Build Ur Own Body?

Has anyone ever built their own "rat" style body for a project? im talking taking pieces of sheet metal and cutting it to mimmick the style of a truck cab or coupe body

 

making something that looks like this

 

Body building is not for the faint of heart. It is difficult to make something which has enough character to not be reminiscent of a carnival ride or welder's cabinet, and yet is proportioned correctly and has more style than a Craftsman tool chest.
Often the first through fifteenth efforts are cut up and thrown on the s**** pile out behind the garage. The next may be the winner.

 

UNless you have years of metal shaping experience and/or a **** load of tools to do it...................I wouldn't even start to do it.
It will end up looking like poop and all your friends will laugh at you, maybe a couple of strangers also.

 

You might want to contact this guy,... looks like a Rat style body to me,...........

 

wow... that's uhm... great lol

 

Sorry about the cheap shot , But it was just to good of a straight line to leave alone.

 

ya what he said

 

Have you priced steel stock lately?? It's through the roof. The money you have in steel stock can go towads a real body or get a used fibergl*** body and work with that or a rough original steel car.


Besides, other than a top chop, some channeling and some cowl light hole filling NOTHING is better than the lines of Henry Ford's creations. Why would you want to compete with Henry..and loose?

 

South Dakota.... There must be thousands of old car bodies out behind the ranches. I'd be asking around at the nearest small plane airport and talk with some recreational pilots. Sounds dumb, but worth a try.

 

I've seen homemade bodies. There is nothing uglier....or stupider

 

Just saw that this dude is in S.D. Vintage tin Heaven (next to Kansas and Nebraska), You probably can't turn around with out tripping over a model T or Model A. Why don't you Swap me spots (rust belt) ?

 

Ummm, you geniouses think we just have tin falling off trees out here? Think that hotrodding is something new to our fine state so we have lots of material waiting for us? Pffffffffffft!

Dont build a body, dig around, you can find something........talk to everyone you can and put the word out.

 

Popular Hotrodding had an article years ago about a California fat-fendered frame manufacturer who went to South Dakota several times and came back with trailer loads of stripped frames. They had the farmers roll the cars over with a tractor and torched all the mounts and then the remnants went for erosion control. That's why there are so many in the ground out there. And very few above ground.

 

No, they are not in trees They are there, you just need to be the one who finds them. This is yup central out here, and there are still 20s & 30s bodies & parts ****tered around. That's even with s****yards located all over the state that owners could have cashed them in for beer money years ago. Ours are all rusted junk, but I've seen SD/ND iron brought back here and it's sweet. The stuff is there, no doubt in my mind....you just can't see it from the roads.

There's a 32 chevy 4dr in pieces 150 yards from my land; a 33-35 chev 2dr vicky/trunk type in pieces 1 mile away (on state land), an old farm nearby has a 37 tudor shell,2 33-34 mopar 4drs plus a 36 Ford 1ton; and a tall T coupe shell about 5 miles from here....all rotted junk now. Talk to hunters, hikers and people who get around. There's stuff found everyday.

 

Some of you guys crack me up. Most of the posts are saying do not do it, but on another thread , where the guy did it, you guys are praising him, make up your minds. I say if you think you have the skills , go for it, think outside the box, and when you do , post lots of photos.

 

Hey dillrod, I grew up in this state and worked in the hotrod industry for a few years.............I THINK I might know what is going on out here. Yes, there are cars here and there. But most have went away in the last oh, 20-50 years?! He can find something, I might even be able to help him. But, i laugh everytime someone on the HAMB posts about driving here from one of the coasts to load up TRUCKLOADS of mint 32s, A's and the like. It aint going to happen without some help from INSIDE the state.

Show up for pheasant season looking like a tourist and you will see how easy it is to get onto someones land.

 

I made this one. i used a real gas tank and cowl band.

 

This is awesome , we have gone from sheet metal fabrication to Pheasant season with a few genioses (sic) thrown in for good measure. I am cleaning my Winchester right now getting ready to shoot some birds.
Wow. How did that happen? Why is everyone so damn angry?
All I was doing was trying to save the guy some time and energy. I have worked in the automotive stamping/***embly industry for 13 years and I know it takes more than a ball peen hammer and some old street signs to make a car body.
I have seen cars in trees before also.
I didn't mean that folks in the Dakotas should literally be tripping over old cars. That my friend is what we here on earth call being sarcastic, and about 90% of all people reading this will understand that.

 

You know what man, just do it...If you are serious and commited I dont see why it shouldn't work out.Your talking about building basic shapes.

I am shocked more people arn't saying the same.Prove them wrong

J.B.

Edit) And if it takes 15 trys than it takes 15 trys!Its time well spent in my book...

 

Just take a late 70's Ford Truck hood and cut it in half. Slice up a piece of bedframe for the subrails, grab a piece of chipboard for the floor insert, and attach a GeoTracker hood to the front of the whole thing to make a complete "T".

Should be able to locate some metal to cover the hole in the back.

I wouldn't know if I hadn't tried, and aborted it-Hell it might've actually lived if my original '78 Ford Truck hood wasn't so badly rusted.


Laying on its top, it looks like a dog house.

However it does take care of the pricing problem, $20.00, some scrounging, and a socket set would score you the metal to do it with. All the curves and contours are already there too, and it dosn't look like an oversized toolbox.

 

Building a body from scratch is impossible....Personally, I would look for a wrecked airplane.....


;0

 

That thing is pretty wild...

Just thinking out loud; If you are serious about building a body, you would already be in the garage clearing space for the buck your about to build.

The old italian cars were formed by hand in tree stumps....It can be done

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
J.B.

 

Well, I'm no expert (hope to be one day) but here is a hand made body that I would think anybody would be interested in building. Yes, it was a '59 Oldsmobile, but everything done could be done again. Just takes time and money. Sorry, but I don't know the builder. This was at the Lonestar Roundup '07.

 

Plowboy, and he MAKES his own rules.

 

Nice composter.

 

The best.

 

Here' a home made body.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206937&showall=1

Doesn't look too bad to me.

slim

 

I am not going to argue with you nitwits, but, if you want to be inspired go over to the Jockey Journal and look at 17 year old machobucks hand hammered stainless cycle fender. Real talent

 

That is very interesting! Do you know who built it?

My thoughts are if you have the time, skill, and money anything can be done