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JUST BECAUSE

JIM SMART September 26, 2022 All Feature Vehicles

From Brit People Hauler to Rat Rod with a Twist of Bizarre Imagination

Looking at this ’48 Austin FX-3 taxicab turned rat rod it becomes impossible to envision this ride as it was originally: a road-going, traffic- and pedestrian-dodging London taxi. What’s more, it contradicts itself endlessly with many ironies. Oh, it’s a rat rod to be sure; however, where you expect to see American V-8 power is instead this ride’s original-equipment inline four sporting the nostalgic sound of an Austin FX-3 cab. Eric Connor of San Diego, So Cal Suspension Garage and Loose Cannon Kustoms can be credited with giving this former London cab a frontal lobotomy to the point where it has little or no memory of its previous life far across the North Atlantic. This guy tips the scales at 2,100 pounds and will do every bit of 80 mph sporting a knife-style kill switch copped from the Texas State Prison system.

When we asked Eric why he would build such an outlandish rat rod, he answered,  just because.

Those are Ford Model A headlamps the size of 747 landing lights flanked by a custom 1932 Cadillac stainless mesh grille, which are a sharp contrast to the rest of what you see here. The Austin’s original iron front axle with kingpin spindles and huge drum brakes take a little forethought from a driving perspective. Eric must drive with his mind ahead of events because stopping and steering take some advanced planning based on the technology he has beneath him. Universal airbags make sure Eric is up to the task at hand when it’s time to hit the road. What you can’t see is the Austin’s primitive worm and sector steering with but a single link. A custom center link with adjustable Heim joints keeps both sides on the same page. After cutting the cab behind the front doors, the cowl and windshield were moved to the back doors, making it a two-door cab. The back doors opened suicide style from the factory—what a bonus!

Try flagging down this Austin FX-3 taxicab on a busy London street if you could see it at all in heavy traffic. Chances are it would slip by, but surely not unnoticed. That’s blazing tangerine candy applied by Loose Cannon Kustoms of San Diego. Inflate the Universal airbags and prepare for liftoff because Eric’s Austin taxicab will clock a modest 80 mph via its Austin four-popper with a Zenith atomizer and four-speed crash box. Those are Lester big white sidewall 600-16s in front and 750-16s in back, mounted on gloss-black 16-inch steelies.
In true retro rat rod counter-culture tradition, Eric’s FX-3 is a bizarre mix of ironies. Rat rod mindset is one of budget, and using whatever you can find. Yet Eric’s Austin cab is dipped in rich tangerine candy clearcoat with custom graphics, including the legendary Rat Fink conceived by the late Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, who built some of the wildest hot rods in history. Consider Eric’s Austin rat a counter-culture movement to the counter-culture movement because it looks complete.
Lindy’s Upholstery of San Diego rebopped the Austin’s inner world in pearl white with white diamond tuck. That’s a stock Austin banjo-style steering wheel in extra large because this is a steering system requiring extraordinary mechanical advantage. You can bet London cabbies got their workout and upper body strength from driving these early 20th century beasts. Eric opted for the CNC billet machined shift lever for the Austin’s original four-speed unsynchronized gearbox.
These stamped Speedway aluminum bomber seats with lightening holes are likely the only form of seating that would fit in the radically altered Austin body in true jalopy style. At that, Eric’s cranium protrudes into the slipstream like Dino in a Hanna-Barbera’s The Flintstones cartoon. When you examine the very nature of a rat rod, they’re rolling entertainment for the American highway, cruising spot and Main Street. What makes Eric’s Austin rat a contradiction to conventional rat rod thinking is the sharp contrast of rat simple and the glistening demeanor of a high-end street rod. Inside is a simple approach centered on piloting this ship void of creature comforts.
The Austin’s original FX-3 inline four-cylinder engine displacing 2,199cc (2.2L) was commonplace in a lot of British automobiles. With a whopping compression ratio of 6.8:1 you could run nail polish remover in this humble iron mill atomized by a one-barrel Zenith carburetor. It made anywhere from 50-65 hp and roughly 100 ft-lbs of torque depending on where you source information. When you consider the FX-3’s factory weight of 3,188 pounds, this overhead valve four had its share of work to do, especially with a fare onboard. However, this engine is more about torque than horsepower with its 3.125-inch bore and 4.375-inch stroke. Eric has chosen to trust his battery to no less than a Delco single-wire alternator. We admire Eric for his decision to stay with the Austin’s original four, which makes it a great conversation piece.

Eric wanted a unique “kill switch” for his rat. After searching eBay, he located one of three of the original switch panel electric chair power switches used at the Texas State Prison, complete with shotgun shell-style fuses. The kill switch was mounted conveniently on the firewall.

BUILDERS:

  • Eric Connor, El Cajon, CA
  • Loose Cannon Kustoms, San Diego, CA

FRAME:

  • Stock Austin frame, shortened and modified

SUSPENSION

  • Front: Universal airbags with Bilstein shocks
  • Rear: 4-link with Universal airbags with Bilstein 5100 series shocks

BRAKES

  • Drums fore and aft

WHEELS

  • Steelies, 16-inch, fore and aft, with Lesters and gangster whitewalls

ENGINE

  • Austin FX-3 four-cylinder inline, 135 hp and 195 ft-lbs with single-barrel
  • Zenith downdraft carburetor

TRANSMISSION

  • Four-speed manual transmission

BODY & PAINT

  • Altered Austin FX-3 Body with rear doors deleted, 6-inch chop and 12-inch drop, tangerine candy by Loose Cannon Kustom of San Diego

INTERIOR

  • Pearl white by Lindy’s Upholstery of San Diego, Mooneyes gauges.

 

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