The guy loves his car and is putting his heart and sole into it. If most of his detractors were out of diapers back in the 50s and 60s they would understand where the guy is coming from. When he originally done the car bondo was a new miracle product. The guy originally did the car when he was young. He has not been working on cars much since then. He doesn't have ten or 20 years worth of tools in his garage. Or has been keeping up to date with all the trendy fads or procedures. What counts is he had a dream and he followed that dream. He did the best with his knowledge and ability. What more can you ask for. He doesn't deserve all the prima dona B/S from people with fat wallets and fat heads. I will toast him with a cold brew as soon as I am done here. Some obviously just dont get it.
That would be you. Your attitude is part and parcel of the whole "ratrod" culture. No craftsmanship = kool hepkat BS. If you can't do it right, don't do it. All of the crap he did to that car now is in defiance of common sense. All of these Casper Milktoasts can't call a spade a spade and who is served by that? Shitwork is shitwork, if you had a stint put in and the doctor used a threaded bushing and closed you up with safety pins like he did when he was in premed would you be satisfied? Lack of quality cannot be excused by good intentions or worse, the "it looks like shit so it must be kool" attitude.
We'll see how much he likes it when all that bondo and tin foil comes cracking out of there. How long before the copper corrodes and the bondo on that peels away? Just a matter of time... especially if he used as much hardener as I think he did.
Good LORD. How can anyone defend this? Shame on you. Defending one's right to choose a style to fit personal taste is fine... but when it comes to craftsmanship there's a right and a wrong way to do something. This is most (absurdly) the latter.
It's not about tools, "trendy fads or procedures" or fat wallets. It's about taking some sort of pride in what you do. If he doesn't have the knowledge or ability required maybe he should put as much effort into learning how to do something at least half assed right as he must have put into sanding the 20 gallons of filler he dumped onto that car. He didn't even do a nice job of getting it smooth. Guys continue to do work like that because a bunch of people slap them on the back and say how admirable it is that you put your heart and soul into you project.
To put it as mildly as I can. THAT IS FUCKED! For gods sake someone tell this guy where he is going wrong!! Tell him to read a book, do a course, do something!! I don't give a rats arse who or why he is doing it just how. Yup someones gonna come across that some day and shit when it all falls apart and they have a pile of rust and some modern 'Bondo sculpture' You cant defend work like that, its like patting Hitler ont the back and saying 'good job', its just WRONG!
I noticed he did nothing to reinforce the body or frame when he cut the top off. This thing is a flexible flyer that is unsafe, dangerous and just plain stupid. If he hits a bump the doors are likely to fly open and the body twist around like a noodle. rivets and bondo don't cut it whether you're 16 or 66.
HAHAHAHA....Hey, Hitler had a lot of enthusiasm....I guess nobody can really dispute that... Do you think Hitler used bondo?
This thread has been great for a laugh. Most don't thoroughly document their shoddy workmanship. I second the question, why did he need a tinfoil template for hammering the popriveted metal?
It's his car, he did it His way a very long time ago ,and used it . Do not judge him by todays standards. It looks like he has lots of good memories in the car, I hope he fixes it up and again drives the piss out of it. I would not cross the street to get a free Kaiser, but thats my choice.
If he was a gearhead how has he avoided every right way of doing something. I wonder why the thought never occured to him " hey that looks really crappy lets see how i could do it differently". I love how he compares his bondo and copper smashing to michelangelo.
This is work he did today! What other standards should he be judged by. This is what he did to "fix it up and drive the piss out of it".
I think what astounds me the most is not the level of workmanship(or lack thereof), but rather the the fact that he is technology savvy and didnt utilse that skill. He was savvy enough to put together a web page with text and pictures of progress and yet seemingly hasnt googled "auto body repair" and done some basic research or brought a book on the subject. Or, if he did, he just plain ignored what turned up which is even more frightening....
Whats the difference between his work and car and several of the rods seen at some of the shows that have no interiors with jagged sheetmetal edges , improperly mounted fuel tanks in the passenger compartment, no seat belts, ect.? Yet Ive read posts regarding these cars raving about how cool they are . Yes, someone will respond that "theres a right way to do it" and I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. But if you look carefully at some of the cars at the next show you'll see the next generation comeing out into the world. I believe there was an old saying about the pot calling the kettle black. Larry Let me know if I need to Duck
idiots like this give us all a bad name as car guys,he,ll sel it to some poor sucker of one his kids will end up inheriting that shit heap and theyll regret every minute of owning it once they see this crap workmanship ,im self taught and could do better as a 16 year old ,i cant believe he is proud of the work or that hed want to post it!
yeah i hear where your coming from but im sure theres guys on this site that have bought their old highschool ride back and rebuilt it but i think theyve usually fixed the mistakes they made "when they were young"but some people never learn ,but i see some of the ratters at meets and they seem to be happy to drive shitheaps like this so i expect to see it as a cover car for CKD soon ,ive seen and fixed bad repairs ,i think we all have but none that shitty!
if being proud of driving an all out death trap that you had "restored" yourself with those methods is what you think is cool then fuck yeah I DONT GET IT and I dont want to get it!!!!!!!!
Sole? Did he use old shoe soles to repair holes? Have mercy on his soul!(Sorry, couldn't help myself!)
You think this guy is a hack? He probably learned his workmanship from Dick Datson! Daston actually published a book on body work where he described repairing rusted floor pans by wrapping them with fiberglass and resin. To paraphrase he "fixed" an AMC Javelin that was so rusted out from sea spray that it would flex so bad when jacked up that you couldn't even open the doors. After a "new" fiberglass floor wrap it was "strong" again. I couldn't belive the crap I saw in his book. Some guys have no clue at all and live in blissful ignorace, but when they make their work available to others as a how-to or documented process it just passes on bad craftsmanship. I just worked on a 1970 Buick that was so badly repaired that it only had about three bolts left holding the body to the frame. The quarters were about 3" thick at the wheel wells with bondo. The floor had huge holes covered with tin that had all come loose. The only saving grace was that the guy had put some nice used house shag carpet in to cover it all up. He was in the shop I free lance at to get the valve cover leaks fixed. I was thinking to myself, better let that oil keep leaking to save what's left of the thing. But anyway...
Back when I was 16 I fixed a massive hole in the rocker of my 1970 Sprite. I chicken wired and Bondoed that shit up and sanded it smooth. When my buddy came over I said, "See that repair, I want you to kick it, it's strong." He says, "nah, that's OK, I believe you." I say, "kick it, kick it as hard as you can." Finally he relents and boots the whole repair, all ten inches of it out, it just goes crunch. Thing is, I was 16, not 50, this guy is an idiot of the first order. Enthusiasm can never overcome shoddy execution unless it's some kind of joke, which this might be. Fucker might be getting the last laugh.
It's his car , as long as he is happy with it i see no problem with it . Have any of you made a convertible with a working top ? Joe
Right, until he gets killed or worse, kills someone else. Have you ever built a powerplant? If not, turn off your main switch and live in darkness. I hate that kind of smarmy argument. His car is a piece of shit no matter how happy he is with it. The topic at hand is craftsmanship, not feelings.
How is his fender well repair unsafe and going to kill him or someone else ? is a rivet going to pop out and put someone's eye out Joe
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