WelderUp's Dually Rat Rods Have the Dieselpunk Look Nailed

Of course, pollution isn't funny, especially when NOx fumes are involved, but WelderUp makes some awesome custom rat rods. For this year's SEMA show, the same shop put together three new vehicles, one of which is a truck used for transport.

The one on the left in these videos is the old diesel Model A that has been reworked completely. Steve Darrel, the owner of the shop, says his grandfather was a gunner on a destroyer ship in WWII, and he chose a navy theme for that reason.

The custom engine setup makes about 1,250 horsepower on regular fuel or about 1,600 hp on nitrous. Yes, you read that right, it has nitrous running on a twin-turbo diesel setup.

In keeping with the navy theme, you enter the rat rod through a hole in the roof, and there aren't any doors. She's an uncompromising beast.

The one on the right got all the attention at the 2015 SEMA Show. It has a theme that combines classic streamlined trains with the dieselpunk look, which is adequate for a rat rod that loves to roll coal. The engine is a Cummins twin-turbo with a custom setup. The Dana 70 rear end would probably work just as well on a Ford F-450.

Everything is hand-fabricated and looks like copper that's been left to take the brunt of the elements. Besides the heavy-duty turbo piping, our favorite part is the front windshield that looks like it came off a WWII bomber.

That dually wheel design probably exceeds the legal width limit for a car, but we don't care as long as it looks good. While we're on the subject of problems, we're not sure you can see out the front very well, not that there's a big window to see out the back either.