Thread: What I like about rat rods...seriously!

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Local guy here had a 49 ford chopped, nice car. Spent several years building it. Finally got it painted.....it was pretty. Not long after that, wham, got rear ended sitting at a light. The guy that hit him was drunk, no insurance, and hit him so hard the car was junk. He found another one and between the two built it again. He drives it all the time but it's in primer....says he's afraid to paint it.

I'm back... pardon me, and let me try to set things straight.

I didn't mean for my post to sound like I was all bent out of shape... I'm not. I guess it's amazing how the printed word can be mis-interpreted, when poorly written on the author's(read: MY) part.

I guess I just get a little perturbed when 'people of means' look down their noses at a car, simply because it's in primer. I guess it's not just a car thing either... the same people usually have the same attitude about other people, too. To me, cars are like music... everyone has their own taste, there's no right or wrong. Except maybe Lawrence Welk... that stuff is just WRONG!

Even if I had the means to have a $10k paintjob and a tuck and roll leather interior with AC, I'd probably still go for the primer and saltillo blankets, with the windows down... that's just my style. But I still love to look at the high-dollar rides, and check out the creativity and ingenuity of the builders.. especially if they were built in the owner's garage, with his hands.

No pics of the ride... still looking for the ride! My eyes are WIDE open, looking for something like a 49 Olds, or a similar sled. I was aiming for an A-Sedan, but I'm 6'7", about 300#... the A's just don't cut it for m, for a car that will eventually do an Americruise/PowerTour type run... that's the goal. A friend of mine is gonna teach me how to do a proper chop, and how to do leadwork as soon as I find the proper canvas to start my masterpiece. He's the 2nd owner of his 34 Ford sedan (his first car in 1960), and is just buttoning up a 50's Stude pickup project.

Anyone have any leads on a ride?

Sorry for the rant...
Corey

I'm back... pardon me, and let me try to set things straight.


It takes a big man to say these words.

But I think we sometimes confuse older with richer. I'm 60, and work 6 days a week, and I do it because I need to work. True, now that my kids are grown I am now able to have a few more bucks than when I had a wife and two kids looking at me for their next meal and a roof over their heads, but I stil couldn't afford to dump $ 20K into a paint job, nor would I want to.

For me, the fun of owning a rod is to be able to say "I did it all myself.". so I lean toward those homebrew paint jobs and simple interiors too. Plus, I like the style of the cars I remember from when I was younger.

We older guys and you aren't a whole lot different, and I actually shock myself sometimes when I realize I am 60. How the hell did that happen !!!

That Olds sounds like a great future wish, especially in car restrictive Pennsylvania. I'm from Pittsburgh originally, have they relaxed any of the fender/ hood/ lowering laws, or are they still strict?

Don

Originally posted by BigEasy
Except maybe Lawrence Welk... that stuff is just WRONG!

Tough to argue with that. Isn't he from So. Dakota? Besides, who's gonna argue witha guy 6'7" and 300#.

6'7' and 300#...............................


Yeah, I think that A sedan might be out of the question. Especially chopped and channelled.

Don

I'm glad that we're all chuckling now...

Last I knew PA's laws on fenders and hoods haven't changed, but the changes ARE coming. I guess the Gov is a rodder at heart! I haven't heard anything about problems with lowering, I had a slammed S10 Blazer myself for a while. I'm looking into becoming a dealer... if that happens, I won't have to worry about an inspection anyway... or insurance specific to the ride, for that matter. I just gotta figure out if it's worth all the paperwork.

Hmms...the thing i like about rat rods.....

simplicity with design
still head turners

Originally posted by Bob Parmenter
Tough to argue with that. Isn't he from So. Dakota? Besides, who's gonna argue witha guy 6'7" and 300#.

Close Uncle Bob, but LW was from North Dakota. Our big claim to fame is Sparky Anderson and Russell Means!!!!

Baseball coaches and political activists!!!! Imagine that!!!

Those sorts of things used to bother me, but I have come to realize that the world is in a constant state of change, and right now it is shrinking and becoming a "world community". It's been in the process of doing this for about 50 years.

It will never again be the way it was, with our businessmen manufacturing or selling only in the U.S. It isn't good or bad, it's just the way it will be from now until the next "flood" starts society at square one, again.....so you might as well have an imported beer, relax, and enjoy the lower prices! :-)

The internet and hi speed travel are turning the entire world into an international community. I didn't used to buy from sources or use shops outside of South Dakota!!! Well, ok that was a few years ago.... Where is it we draw the line on buying only made in USA items??? Certainly not on computers and electronics, hardware, and a multitude of other things. I guess nowadays my concerns are more with the quality of the product rather then what the label claims to have as a country of origin..... Not even sure all of our raw materials used to produce items is all of US origin?????

I'm not one of these people who will buy only American, because I realize that we are part of a global economy now. I think Honda and Toyota cars are great products, but crap is crap, regardless of where it comes from. (QUOTE)

I agree. Foriegn operations don't have a "lock" on poorly made products. It really comes down to what the company, domestic or foreign, is willing to sell!

<vomits> when i was delivering car parts for appleway the import stuff was among the cheesiest. one day i go an i pick up a core support! A CORE SUPPORT for toyota and it bent subaru is the same way only the gm stuff didnt bend, compared to what gm "used" to be its cheesy today, but its not as cheesy as imports today. the import car sheet metal is so thin you actually get paper cuts and it will bend with the tiniest amount of pressure. i feel a hell of alot safer in my friends 66' 4 door polara

The reason I said what I said was because I thought Mr Gasket Corp was a good distributor to deal with (used to be), so I bought a chrome dip stick for my 350. When I got it home I noticed the "made in china" stamp on it and about s..t. It doesn't fit the tube, just sits there and doesn't seal. Never again. I'm not one to go around saying buy American but, it just pissed me off that we can't even make a dip stick anymore. Oh well, your right about, it's not going to get better. We have a generation coming up that can't tie their shoes, read or write in English, and doesn't give a damn about where anything is made. I guess I'll use the chinese dip stick in my GMC truck that was made in mexico and about a hundred other countries that we probably never heard of. Anyway, go for it rat rodders, do the best you can with American made stuff even if it's fifty-seventy years old. There are plenty of people who will just roll over and say "oh well, it a global economy and we have to take what we are given". That's seems to be the lazy way out.

Bob, I guess at 52 years old I don't understand your statement about the Japs. What the hell does that got to do with this?

Originally Posted by Aster

Bob, I guess at 52 years old I don't understand your statement about the Japs. What the hell does that got to do with this?

In the immediate post WWII era (until roughly the mid '60's) inexpensive consumer items were produced in Japan, and often the quality level was low. Virtually all the statements made today decrying Chinese quality/merchandise could have the word Japanese substituted for Chinese and be identical from that era. Many of the Japanese companies eventually prospered enough to adopt higher quality standards of production/packaging/marketing and only devoted isolationists rag on Japanese products today. History does repeat itself.

As for your most recent comment (and not picking on you in particular, you're merely echoing the "conventional wisdom" of the day) consumers are their own worst enemy when they get stuck with poor quality goods. How often do we see someone come on here and ask "what is the cheapest.......................". Absolutely no consideration for quality and the hidden REAL cost of an item. The base reason is that as a consumer they've not taken the time, or experienced the pain, to have learned the difference. Intrinsic in that question is the assumption that all available options are identical so only price matters because the product/service/outcome will be the same. An informed consumer who takes/makes the time/effort to learn how to discern quality/value will shop for the features and benefits that meet their real needs, and THEN choose the supplier and price that gives them the best balance. Most often the price isn't the lowest, but the satisfaciton is higher.