Hot rodders in the 1960s were TLCB Elf levels of nuts. From fire trucks to beer wagons, ‘show rods’ as they were known dismissed notions of getting in, seeing out, steering, and other such formalities in favour of ludicrous caricatures, and few were more cartoonesque than this, Ray Fahrner’s 1967 ‘Boothill Express’.
Based on an 1850s wooden funeral coach fitted with a Hemi V8, Ray’s creation looked so wild onlookers at the time doubted it could actually drive. Which it couldn’t. Annoyed by the naysayers (although they were correct), Ray’s team built a second ‘Boothill Express’, this time engineered to run, and took it to 130mph on the dragstrip. Which must’ve been terrifying. Still, at least if it all went wrong the coffin was right there to accommodate the remaining body parts.
Pictured here alongside one of the numerous toy versions that were inspired by the real car, Lino Martins has recreated Fahrner’s iconic funeral coach show rod brilliantly in brick form, including the Model-T steering, open bench seat, coffin curtains (with tassels), and the mid-mounted Hemi V8. Join the express checkout queue via the link above, and you can click here to find out more about the outrageous 1960s original.
