John Zick grew up a long way from the 1950s and 1960s So Cal hot rod car scene. His dreams were hatched in another time and another place — in Sussex, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee.
But Zick was channeling Ed “Big Daddy” Roth all the way when he began planning his dream hot rod project. Zick was inspired and fascinated by Roth’s famed Kustom Kulture creations, and when it was time to start building, he went all in.
“I’m still kind of figuring things out. I’ve definitely never had anything this radical,” laughs Zick, of his stunning, metallic green 1930 Ford custom rod. “What I wanted was that Rat Fink look. I grew up reading CARtoons magazine, remember those? Well, that’s the look I wanted.”
Zick knew he was going to start with the original 1930 Ford body that he inherited from his stepfather. And he was going to incorporate the No. 77 somehow, “because that’s the number on my semi-truck, and that’s what paid for this!”
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