Nitrous LS1 Dodge Rat Rod Hits the Quarter Mile

Nitrous LSX rat rod ‘Lunch Money’ runs hard down the 1320.

BigKleib34 caught this absolutely amazing LS1-powered 1927 Dodge Pickup hot rod at Holley LS Fest West and we’re smitten. Lowered and fed with nitrous, it ran a best time at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the 11s. But there’s a lot more happening with the Lunch Money Garage hot rod than meets the eye. Lunch Money Garage owner Corey Caouette built the car with hand controls.

You can briefly see the hand controls briefly in BigKleib’s video. The large handle in the middle of the car takes care of most of the control. Pushing forward on the handle engages the brakes while squeezing the lever applies the throttle. The shifter shifts between the two gears in the Powerglide automatic.

Corey built the project on the cheap using whatever low-buck bits he could find. He started with a three-door Dodge Coupe but swapped on the back section from a ‘35 Dodge Truck. That truck bed appears to have both some reclaimed wood in the bed and a bottle of nitrous for the LS1 up front. The aluminum LS1 eats nitrous that allows the car to shred its rear tires, as it did during a visit to Hoonigan headquarters, or to run hard on the drag strip.

Corey flipped the aftermarket headers for the tight-fit LS1. That custom routing for the exhaust looks awesome and also clears the nearby firewall while also allowing Corey to get into and out of the driver’s seat without bumping hot exhaust tips. We love the aesthetic of the truck nose to tail. The Coors beercap and late-model (relatively speaking) Ram hood ornament look great. We also love the “speed holes” cut out of the rear fenders, the beige paint, the rollcage sticking out of the cabin, and the lack of nice chrome finish.

After watching it run in Vegas, check it out up close here.