"the Story Of The Poser Rat Rodder"

here's a nice story of what I call "the poser rat rodder": Our story begins on a rare warm sunny day in PA (in between the snow storms) when I decided to take the road king out for ride. after a brisk yet refreshing cruise I pulled into a shop tp stretch and get a drink. apon dimounting my ride i saw a small crowd around what seemed to be a cool looking 32 coupe. I investigated wanting to see if it was the real deal or just a 50 footer? It was the later of the 2, the closer I got the worst it looked. here was a young "hot rodder" (I use that term loosely) blabbing all about his new fangled "Rat Rod" that he built in just over a month! the coulpret who shall remain nameless (only because I never got the a-hole name) began to tell me how he accomplished this great feat by means of his skills (?) and the styling que's he got from tv,magazines and web sites!
this 32 ford was a true piece of ....work! i would noramlly just walk away but I saw this thing as an insult to anyone who has ever put there heart and sould into a project. Lets start with what was left of the body, a typical junk yard find (and in PA there aint much left) the roof was bieng supported structurally with a few gallons of fiberglass resin & matting, in a most area's you could see right threw the holes in the rust under the resin. the floors (again a loose term) were 2 road signs, which he bragged about stealing, a stop sign and a "slow curve ahead" sign??? talk about endangering others yet alone committing a crime! these signs were lovingly tech screwed and chaulked tothe floors and he pointed out that he added straps for support (preforated strap iron from the plumbing store) under the said signs . Ok next i notice the seats, not even ol'skool but what was worst was the lack of mounting. the pssenger seat had 2 1/4 -20 bolts with larger fender washers and on the drivers seat he went the distance and put one 3/8-16 bolt with a large washer!?!
the rats nest he called a wire harness was basically duct taped into a ball and shoved under his "hand made" dash, it was a fire wait'n to happen. the wheels dry rotted (but he said they had good tubes in them!) I wondered if he were able break traction would they smoke or would the cloud be just dust . the powerplant was from an 86 buick regal and it smoked like one too! the worst offense of all was his use of string....opps I mean "military grade parachute cord" as he put it, for his throttle linkage! real brite einstien?
what really erks me is his lack of saftey for himself, his passengers and other innocent people on the road as well as his in decent portrayal of the 'rat rod" scene. true we all can't be jimmy shines or jesse james or chip foose's for that matter but have the state of mind to make what you own a reflection of you as well as road worthy and safe. if your gonna envoke the names of tv personalities,builders,web sites and or magazines, don't disgrace them with a cheap rendition of them. You can build a car on a budget but don't let it look that way.
In closeing I can only say that this experiance has marked me and I can offer these words in hopes that someone will listen. there is a difference between the Poser and the Craftsman, One use's talent to be resourcefull and innovative the other is just cheap and immitative.
BE YOUR OWN FREE SPIRIT, MAKE YOUR RIDE YOUR OWN!

 

Almost sounds like my neighbor!

 

Get a cell phone camera, pics of this train wreck would be priceless.

Im a part of the younger generation (31) or at least sort of near the 'new' age. my upbringing always taught me to take pride in somthing ive done, weather its cleaning a toilet or wet sanding my dads willys. shoty isnt cool. homebuilt is. Sounds like this goon has been huffin' pomade...

 

Shadow...what part of PA was this in? I only know one guy this could possibly be.

BTW...I wouldn't put Jimmy Shine in the same category as Foose. Shine showed his true colors in Detroit and they weren't good.
Clark

 

we should be able to police each other... you could have sent his ride to the crusher. maybe we should have a show like American Idol, but for home built shitpiles, some people need to be put down.

 

...inquirin' minds... ???...

 

Maybe he is a true RatRodder as some are insulted by this term I guess he is why???

 

Yea! Send that 32 ford to the crusher,that will teach him!

 

American "Hot Rod" Idol.... maybe that would be a reality show worth watchin! Loser gets his ego and car crushed, winner get a millon doller build show contract.

 

I thought you liked my car ?

 

Man was that YOU in the shop?? So you liked my car, cant tell from your post??

Para Cord for throttle linkage?? What a dickhead! I was an Army Para for 10 years and while para cord is strong it degrades awful fast in sunlight. Its also very elastic too, wonder if he ties a new knot in it every time he drives it to keep up that throttle response?


*Edit*, Dang it truboroadster, whats the chances of posting the same thing like that?

 

hehehehehhehehehee
wooooooooooooot

 

ooo lord...god help Us! & him as well! Style on a low budget can work! If ya don't know how,,,ask for help or get assistance! I do! And stop biulding these rat rods for image status...Gosh Damn it,,, It is about culture,,learning and historical style,,,,THESE BUTTS ruin traditionalism for the poor guys tryin to do it rite...LIKE ME!

 

I don't know. I mean it sounds pretty bad, but at least he built a car that actually moves under its own power, how ever poorly. Further its a 32 Ford. Also sounds like he built it himself. Half the guys on this board never get that far. Sounds like he just needed some guidance and maybe an ol-timer to help him along.
Next time you see him you might try to turn him on to the real deal. Real hot rodding I mean. If he is a lame ass he will blow you off, but he may be just learning and trying to get on the road. Lets not forget according to the story the kid build himself a a 32 Ford coupe, not a twin turbo Honda, that says alot.

Hotrob

 

clark..

warrington is over my way..

north of the city..

I wonder if you and i are thinking about the same guy..

 

hmm all these rice buners are kinda dum but what happed back in the day? you bought a 32 for $30 riped the fenders off and exhast and drive like crazy cuz you had to make it look fast, am i right? well now they just add an over priced coffe can and a bunch of fiberglass and drive crazy to make it look fast. am i right?
there will allways be douchbags like this

 

Well said hotrob.

 

dont mind him....,RAT RODDIN(tm) just arrived to kentucky recently,,its the "NEW" craze

"RAT RODDER" is a title youuns where with pride

 

thats too bad. people like that ruin it for the rest of us. i remember my roadster was a pile when it was first "done"... but i realized that it wasnt safe, so i spent another year going through it to make it safe and look good. i'm a little embarassed that i showed it to people before i went through it the second time... so, maybe, he'll realize he has a pile of shit, and fix it... or maybe he's more of a rat rodder than the rats in o.s.r. and he'll drive it untill he kills himself in it

 

Well, hopefully the kid has some kind of marbles between his ears and just might listen to some reasoning. He had to have had some kind of comrads in the crime egging him on to build such a pos. He might even had some common sense friends who tried to tell him things should not have been done as they were.
Anyways, just for everyones' sake here on the web forums, pray he gets stopped by the law first before he is involved in a tragic episode. Or even better, everyone over there in the area should be on the look out for him and get his crate off the road and into a more desirable safely working ride. It will only get worst if we as a Kulture do nothing to keep it safe and open to us all, before the man shuts the doors on the whole fad.
How did it even pass the state safety inspections and emmissions for the tags?
Keep the faith and hopefully Kharma will do her duty and get his wreck off the road.

Maximo

 

CryBaby!

 

Parachute cord for throttle linkage? How the hell did it pass inspection? later shawn

 

wow
an anti theft device
untie the cord and remove the throttle
most folks have velcro shoes so no' hotshoelace"to steal the( rr)

i did not trust the string thottle on my gokart either!
paperdog

 

[quote=the shadow;


true we all can't be jimmy shines or jesse james

WHY IS IT SOMEONE ALWAYS HAS TO BANG THE DRUM FOR THESE GUYS ????

DONT THEY GET ENOUGH PLAY IN 'OL STOOL RODZ.

 

In more ways than one - all we need is a few high profile accidents & legislation starts happening. We must police ourselves.

I agree - might have tried to talk some sense into him & lead him down a safer path. He may be to proud to accept it on the spot, but a few well made points might sink in later.

I don't want to get into a style discussion again, but basic safety must be considered. Non-rodders won't be able to, nor even care to, distinguish between the unsafe crap & well built rods - they'll dream up new rules to legislate us all out of existence.

Gotta police ourselves - even if someone like that isn't one of us - Joe Public can't tell the difference.

 

Funny thing is, he's likely a HAMB'er.

 

I usually read posts like this,and move on. But I think this "Rat Rod " thing is something that will be a BIG problem--maybe not now, but soon. I work with a county agency---and also work directly with cops, and I will tell you this:here in So Cal, certain police agencies are taking a LONG look at some of these cars. Some of the cops come to me,knowing I build my cars(with the help of some good friends), and pick my brain about the "Rat Rod" crap.I don't usually bad-mouth other people's cars, but some of this stuff is CRAP--- and I don't want to here "it's just like the ---30's--40's---50's"--BULLSHIT! Guys in the past built cars as well as they could---and most cars progressed. It's only a matter of time that cop agencies start the "Hot Rods to Hell" thing like in the 50's. I know from personal fact ,they're starting with the 4x4 crowd--and moving to the "Rat Rod " crowd.They seem to be ok with the street rod/ hot rod guys---IF they don't go crazy and don't kill anybody.This may piss off some "old skool" or "traditionalist" camps, but the writing's on the wall.Bottom line: build your car safely--spend some time on it---don't short-cut brakes/steering/suspensions---bad paint never hurt anybody,but no brakes has!!

 

quit crying about his car and drive your own use your fancy brakes and perfect steering to avoid him.some people work with what they got and some have more than others

a quote from THE SHADOW
"BE YOUR OWN FREE SPIRIT, MAKE YOUR RIDE YOUR OWN!"

 

what ever happened to common sense ? geeze, this guys gonna kill someone. even on a budget, someone with common sense could have scrounged a peice of steel rod, or cable to make a throttle cable out of. you can make a car look ratty, and still keep it safe if you use a little common sense.
i can see it now "hot rodder kills innocent victim in head on collision because of a stuck throttle" those words "hot rodder kills" is what would stick in peoples minds.( the term"hot rodder" used loosely) and that gives ALL of us a bad name.
i'm sorry, but the guy sounds like a professional moron to me.
oh yeah, i hate the term "rat rod" by the way.