The 20 Best Hot Rods Of all Time

August 10, 2017

Chuck Miller’s “Red Baron”

Base car: Ford Model T

The Red Baron by Chuck Miller is one of the most famous hot rods of all time. Originating as a model kit, it featured a World War I German helmet-style body atop a classic T-Bucket and twin machine guns in front of the cockpit. The kit and car were inspired by World War I aircraft and the then-fashion of bikers wearing replica WWI German helmets.

The model kit featured the inline-six engine from a German aircraft, so when a full-scale replica was built, a Pontiac OHC inline-six engine was fitted. The body was hand-built by Miller, and the helmet molded from clay before being moulded in fiberglass. The machine guns and accents were also hand-made, before being chromed. A helmet-shaped air filter was added to the engine, and the car was ready to roll.

It toured across the country in the 70s, selling a gargantuan number of the kits, proving not only to be a marvel of engineering and design, but also a great bit of advertising. The Red Baron eventually ending up in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Smith Collection Museum of American Speed, where it can be seen today.

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