History The Roach Rod Saga Continues! Almost done! New Pics Added...

For those of you just tuning in, my name is Sam, I am a hot rodder, and I just bought The Former Roach Rod back.
(people sitting in a circle, all say "Hi Sam!"
The short version of the story is this:
I built a roadster, documented a large part of it on the HAMB, drove the sh** out of it, sold it to a fellow HAMB'er, he wanted to change some things on it, so he had a shop (also a fellow HAMB'er) do the work, he traded the '23 T coupe-turned-roadster body that I had built for a '27 T body . The original RR body was bought by a HAMB'er who wanted to build it into a car; it ended up in Springfield, Massachusetts. The work on the original car by the shop included a new frame and body, among other things.

Granted, this is an over-simplified version of the story. Those who were here at the time (2001-2004) remember my "How-To" posts and exploits. Many of you actually got to ride in it, and experience the fun of a roadster for the first time. I'll share all of that, including some never before seen photos, later... maybe even in a separate thread.

From 2005 to present, the car spent most of its time in the shop, and many of the neat details and very nice metal work have never been shared. So, I plan on sharing what was done, how it all was combined, and the ongoing transformation of "The Roadster, Formerly Known as The Roach Rod".

On the way back from meeting Miles to acquire the roadster back, my son Cal and I had a hilarious conversation about the name of this car. It went from RR #2, to RR#3 to RR 1.5...

The bottom line is, this roadster is not The Roach Rod. That is agreed upon by myself and by pretty much all of the HAMB at the time that it went through its transition.

So, from here on forward, I will be referring to the Miles M./Steve S. roadster as The Former Roach Rod, or FRR for short.

Also, this is a good time to address the elephant in the room. Yes, when this car transitioned, there were folks on both sides of the fence. Those in support of what happened, and those who were vehemently against it. I'll be honest, I was bewildered and a little hurt, but ultimately took the stance, "He paid me the money that I asked for, it's his car."
At one point I had regretted selling it, but even that subsided in my old age. I've built many cars since then, and will continue to build as long as I am able to. But in the back of my mind, there sat that little #5 Roadster, such a blast to build and such a blast to drive. Then one day, that familiar track nose popped up on Instagram. It was all shiny, I recognized the white rims, it was the FRR! So out of curiosity, I reached out to the seller and he put me in touch with Miles. After a phone conversation, and a few text messages, a deal was struck to trade one of my cars, and some cash, for the FRR! Once back to my garage, my friends started to come over, to check it out "Is it true?" "Is that the RR?" "What is from the original car??" "What did they build?"

Over the past week, all of these questions have been answered... it's a blend of old RR and new FRR. The FRR is definitely finished off nicer that the RR ever was. The body is arrow straight. Some of the parts are straight off of the original RR, and it's a trip to see that stuff preserved.

So, what's next? Well, stay glued to your computer and a'clickin on this thread! Over the next few weeks I will share photographs, ask for your input and advice, and hopefully share some knowledge. I have been away from the HAMB for too long, so it's about time I hang out a little more often.

Stay Tuned!

 

It still has the original intake that you fabbed up! Looking forward to seeing and hearing more of the path of the car getting back to you.

 

Oh man, I'm in! I wasn't around for the original threads on this car, but I've read much of it. Really looking forward to watching this one develop.

 

It was cool little car back then and is a cool little car now.
Is it getting a number on the door this time?

 

Are you putting the #5 back on ?

 

Glad to see it back with you! Iconic HAMB car. The original body had some neat charm. Love the new 27 body but it misses something the old one had.

 

welcome back Sam
the car still has a lot of the same flavor and still looks good!
looking forward to this one

 

This is awesome!!

 

Hi Sam!
Those were great posts, hands on and very informative. It was good to see an idea come together from start to "finish" on a budget. (Are they ever finished?)
"He paid me the money that I asked for, it's his car." It's funny how people figure they have the right to tell you what to do with your car, sure can put a sour note on things.
There may only be a few original parts left but it will be great to see the idea and flavor of the car come to life again.

 

It's actually too nice to paint a #5 on it with house paint and a brush!

 

Glad I was there at the beginning, the Teluca Lake Bob's Big Boy parking lot.

Lee

 

Welcome back!
This car & the ego-rama & your posts were what attracted me to the HAMB twenty years ago.

Dang- are we that old?

 

Yes you were!

 

Holy hell that thing is badass!

I dig the windshield. I'm a huge fan of asymmetry.

 

Instead of #5, how about
.5
Marcus...

 

Welcome back…lotta miles between then and now. Let the fun begin!

 

Hahaha!
Or #6

 

The Roach rod with the 'Sam-o-ram'tm.
Nice to see it again. Looking forward to what's next.

 

Hi Sam

 

Awesome, can't wait to see more.
Was a great project to watch being built the first time.

Holy crap I've been on here since 2002.

 

Hi Rocky, miss you.

 

I remember, there were some bunched panties when you sold the car, but we were all like 25 back then. Most of us have matured at least a little bit since then...

The car looks fantastic.

-Abone.

 

A blast from the past for sure Sam. Nice to see you back too.

 

Hi Sam long time no see, check out my thread “blowing this thing apart thread” you’ll recognize my five window.

 

Awesome!! I had just found the HAMB around the time you originally built it. I remember buying the Rod and Custom issue and thinking how cool it was to see the build on the HAMB.

Looking forward to following along.

 

Well damn!!!

 

When I was building my t Roadster I had a picture of yours up on the wall from the egorama or something like that from hotrod as inspiration. . magazine. I built it in similar profile. Here's me at about 21 years old at El Mirage recreating your power slides