ANTI-TECH! How NOT to build a Rat Rod... err... Death Truck

Oh My!

 

maybe you can use the garage door latch to hold the tailgate closed. .. you need to use it somewhere on the truck..

 

You hafta save these pics for your build pics. You can show people what you started with.

The guy I bought the 50 FDleetline from was such a tightwad , when the ignition switch went out he installed a switch in it's place.....anyone wanna guess what kind? Oh yeah, a 115V indoor light switch.

When the door straps broke, the little steel ones that keep the doors from overextending .......he tied that rubbercoated clothesline around the door to the hinge...at least he tied a square knot in it.

The floorpans were galvanized steel with roofing nails and lag bolts.

They are everywhere........I still think you got a good score for a big window cab.

 

Rocky,That rant was not a reflection on the current owner of the truck but just a reflection on something that I hear a lot. I guess I am a little grumpy today.
I wanted to run my Dart tomorrow but the weather is not good and I have a couple of troubling issues that I need to work out in order to be able to make a respectable pass. I guess there is always next weekend.
Maybe I should go back to bed.

 

John, I hear ya. I wanted to take the Fly to the track and try out my new injector pump. Supposed to be rainy and cold.....

 

Damn man..did you close your eyes when you bought it or did you just want it to bang some poor smucks inexperience?

 

I'm guessing you built it dicksmacker27.....

 

This was fun. Thanks.

"Hot Rod Hardware", indeed.

At least he didn't put some weird visor on it.

- LORDZ OF LATCHEZ

 

Hahahahahahaha! Hey Latchster27....post an intro on another thread. How 'bout posting a photo of your '27 with it?

 

[ QUOTE ]
...dicksmacker27.....

[/ QUOTE ]


Somehow,just having the name "Dick",in a HAMB user name,is just asking for it.
But I'm sure he's heard it all before.

 

How would you figure I built it?.......the lack of a gun rack in the back window, or no rebel flag on the front bumper?

 

What's the old saying????? "Little Richard grew up to be a great big Dick".

 

Dickster... post an intro and grow up.

I bought this truck with my eyes open. I just posted that shit because some things never cease to amaze me. I put this post up partly for a laugh because I know that most people here have a sense of humor and can recognize it when they see it... and as I posted in the subject title of this post... it's what NOT to do. I fully intend to keep this truck and turn it into my daily driver. Time to give my 59 a rest after beating the shit out of it for the last six years.

And thanks Root and everyone else... I think this truck has a lot of potential too, and I hope I do it right. I'm going to volunteer at a shop to do grunt work doing anything from sweeping the floor to learning how to weld and do body work. Only way to learn it is hands on.

And yes... Robert Williams is the dude I was thinking of.

Now... back to your regular scheduled program.

Don't forget the introduction Dickster, and try not to live up to your name.

Travis

 

Even "nice" cars have problems... that mustang I have had a rat's nest for wiring, no heater controls, no horn, and the friggin seat frames were cut with a hacksaw so they'd lean back far. $500 for that truck seems like a damn good deal, other than the front springs being a real bitch...

 

ya know, with a small cable on the garage door latch and a solenoid, you could make a real low teck remote entry....

 

Hey Travis, send me the garage locks...I'll put them in the coupe for the next drags and see what tech has to say...

Truck still looks nice on the outside though..

-Jason

 

Dammit Dick!!!! I told you to do your intro before you posted. Now you've done it!!! Before you guys get too upset check out his profile. I'm sure he will post a newbie intro soon...won't you Dick!! We have been friends for about 25 years and is a cool dude. I turned him on to the hamb a couple of weeks ago.I'm sure he will definitely be an asset here...as in a lot of knowledge.
Travis, he was screwing with you...don't take it personal. That was a good price. I'm sure once you get it straightened out it will be a cool 'lil truck.

 

Hey Travis, I have a BRAND NEW v8 mount kit for your truck that you can HAVE... it was given to me by a friend, and I'll never use it... so it's yours if you want it. FWIW, it looks like the one you have there... 'cept it isn't all booger'd up.

Also, if you want to get that thing LOW... a Camaro front steer clip is the answer... it's a sweet swap that's the cat's ass.

Gotta run,
Sam.

 

You might want to ebay the "vintage" racing door locks. Hey, the "ol' skool" heater deleat panel might bring some bucks! I love the motor mounts, they will make great paper weights.

 

Excuse me Travis......"grow up"? Does this mean you can throw it out but you can't catch it. I'll post an intro, but why is it I can't have an opinion unless everyone knows exactly who or what I am or stand for. Can we all pronounce the word.....BIGOT? Come on Travis..I'm an alright guy just getting in on the fun. If my comments bother you.just say so and I'll throw more at you.

 

Travis....anybody can be John, Bill, or Jim. It takes a real strong dummy to be a DICK. Lighten up, ok man?, I'm not here to beat on anybody, just have a good time and meet some kool guys that live cars like I do. Ok, now you guys have made me start my intro.

 

Hey Travis, I might of missed where you said you picked this up at, but where did you find the truck? Ebay, paper, friend? Just curious.

I've been looking for a 55 big window, and for the stuff you showed us, even tho its truely funny, isnt a huge deal and could easliy be reversed and made into a sweet daily.

Im looking for a truck just like that one, with dumb stuff done to it, shitty paint and in need of a lot of tlc. and with a low price tag like you scored.

Any chance Einstien has another truck just like it that hes finishing up on? haha!

 

See Dick post without an intro...

See Dick piss off the regulars...

See Dick try and defend himself...

DON'T BE A DICK!!!!!!!

(sorry, I couldn't resist! You'll get a proper hello when you do your intro)

 

that's a pretty funny lookin monster.my chevy had a ton of mouse jobs pulled on it in it's day..the owner i got it from ripped out all the original gauges save the speedo and put in autometer ones..no real order or anything about them,just thrown in...where the radio went he pop riveted a piece of sheet metal and stuck the gas gauge in there.the quarter windows have full glass,handles and almost all the hardware to turn,except there's a part missing somewhere within the door so my einstein used 2 long peices of rubber tubing to prop them up with.if you try to crank them down,they fall like a window off track!as for firewall patches,mine's a little more creative.since the guy was gonna just paint the car black anyway he decided to use BLACK ELECTRICAL TAPE.even painted over it.while the old owner was driving it around as a driver he never got a set off hood springs for it,so he drove it around with a long stick in the back to prop the hood up (must have worked wonders with the ladies) and not being smart enough to figure out how to tighten the screws on the hood latch gave way to his ingenious idea of tying a bungee cord from the hood latch to the grill to keep the hood closed.the last thing i could say that was jury rigged about my car was the shifter/seating...he stuck a floor mounted shifter in it that was so far back that he had to mount bucket seats on it.those were bolted to some wood blocks that were bolted to some old heating duct sheet metal that was pop riveted to the floor (which is solid,by the way) i'm guessing to build it up..kinda neat once you get a look at it.one thing i have to say about that..it DOES give my chevy character..if you notice that and not the fact that i'm coming over into your lane without checking cuz my rear window is tinted and SO is my rear view mirror (whoops,did i say that?)have fun drivin your cars and makin em your own!
~Creepy

 

oh yeah,i forgot to say it had no horn (the wiring was all there but einstein jr. didnt have the horn unit or the know how to plug it in) and the throttle cable was zip tied to the pedal to give it more slack so you'd only be getting 1/4 of full throttle.i'm guessing this was done for fuel economy,but this made no sense to me as he was planning on upgrading to a 396 before selling it to me and he had JUST put a bigger cam in it..what gives?
~Creepy

 

Ah gee man, I am so sorry...nobody sent me a set of rules.

 

so whats up with the el camino? is it running? what needs to be finished? pics?

 

OK Gentlemen...

Now that I have been sufficiently toasted (for real... was outside all weekend doing yard work and I mowed my dad-in-law's yard... 1 acre... with a push mower!!! and now I'm red as a lobster). Let me sit down and say a couple of things.

Dick... all is forgiven. It's just that if you were somebody I knew or at least have seen around here on the HAMB I probably would have laughed it off. So anyway it's cool and I am sure anybody here who knows me can testify that I am a pretty mellow guy. Usually. So on with the show. If Andysduece knows you then you must be alright.

Sam-- I think I will take you up on that offer!! I actually don't want this truck slammed too much because it WILL be making trips to the dump filled with yard debris and other miscellaneous crap. Most likely I'll just find a donor truck or go see my guy who specializes in '47 to '59 Chevy trucks. He has these things up the wazoo like I have '59 and '60 Chevy car parts.

As for how I found this... The guy found me. Local dude. He saw my '59 Impala parked in front of my house and asked me if I was interested in buying a '60 Chevy Parkwood. I said "Maybe but... let's take a look first". So I followed him out to his place. I didn't particularly want the '60 because it was just a plain Jane wagon with nothing in it and I didn't really need it. But then I saw the '55 and I was like "Whoa is that for sale?" and he said "Yeah $500" So I bought it. If it had been a small back window truck I would have passed on it. You know how it is... it's the ONE... has the things you want... shorted, half-ton, big back window... that kind of stuff. I do know that all those things I showed with the truck is piddly s*h*i*t and can be easily repaired. They WILL be repaired.

Just for laughs... I wonder if I should put those latches up for a HAMB auction?!

Travis

(Phucqing censors...)

 

Ah... the '60 El Camino...

It's something I picked up last year thinking "Hey this is pretty cool.. I could get it running, painted, and cleaned up inside and turn it for a few bucks to put the extra bucks into the '59 Impala"

So far I have replaced the front clip and replaced the windshield (a buddy taught me... it was EASY!!!) and I have been putting together a 283 to bolt up in front of a saginaw 4-speed. It's going to be Refrigerator White with a black and white tuck and roll interior. I'm moving my American Racing Torq D's from my '59 Impala to the '60 El Camino and then Ebaying it off. I'll probably post it on the HAMB here first before it goes off to Ebay.

As for the '59, that is going to get a lot of things welded up in it, a new rear suspension, and then going to get the rear bagged by Blue Collar Customs. They already did the front. Then it gets 15" chrome reverse steelies OEM style with WWW's. After that... who knows. Depends on if I park it long enough to actually work on it. I've owned this car for 9 years and it has been my daily driver for 6 of those 9 years.

Travis

 

If you want to run the original axle, I have a set of front springs that aren't torched.
Free.
r