story & photos by Budd Stanley and Perry Mack
The devil is in the details
Finally we come to our SEMA Best of Show and trust us, we saved the best for last. While we were overcome with so many spectacular off-road builds that littered the Las Vegas Convention Center and exterior grounds, the one vehicle that got all our jaws on the ground was this, the Hauk Design, River Raider Off-Road Rock Rat.
The Rock Rat was the brainchild of Kenny Hauk, and trust us when we say, pictures really don’t do this heavily massaged Jeep justice; the devil truly is in the details. What you are looking at started life as a 1947 Willys. Hauk fit an Omix Ada chassis under the body then went about stretching that body by 22-in. He used two Willys hoods to create one long piece and stretched the body 12-in up front and 10-in in the rear.
What’s sticking out of the hood you ask? Why that's a great honking large turbo charger that gives the Cummins 6BT it’s connected to 700 hp and a whopping 1,400 lb-ft. All that power is routed through a TH 400 transmission to an NP205 transfer case, where it is split to an Auburn-locked Kingpin Dana 60 front axle and an Auburn-locked GM 14-bolt rear axle.
Keeping those axles up is a set of ORI air shocks that provide 14-in of travel, currently sitting in their lower position. A set of 44-in Pit Bull Rockers wrapped around B.A.D. beadlocks finishes off the mechanical side of the Rock Rat.
But what is really amazing about this project is the amount of artistic impression that has gone into the build. Looking deep into the confines, you can tell that all the little devilish details were quite likely the most time consuming part of building the Rock Rat. Kenny took inspiration for the rat rod scene and made use of lots of old parts laying around the shop. I-beam steel was used for the rollbar, old wire laminated glass was used in the windows; ring gears encircle the headlights, while pinion gears hold the blinkers. The more you look at it, the more you discover all the little details that really set a show winning project apart from a great project.
This rig has it all. Heavy-duty parts that give this Jeep real world capabilities, real world good looks, real world power and finally an artistic flare that just has to be admired. Whether you like the old rat rod patina design or not, the amount of ingenuity and artistic flavour poured into this little ’47 Willys has to be admired.
Congratulations Kenny Hauk, your Rock Rat is our Best of Show. What are you cooking up for next year?