Images courtesy of Michael Bowens.

Some folks reach for the stars when it comes to building themselves a project car, and that’s exactly what Michael Bowens and his father Tony did when they decided to build one wickedly cool rat rod truck out of something broken, and what would otherwise be, forgotten.

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the Bowens family saw what was a desecrated 2009 Mustang GT and turned it into something completely different – defying most expectations and going against the grain of normal car culture and ideology. “RatMod was built by my father, Tony Bowens, out of a 1956 International pickup and a wrecked 2009 Ford Mustang,” Michael details on his Drivn profile.

“He did all of the work himself, with a little help from me, his son. The man had a vision and didn’t want to do a “traditional” rat rod. He told me when he started, he didn’t feel like he needed to go by certain rules and style guidelines. He wanted something cool and comfortable that would get (everyone’s) attention, and that he could drive cross-country with if we wanted. I think he was very successful.”

The reborn rat rod compliments the Mustang’s past-life by using the donor car’s 4.6-liter Three-Valve V8 engine and utilizes the complete factory interior as well. Save for a few changes like a full air suspension setup and some new wheels and tires, everything else is practically Mustang underneath. This International truck-Mustang hybrid might just be the start of a cool new trend, and we wouldn’t condemn it given the situation.

That’s one hell of a transformation if we do say so ourselves.