Retrospection

I guess I never considered the concept of the rat rod, back when I built my old black wrecker. Mostly, it was purely from a simple, economical, functional perspective.

The big incentive was to produce a wrecker capable of handling the heaviest race cars, with acceptable maneuverablilty, as efficiently(read fast) as possible.

I suppose it was a success, ableit insufficient in the categories of 'Grace' & 'Style'. Not too much graceful about a ton & a half truck. Stylish just never was much of a concern, anyhow. Although, I still get comments on the faded Rustoleum flame job. With the Yellow fading to white, and the red just plain fading, about all that's left is some fringe color, and blue tips.

Mechanically, it's almost a tragedy of availability. The truck itself is an abandoned farm truck. The engine is a victim of yet another smallblock swap. The only new parts in the whole truck, are the u-joints, and a Speedway aluminum radiator. That may not be entirely accurate, as I did build the bed from scratch, out of new iron. Even the hydraulic system is mostly used pieces. The lift cylinders are the old 2-stage hoist cylinders, and the extend cylinder came off an old Sunflower disc. I traded a pair of Grand Am bucket seats for the used 12v power unit. The first set of stacks came from the engine donor truck, and the second came from a buddy's Peterbilt. The front bumper is reclaimed bridge plank, scrounged from the County yard, and the mudflaps are take-offs from the local trucking company.

The most recent upgrades involved a used Dana 70 rear axle(which I didn't even bother to pop the cover on), and a master cylider kit. Sometime, in the future, I hope to install independent front suspension, and a 350/700r4 combo. Again, I am talking about all used goods. The only new parts in the plan, are a water pump, and the biggest damn ****** cooler I could find. Hopefully, everyone will overlook the center-bolt valve covers, sitting between the rams-horn manifolds and iron intake. I make no excuses for the HEI.(Unless you are going for period-correct, points are foolish.)

I keep saying, " I'm going to have it ready for...[insert the next regular event here].", but everyone who knows me is well aware that it might be another 10 years, before it gets back to the top of the projects list.

As such, I have to ***ume that it will continue to serve my causes, until that time arrives. The thought that keeps coming back is, I guess, after all the fun I've had, things I've towed, cigars lit off the stacks, and fuel it has consumed: It's been a dependable, capable, entertaining old truck. Honestly, I probably won't have $3000 wrapped up in it, even after the scheduled upgrades.

How many people can say that?

 

i can agree. the whole rat-rod scene is new to me. i have always been a 60's-70's muscle fan (mostly mopars) and have never really had any interest in street rods as the whole "hey,look at my (insert year and make) that i have $75K in and hate to drive"[we have the frog follies 10 miles from me here] so ,i am currently working on a 47 ford coupe that i picked up recently from a member here on the board,and alot of ideas went through my head of how i was going to do this and that. then,i picked up a well beaten,but good running/driving 79 el camino and decided that it was going to be a donor for the 47. and as you stated,it has become a labor of fuction over form. is it pretty? not by a long shot. will it be road-worthy? absolutely. have i butchered,hacked,and robbed the 'camino for most of the parts? yes. i have used every part i could rob from it,even recycled alot of stuff i could have bought new. i have always been able to,and didn't really mind just dumping money into car projects,but this car,is teaching me lots of new things,and alot of fun,about my beloved car hobby,and the meaning of "working with what you got". about the same deal,i have about $1200.00 tied up in this thing so far,and she is about 2-3 days from going down the road. might have $1600-$2000 in it total by the time i put on new tires,some new brake stuff,and exhaust.