No season

Hi ya'll I don't have a rat rod, although I have picks of my dad old ford coupe he used to race back in the 60's that has made me want one for quite a while. He's no longer with us, but I've been tossing around the idea for awhile of puting a car together. Do you prefer people on this board actually have a car?

For the last ten years I've been going out to the dunes of So. California and mostly rode quads. This last year I has the $$$ to pick up a rail. Most people go with a VW or high $$$ people go with the big expencive water cooled motors. I decided to co the Corvair route. Its air cooled, good for the dunes, and sounds good uncaped
http://www.boomspeed.com/zeepusher/4Gmr.JPG
IF they made sand tires with white walls I'd jump on them in a heart beat.

The thing with duning is it's seasonal. I have to go the whole Summer without driving.:CRY: I had a Baja bug I'd drive in the Summer. It was Kinda like getting out and driving, but it was never the same and the proformance wasn't there.

Here it goes. I live in California. Where is the best place to start? Buy someone elses project they gave up on, or start from scratch? <<<<A question you probably get asked by all new comers.

Also what are the laws concerning fenders in Cali? I think I have an idea of the car I want to build, and I DO want to build it, so I have a clue of what's going on with the car from the bottom up.

This is a picture I've had for a while, of what I'd like to put together. But I AM "A truck guy" so I'm also thinking of a 32 ford truck like I've seen around town here.
http://www.boomspeed.com/zeepusher/RR4me.JPG

I'm a question asking fool and hope I don't get on ya'll nerves.

jon

Welcome to CHR, Pergl. Neat looking sand toy you have there!! Bet it's a blast to play with in the dunes. If you search hard enough there are a lot of project cars that can be bought quite reasonably.....But it's also fun to start from scratch and build what you really want. Comes down to what you have for project $$$, and how big a hurry you are in to get one up and running.

Some questions.
I know SOME people get lucky and find a starter car in a garge or field some where. Where is there a good place to look/start?

I know I SHOULD decide on what I want before I "start". Where can I go to look at a variety of cars to identify what I want?

What "basic" skills do you need before you think about building a "rat rod?"

THANKS in advance for any anwsers you can give me.

Welcome to the forum, nice looking rail you have there too.

For places to look, head out to the local cruise nights and car shows to check out cars in person, and also look through the CHR Gallery, there are a ton of pictures there of every kind of car imaginable. To find the cruises and shows go to your local hot rod or street rod shop and pick up a copy of Drive magazine, it's free and has listings for events all over the country including SoCal. Get out there and talk with folks and look cars over. You will see some with for sale signs on them for sure. Be careful buying someone elses rat rod, look it over from a safety point of view. Some of them flat scare me to think they use the same roads I do. Build 'em cool, but build them safe too. Check out this site for traditional rods

http://www.billetproof.com/

Have Fun!

Pat

Are most Rat rods just thrown together? I understand about saftey and being put together good. I used to have what I think they'd qualify as "hot rods". One was a 66 7 litre Galaxy with the 428 and C-6. the other my dad left to the family. A 57 Cameo with a 350 & 3spd Hurst. I liked to power and handling of both of those. On the other hand I had a73 Triumph GT6 That scared the hell out of me in third gear. too low to the ground and seemed like a coffen. So I don't want to go Euro.I'm also looking for something older looking, and not so shiney I need to tie a dog to it to keep people away from the paint.

Would rating out a 23 t-bucket be uncool,have safty issues,Or be frowned on? I found this

It's pretty much around the price range I'd like to start with. I'd take it down to reguliar carberation. I don't think I want to mess with a turbo. It seems pretty inexpensive to me. But my tastes seem to change daily. ALSO what are the laws about fenders on Rods in Ca.? Can I go with out them?

Like I posted, I'm a question asker. Thanks in advance for advice and help.

As many fenderless cars as I see in CA, they must be OK, but check with DMV to be sure. That car you showed has a carburetor, the 400 Turbo is the transmission. It does have a big bolt on air scoop. I'm not a rat rod expert, but some I have seen are basically junk, others are well engineered, just not with shiny new parts. Function over form would be a good way to put it.

Pat