Forget rat rods because Canada's Shawn Cormier has something far cooler – a rat tank. Like any good project, the bizarre machine, which he calls Tankenstein, remains a work in progress even after five years of wrenching. Cormier always has little tweaks in mind for making his tank-car hybrid into an even more capable and eye-catching vehicle.
Much like Frankenstein's monster was a mish-mash of human parts, Cormier used whatever mechanical bits were available to build Tankenstein. The tracked portion comes from a Bren gun carrier – a lightly armored British infantry support vehicle circa World War II. On top, Cormier places the cab from a 1947 Mercury tow truck, which is complete with jagged, original glass in the window. Power comes from a 305-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) V8 that allows for a top speed between 45 and 50 miles per hour (72 and 80 kilometers per hour). Cormier estimates Tankenstein's cost to build at around $2,500 – a bargain for something this cool in our opinion.
To complete the look, Cormier dresses up in military garb when driving Tankenstein, and he even carries a toy Tommy gun with him. A big Canadian flag emerging from the pickup bed adds a patriotic touch, but it gets pretty muddy here.
When not working on Tankenstein, Cormier keeps busy wrenching on other projects like what he calls the Black Widow Monster Trike. This weird rig features three gigantic wheels and mixes running gear from the Chevrolet Chevette and S10 pickup. It looks like quite a handful to control. Cormier picked the three wheeler up largely complete but performed the finishing touches to get the machine running.
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