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Have you ever fantasized about owning and driving an extremely chopped rat with a big-block stuffed between the framerails? Well, we certainly have, and if you’re anything like us then this insanely low and mean rat will definitely put your blood pressure on the rise. Mark Whiteskunk’s 1928 Ford Tudor Sedan, dubbed the “Skunk Rat” was built in good ole’ Sayre, Oklahoma at his shop Skunkwerx. Now, we know what you’re thinking… where exactly is Sayre, Oklahoma and what the hell do people do there for fun? According to Mark Whiteskunk that’s an easy answer – they build cool shit, drink beer, and shoot guns – because ‘Merica. When we first heard this from Mark, we had to see for ourselves, so we traveled out to Sayre to visit Skunkwerx Paint & Body and see just what kind of trouble we could get into.

Rat-26Rat-05Rat-24 Photos: Solo Films | Words: Kristi French & Mike Alexander

More of our visit later, but for now, back to the Tudor. The ’28 came from a family member of Mark’s that had the car for many years, in fact, the car had been in the family for more than two decades. Mark had his eye on her ever since he first saw it and knew he had to have it to turn it into something down right nasty. The problem was that his uncle didn’t want to sell the car and wasn’t budging. Lucky for Mark, he was persistent and one day Mark made his Uncle an offer that he couldn’t refuse any longer. His uncle needed some fast cash for a long overdue root canal and Mark offered to pay for the root canal (as a joke) in trade for the car. His uncle just could’t stand the pain any longer, so he actually took Mark up on the offer and the deal was struck.

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As long as Mark had waited to get his hands on this machine, it was already built in his head, so the next step was to start cutting. Mark wanted the meanest, nastiest, lowest, and loudest rat to piss his neighbors off as much as possible, as well as providing the most unsafe mode of transportation he could muster. Thus, a big-block was the weapon of choice, open headers were a must, and an over-the-top chop was in order. To piss people off even further, Mark slammed the Skunk Rat flat to the floor and installed a custom air suspension setup to give it a bit of clearance, when needed.

Now, even though Mark builds and paints custom cars by trade, problems still occur in every build. With the super low stance Mark had given the Ford, the rack and pinion steering just didn’t go as planned. Mark had it completed and ready to go (at least that’s what he thought), yet the steering was backwards. Mark had accidentally ordered the wrong rack, so he proceeded to do what every custom builder does – improvise. He just fabbed up some new brackets and remounted it to suit his needs. A few other fun mishaps along the way also add to the character of the rat. The wood burning of the roof, was by accident as some of the wood had gotten burnt with the torch during the chop. Luckily, it looked pretty rad, so torched wood it was! As with the personality of any rat, you build it for fun, and you do just that when completed – HAVE FUN with it!

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Although Mark tends to have bit too much fun with his ’28, as he managed to get pulled over during this very photoshoot. Told you, we would get back to the shenanigans shortly! Needless to say, we had a blast on our visit with Mark and the Skunkwerx Paint ‘N Body crew. He has an awesome team, and Kyle Davis played a big part in the build of the Ford so Mark was sure to let us know that he couldn’t have done it without him. And of course his Uncle who really needed that root canal.

For more info on this build, check out the Slam’d Specs below, and make sure to scroll all the way down to hear this big-block in action!

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Slam’d Specs

Owner: Mark Whiteskunk
Vehicle: 1928 Ford Tudor Sedan
Hometown: Sayre, Oklahoma

Rat-07Wheels/Tires/Brakes:
OE 16-inch 1934 Ford wire wheels
16×300 Coker whitewalls
Speedway Motors disc brake conversion

Suspension/Chassis:
Fully built 2×3 frame
Front: 2500 Slam Specialties ‘bags with cantilever on a ’28 split wishbone
’28 front axle with disc conversion
Rack and pinion steering, custom mounted
’85 Chevy van rear with Slam ‘bags over axle and two-link setup
’64 Cadillac shocks
Viair 444c compressors
Floor mounted master cylinder

Body/Paint:
Custom 8-inch chop, rust holes throughout
Removable roof with torched wood
1936 chevy headlights
Aluminum spun gas tank
All mods performed by Skunkwerx
Custom pinstriping throughout
Olive drab green and brown paint, some original, some touched up

Rat-16Interior:
Grenade shift knob on Lokar shifter
Tractor seats
Burnt wood door and rear panels
Handmade rusty sheetmetal dash

Engine/Performance:
454 big-block
Edelbrock high rise intake
Custom cam
350 turbo transmission
Shotgun barrel air cleaner
Aluminum radiator
Wire ties, zip ties, and electrical tape
Custom touches throughout


Check Out Mark’s Tudor In Action Here:


Check Out The Full Slam’d Gallery Here: