my wifes ideas for her hot rod... CRAZY!

so we are building a 1947 international truck for my wife. she has been coming up with ideas that are kinda weird. which have caused lots of argument/discussions. like for example she wants to:

1. Put stacks in the bed, like a deisel truck, which is cool. But then she wants to have barbwire wrapping around the tubing with small metal flowers coming off that...

2. She wants to have Copper as the inner door panels. She want the copper to be dented all over and have small flowers stamped thru out the panel...

3. She wants the gas tank to be in the bed of her truck, inside a Trunk.
And have the build pictures put on the inside of the trunk lid...

4. The rear window cut out to the shape of a ****erfly...


I've been telling her she is getting away from the traditional Hotrod... making it abit goddy.

Whats ya'lls take on all this? Do you have any suggestions for us?


-RESPONSE 5/16/10 :

Well... she is planning to get her hands dirty, and work on her truck with me.
She's the girl that changes her own oil and flat tires...
(but she really has no idea what she's getting into. She wants to be done by October!)

She has been footing the bill on everything that we've gotten so far. Which makes my wallet happy.

-The window etching for the ****erfly is awesome, and I really think she'll go for it.

- In fact I think she would have a good laugh over everything thats been said so far.
Good and Bad. (She's cool like that)

Thanks for all the feed back. Hopefully this will get thru to her, better then I have.

Will defently be posting pics of her Truck... and the ultimate out come...

 

Sounds like she's making something atrocious, but there's nothing you can do about it. Listen to your wife, it's all you really can do.

 

Your married? When did this happen? Yes the wifes ideas sound goofy and lame. She should do some research on traditional and come up with a new game plan. Tell Carl hello for me!

 

Frankly, if I saw a car like that going down the road I would be tempted to cut the fuel lines and drop a zippo on the floor..

 

I have a friend and wheeling buddy that built a Jeep for his wife. It ended up pink with ugly seats and a bunch of bolt on **** that looked cheap. She was happy and thats all that mattered.

 

hahahahahahahahaha! this if funny! just tell her that NO is company policy!

 

sorry, but it sounds like a ratrod

 

Stop bringing her to rat-rod shows, lol.

 

I think having copper door pannels might look ok done correctly... maybe one bead rolled ****erfly might look cool in the center. I dont think i would dent it though. Maybe rivets along the edge...

I would think wrapping barbwire around a set of stacks might be dan****us ... (bad Idea)

The gas tank in a trunk in the bed would be fine. Maybe instead of the build photos in the trunk maybe have a nice photo album. that you keep in the cab. that way if water gets in the old trunk they dont get all messed up.

I would leave the stock rear window... but have the gl*** etched with ****erflys.

This would all keep the truck tradditional, and at the same time keep the overall ideas she has.

 

I doubt that the barbwire idea is going to p*** inspection in Texas. Other than that, hey it is your marriage and the truck she wants. You'll figure it out.

 

Sounds like you got to finish the wife project before you start the International.

 

I think the copper door panel idea would be cool of it was a sheet that was engraved rather then dented/stamped. It would have to depend on the color of the truck though, copper can be a tough color to match up sometimes.

It may be her truck, but in the end, who's the one ultimately shelling out the cash for this project?

 

These are all great ideas that you can use. Think compromise, it's her truck.

 

Cancel your subscription to OldSkooooolRodzzzzzzzz immediately.

 

word!!

 

Try not to argue or fight over it. Regardless of the decisions the two of you end up making concerning the truck, in the end you want it to have been an enjoyable experience. Try to avoid resentment...it can build up over time, and effect a relationship in a negative way.
Some of the replies have been fairly hard and blunt. But I have to agree with electrodude...compromise is probably the answer. She has an image in her mind, kind of a theme, and to completely deny her of that might not be fair...especially if it's in-fact her truck. I know...you're dreading the prospect of having to drive, ride in, or be ***ociated with a barbed-wired and ****erflied truck...LOL. Try to laugh together about it, and incorporate some of her ideas with maybe a little restraint and subtleness. Good luck to the both of you, and have fun.

 

tell her to get all busy with her bad self

 

You said its her truck,each to their own,got to admit the Internationals need help anyway .when she says she doesn"t like don"t dare say Itold you so.At least you got an old lady getting involved.

 

Yeah, its not like you can make an International look any UGLIER!

 

You gotta educate her (and possibly yourself) on these trucks. Gather as many pictures of customized trucks as you can. Go over them several times and see what ideas you want to incorporate into your own build. Adding kooky ******** parts like barbed wire and ****erflies doesn't make a custom truck.

The right stance, wheels, & tires are the most important things to have a foundation that you can build off of. After that, tasteful touches throughout will make it yours (or hers). Stacks are cool, barbed wire is gay. Copper door panels are cool, as long as your incorporate copper panels elsewhere, without overdoing it and being gaudy. Smashing it and putting ****ing ****erflies would be stupid. The gas tank inside an old trunk in the bed would be a good way to hide it, instead of pictures, put tools/spare parts and **** you need in the trunk. As for the rear window...enough with the ****erflies already. Don't butcher the truck's sheetmetal. If she wants a ****erfly somewhere, tell her to get a tattoo of one. Or drive the **** out of it and she'll have ****erflies on the windshield & grille.

 

Listen to your lady. Suggest doing the theme on her daily and see how fast she changes her mind.

 

Etch the ****erfly on the window gl***. Easier, cheaper, and at least from a distance it will be less goofy.

Test the door panel idea with aluminum foil spray painted copper so you can show her how terrible it will look for the cost of about 6 bucks. I think it's not a bad idea if you come up with something that resembles old time stamped tin ceiling material, that might look decent, or something with a traditional uhpolstery pattern.

And the barbed wire deal you could probably make something that clips on the top of the pipes without spending much on it. Or you could just say you can't find flowers made of anything that won't melt from the exhaust heat and forget it...

 

This is not gonna get better. This will be getting worse. Get a divorce now, give her the International truck as a settlement and never look back....

 

Ask her again when she's sober.

 

I don't see any problem...Just take a look at some of the goofy clothes women wear.
If you want to stay happily married, it would seem prudent to just do what she says and NOT make any snide comments.
Cut off can be depressing and divorce can be downright messy.

 

its HERS.... nothin you cant undo when she changes her mind and she WILL change her mind.

 

The stacks are ok but not with the barb wire. I have a friend who can sandblast etch anything she wants in the back window and he does some great work.

Or maybe the pipes with a headache rack with a wrought iron ****erfly design in it between them.

And like the others said, it's time to hide "those" magazines from her.

 

Is it for your wife? Why don't you give her the car she wants? This seems kind of a silly question to me. If it's for her make it for HER.

 

i think her idea's are cool.

 

If done tastefully, other than the barbed wire, I don't see this as being a rat rod and it gives her personality stamp on the truck. I don't see these things as a lot different than the stuff a lot of people do here to so called "traditional" rides. For example, I've seen a lot of alum. inner door panels stamped with various things (usually hot rod related); I see a lot of gas tanks in truck beds, and I see a lot of wild headers on hot rods. She is just taking her own interpretation of each, which is what we all do to some extent. I agree with the window etching, I think it would not only look better, but it's of course much easier too.