Thread: Describe your Rat Rod project here.

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Yep, I've got too much time on my hands tonight...

Here's your basic rat rod, oops! I meant crap rod... big block and no brakes!

Dan J

I'm not sure, but this may have been ole Herman Munster's boy's car.... I like YUK

Dan J

And when I first read the topic of this thread. I thought we'd be discussing BB powered rods.

Learn sumthing every day.

I aint gettin in here. Thought I would talk about my project (gang of parts put togeather as a beater)to much controversy I will say safety should be first concern. Francis

Over the last year I have been collecting parts to build my grandsons and one granddaughter something a little different from the everyday ride when they reach driving age.
I started searching for an old cab of some sort, that part didnt matter what it looked like or what it was, just something to start with. I located a 1946 Dodge cab that had already been chop (butchard) and brought it home. After a closer inspection I seen it might be more than I wanted to tackle on my first build so I placed an add with a picture on another ratrod site trying to get rid of it.
About a week later a young man contacted me and ask if I would be willing to swap my Dodge cab for a 46 Ford cab and he would deliver it to my house.
After seeing a photo of his offer I agreed. The trade was made and we were both happy at this point.
It seemed the more I messed with this new cab the more rust I find until now I have decided to cut off the top in the near future and chop the winshield 4" and make a roadster cab out of it.
Purchased some 2x3x3/16 wall tubing and got the basic drop-frame laid out and tack together.
Got the body squared up and braced, the doors chop down and capped. Four inches have been takening out of the bottom of the cab and channeled 5".
Working on the floor before I take the top off so this piece of rust dont fall apart... So far its been replace metal and cut out more rust.
So the second search started for parts and pieces to build this crazy idea, Lord what was I thinking
Located a 230CID straight six with a powerglide tranny and a Ford 9" rearend.
A 39 Ford straight axle with crossover steering and a couple of 15"x10"wide wheels for the rear and to 8" wheel for the front. Found a Offy 4bbl intake at a local boneyard and traded an Woodworth 2bbl carb to a guy for a new in the box 390cfm Holley to fit it.
Couple of 34 Dodge headlight puckets in which I have fitted with some Vega inner buckets and sealbeam headlight.
Bought a 15/gal keg and had a fellow tig in some bungs for the fittings along with a filler spout and now have a gas tank.
So the parts are coming together and now its time to start making something out of this pile of parts......I hope!!!!
This is about where I stand at the moment on this build. Will post some photos soon.
I need all the support I can get from you folks and thanks for allowing me to be a part of this forum.
God bless you all

A few photos of the cab and all its rusty glory....lol
and a couple after a few days of work on it.

A few more:

Looking good, great start. Like the pineapple, haven't seen one of those in many a moon.

Who cares what you call it just build it and drive it.

Originally Posted by lash

Who cares what you call it just build it and drive it.

there is no wrong way to do it (as long as it's safe)
i am building mine for me.

That's alot of the problem, where it exists. I don't know what the guy thinks a rat rod is when he calls both of mine rat's. The 66 chevy pickup is flat black until I get the metallic black on it this spring. Or the 48 that is engineered well, handles like a dream. Drives straight at 90 with hands off the wheel, is in gloss paint with clear coat, upholstery and not a drop of rust anywhere. It's a personal opinion, and most can't even tell you what a rat rod is. They just think they are looking at one. Junk is junk, whether its a 30 model A or a 94 Geo Metro. I get kinda testy when mine are referred to as rats, but all have meant it in a good way. There was a time, as they say back in the day, when being a hot rodder was like being a gang banger. Greaser was a derogatory term. When I first herd the term rat rod, I thought of the RAT Fink, I thought of those crazy rod driven by monster like characters drawn by the likes of Roth. That's not it, apparently. People like labels so if they don't know or don't understand maybe it's a rat. I try to react to the way it's said rather than what is said. Cause they don't know, and I sure don't know. What I might call a rat, you call art. What I think is traditional, someone else will call antiquated. Live and let live.

RAT ROD!!! It's only a label. Like "passionate conservative" It really don't mean anything . Back when I was a kid there were hundreds of rods on the road as daily drivers and about 95% of them were unfinished cars in black or oxide red primer. They were labeled "HOT RODS" back then.
I'm building my roadster to look like it was built in the 50s because I can. I scrounged up most of the parts to make it look like the cars I loved as a kid.
I'm leaving the bodywork for last. When it gets to the point where I can drive it thats what i"ll do. I love the old rusty look of the body but the glass doors will need some of that rust colored paint to look good. I think I'll just shoot them with black primer and leave them out in the weather to fade. The frame and engine will be painted but the body will be rusty for the first year Just to hear the comments both good and bad. Then maybe I'll do the bodywork and paint it flat black. Black primer won't protect it from rusting if it gets wet. I still haven't decided on a finish color yet. I'm thinking of green metallic right now but I might paint it resale red by the time it's ready. You can call it a rat rod if you like that label and it won't bother me a bit. Don't call it a street rod. That label sounds too 70s to me. I did some of those wild 70s paint jobs back then and repainted them a few years later.
I don't think everyone should start from scratch like I did. I would like to build a glass roadster on an aftermarket chassis with a crate engine and all the goodies I can order with a credit card. It would take me longer to do it that way unless I win the lottery.

Streets I know you like to give advice but I'm not sure you'll take any from me but It seems to me you could afford a top quality chassis for your old 34 sedan. At your (our) age you don't know how much time we have left and you could be driving the 34 much sooner without all the backbreaking work. It will also leave you more time to play on the computer.

What do you mean by green or blue airplane hydraulic fluid? The stuff Skank and Gutterboy get is brown and lumpy and tastes like s#!+. I'll ask them to drain some out of a newer plane to see if it tastes better. The one they've been getting it from crashed for some reason.

AL

It's guys like this that give rat rods a bad name. Maybe we need a label for things like this.

"JUNK RODS" ?

Maybe its because im relitively new to the scene, but i think there is enough segragation within the sport without creating division between groups of enthusiasts that are so simular. Were all pulling in the same general direction after all!
For the record i really like ratty cars. The most vivid memories that i have of the cars that inspired me as a kid are the rusted out, patchy beaters that raced along side shiney, well kept, big money machines.
Bieng only 24, im not old enough to remember the days when cars were designed by artists instead of guys in white coats with a wind tunnel, so seeing anything of that era was enough to make me look twice. But maybe it was the fact that it was bieng kept and driven in a manner totally contrasting the usual 'classic car enthusiasts' gentle outing to owners club meets that really gave it drama and sparked an interest with these cars that is with me still.
The glass bodied wish-list rods are something i really aspire to, and the fact that some machines are poorly built is not an issue, you will find a minority of builders cutting corners no matter what type of rod or Kustom trips your trigger.
So lets all remember what were into this lifestyle for.... its all about making some noise and raising some pulses!

Man Al, that '38 or 9 pickemup is precisely what I meant by the builder needing to find a different hobby. There are SO many things on that thing that defy hot rodness.