Working With What Ya Got

Being an old school rodder from the past , I've recently been bitten to build a " real " hot rod againg using what's available to me and on the cheap as well , a " Rat Rod " if you will.

My plan is to take a VW body I have sitting around and remove the pan chassis leaving the body to cut to my liking. Just eye balling the body , if cut behind the doors about 8'' ,cut the front off at the fire wall , cut the top off leaving chopped windshield posts and capped in the back , it would now resemble a roadster pickup. No , not Ford or Dodge iron of course but a cheap alternative.

To further this would be a garage built chassis out of box tubing with coils in the rear and a beam axle up front. Does it spell 60's yet ?

To top it off in the " different " department , the power will come from an iinline chevy six cylinder/ powerglide set up.

Anyone ever dabble in this type of rod ?

Any input would be appreciated .

Gonzo

 

You and the builder of this this should get together ...

 

Although I've never owned a VW, I've always wanted one. Now that gas is getting ridiculous, I'd REALLY like to have one. If gas keeps going up, a vw may be my next project (after a motorcycle).

However, I don't think you're going to get anything but a lot of bitching and complaining about your ideas here. Most of the guys around here hate VW's, as well as the term "rat rod", so you're about to take some heat. You might consider deleting this one, unless you like to read a bunch of posts by guys whining about vw / import posts on "their" message board.

 

Better go ask the VWratrod board.

 

I want to make something nice and tasty

but all I have is a pile of shit to work with...

what do you think?

edit:
this was not meant to sound so harsh,
I can see building something like you describe,
basically using the doors and jambs from the bug
and fabricating the rest..
it's possible but it could so easily go so wrong.

I have seen some amazing cars build from almost nothing
but it takes a real artist to pull it off

 

Btter be carefull man you are steppimg into deep shit with this VW idea, on here anyway,These people dont like it when you talk about somthing that may be diffrent than what they want to hear.But I say go for it. It might turn out bad ass!!!!

 

Do it....whatta ya got to lose? If it looks like crap, you canfind another body sometime, like a pickup cab, and stick that on your chassis.

 

Actually..........

......and this'll likely hack off a few "purists" as well so, why not.

An upright six/bug shell combo could come out pretty good if dealt with as a gasser or altered style right from the start, the way Anglias and Topolinos were. It's not that far removed from a Morris in shape. On the fringe of that might be a comp coupe, say with battery and radiator tucked under the rear deck.

And by the way, it was done when, With Chev 8's usually as I recall. Some of you historians may have photos.

 

I would say go for it as long as you have the skills or the balls to try (sometimes all the balls in the world can't make it cool though)
I imagine many people won't know what it started as....and when its time to move on to a new project it probably won't be worth much...
A few years ago I wanted to learn how to chop a top. I was going to bet a VW. My buddy tells me "it's just as much work to chop a bug as to chop something that will actually be worth something when you are done....so why waste all that work on a VW?" So I got a 4 dr merc and turned it into a pretty cool 2 dr custom that I sold for a nice profit (if you don't charge much for labor!!!) Anyway,my point is....if you are going to use all that blood sweat and tears,why waste it when you could pick up a pickup cab and roadsterize it (if thats what you want) or any project for fairly cheap...and when you get tired of it, it may actually be sellable!

 

"KILLER" built a roadster or maybe a Modified, using a VW body but it was radical in its construction. For example he mounted the body BACKWARDS to start and worked from there to get the lines to flow.
Basicly he did as "PAUL" said...used the jambs and doors but now the doors are suicide hinged. Can't remember if he ever finished it but it looked nothing like a bug in mockup!

I look at this as having potential...but very easy to screw up if you don't have a deadly eye for proportion.
The LAST thing you want is a VW your passing off as an actual early Hot Rod.

The Gasser look can work because your being obvious in applying an available lightweight body as an early dragstrip warrior. The cars existed back in the 60's.

 

Wasn't meaning to open any wounds and didn't know there were " Purists " that probably drive Hondas and rod Anglias or Austins. Was merely expressing my ideas and thought rodding was about creativity , not idea bashing .

Guess I forgot to mention the shorty pickup bed and fenderless concept.

Bet-jer-ass I'mm going with it now. Hell , was anyway. Was never swayed by narrow mindedness . I'm used to doing mu own thing anyway.

Thx for the comment from the true rodding brothers , even the warning . For the rest of you Honda jockeys or rebel flaged pickup drivers , it was tuff shit I stepped in but I've stepped into worse.

Rewgards,

Gonzo

 

Geezzz...ya know...for some reason a radical picture flashed thru my mind when I thought about a bug gasser and a radical straight six!
Could be cool...stretched front with no fenders...6 megs thru the side wheelwell...3 twos on a ram sticking out the other...red tinted glass and a wicked ribbon and flake paint job to start!

I must be off my meds or somethin'...LoL

 

Seriously man...its a PRE 65 Traditional Hot Rod and Custom board! You can't expect any different. This is a specialized forum...not just a regular Hot Rod group like Hotrodders.com or something. The ideas and builds here are more focused ya know...
Minds DO open if the ideas are presented in a pre 65-traditional way.

 

Build what ya want and screw everyone else,if it was an Anglia and not a VW I bet you would get alot of support.I've seen alot of VW's that look killer.

 

I don't support your "Screw everyone else" views so i'm not sure why you quoted me.

Everyone is here hopefully because they are drawn to the pre 65 Traditional style this site offers.
You don't say screw what your friends think...at least I don't.

I have an open mind...but I still think that 95% of the VW's that COULD be here don't belong.
It's the 5% I'm rooting for...​

 

I can appreciate what you're doing using what you got laying around, but cuttin it off behind that almost completely verticle door jamb looks so bad, it just spells no design. Why dont you try and chop it and round out the back to give it a finished area of some type.Good luck with what ever you do, but if you do something that looks bad just cause its easy, you're never gonna be happy with it.

 

Just build it!

​

 

Heres a link to a thread that might help you out...and a pic of the bug based body Killer started. You could make it work...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17768

 

HackerBill,I didnt intend to quote you,I clicked on the wrong "reply" tab.
​

 

Ok...I'm cool with that. Just making sure my feeling on the subject wasn't misrepresented.
have a good one...

 

Hey seriously.... I'm willing to donate money for a different website (http://brokeazzwannaberockasillyratrodderzzz.net) to clean up the HAMB.

As said before, this is a specialized forum. Quit wasting our bandwidth.

 

Who cares what everyone thinks just build it!!! Opinions are just that -Opinions. If you are building it yourself and learning along the way this is a great site to learn and see how others built their rides.

 

...I must be gettin' gullible in my old age...I actually clicked on that web address. ...now I have to hate you Seymour...

 

This is just what I posted about on another thread last night, half the guys here are gonna tell you to piss off, and half are gonna defend your bug.

I say build whatever you want, however you want. I just don't want to read about your bug here on the Hamb.

If you'll take a second and do a search on the subject you'll see how many of these threads end up locked.

Good luck with your project.

 

lol..... so many people call me an asshole, tell me they hate me etc, that I actually started a club with shitty member ID cards 6 yrs ago. Maybe I should start doing that again.

 

If by "Purists" and "narrow mindedness" you mean protecting traditional hot rodding and customs on this board, then I would like to be first in line. Build your VW, just don't post your progress on here, go to a VW board. We're not about that.

 

Why are all the new people being fags for the past week?

 

I'm just an FNG, but I gotta side with the "Go for it" guys. If it turns out a pile of crap, you've considerable enhanced and/or honed your skills on something that is relatively valueless. (Compared to, say, a '28 sedan body.)
If in this way you can later find pretty much what you'd like to have in the first place, you won't start hacking at it and turn it into a pile of junk.

If it turns out great, good job, but if it turns out that "pile of crap", then it's been a good learning experience.

Roger.....The FNG with the tilted motor

 

WOW , Thhat's really narrow mindedness at it's best.

I've probably built more rods than you kido's can stand to relate and yes , my first in 1964.

Been thru a 40 chevy , 31 A coupe , 2two 46 Chevys , 53 Ford truck and several race cars. By the way , all but the truck were built using old school techniques.

I see Hakerbill and Chop Truck being 2 real rodder brothers. The rest of you are as seymour says , "assholes".

I registered to this BB thinking it was rodders for rodders, not a few controlling snobs. Not to worry , I'm canceling my registration and let you assholes wollow in your glory. when you've pissed all the real rodders off, go to Honda .com and ask the rice boys how to cope with your issues.

Oh , ChopTruck, The rear of the VW roadster Pickup will be plugged wit two VW doors set in the void giving a factory looking apperence.

Cyaaaaaaaaaaaaa,

Gonzo