HIGHLAND FALLS, N.Y. — The Storm King Highway, a twisting two-lane ribbon carved into a mountainside here nine decades ago, hardly seemed the place to test the roadworthiness of a hot rod that looked to have just escaped the junkyard.

Of greater concern, perhaps, was that Peter Duvaloois had never traveled this road, some 50 miles north of Manhattan, before bringing his 1946 Chevrolet “rat rod” truck here to meet a reporter. On the Storm King Highway — a four-mile stretch of Route 218 that snakes along 400-foot cliffs overlooking the Hudson River and passes the United States Military Academy at West Point — drivers must resist staring into the breathtaking vistas, even while keeping their distance from the low stone wall that serves as a guardrail.

To Mr. Duvaloois, 62, rat rods like his home-built pickup represent a return to the roots of hot-rodding. Rat rod builders embrace vehicles that display a rebellious attitude, along with loud manners and an intentionally distressed appearance, not necessarily the qualities needed to deal with a demanding road better suited to sports cars or motorcycles.

But Mr. Duvaloois seemed pleased, and possibly relieved, that his hot rod had taken the curves so competently.