"the Story Of The Poser Rat Rodder"

What you said holds water... to a point. Cord for a throttle is no excuse, a very bogus excuse. If one has enough dough to scrape and build a car with what they have they can afford to have a better throttle cable.

 

I might get a bunch of shit for this post, but here it goes anyway. What is the difference between a poorly built 32 Ford and a poorly built Honda? All of the ricers get a bunch of shit for throwing on poorly designed parts, which is exactly what this kid did. You praise him for having a piece of crap that is able to be driven. Ricers can be driven, should they be praised for driving a piece of crap just because they completed a project? This kid's car makes hot rodders look bad, just like ricers with fart cans make the people look bad that actually have a well-engineered Japanese car.

 

if anyone knows what it's like to be on a budget, it's me. i have 3 kids, one with special needs, and very little extra $$ for my car. i build model cars, and sell them on e-bay for cryin out loud, just to get extra cash to put into my 55. i work paycheck to paycheck, but yet i still have the common sense to make something that is safe, if i can't afford to buy it. being on a tight budget sucks, but...there's always room to make it safe (in my eyes anyway). maybe this kid is on a budget, but...if he had any common sense at all, he'd realize that the car is not safe enough to drive. (obviously, that's not the case). wonder if he even has plates and insurance on this thing?

 

Okay i agree with the,"It's his car"but when the "general public"can't tell the differance and hot rods get outlawed by legislation,these are the guys we will have to blame!!!

 

budget is no excuse for being a dickhead. so you cant afford to get the right part NOW. big deal. save, wait, scrape buy and enjoy. it makes the whole thing feel a lot sweeter when it comes together. hell right now my engine has .016" gap in #1 piston/bore and as much as i would love to just be able to fire it up and run off into the sunset i know i cant and will have to wait til i can afford new parts and machine work. which will be months. but hell i'll wait.

 

that's exactly what i mean...you need to know when your limits have been met...save the $$ and do it right.
you are correct, being on a budget is not an excuse, it just means that it takes us more time to gather up the funds.

 

I agree with this. But, why do guys talk shit when they see a 32 with coilovers, disk brakes, and a LS7 engine. I don't get it. All the O.G.'s would have used that stuff if it was available back then.

It is all cool till some idiot with no clue how unsafe his ride is drives his junk into your wife and kids when he loses control of his POS. That is not hot rodding, that is stupid.

 

Motomech, that was you, wasnt it?

 

i havent seen that one around yet...hey paul maybe you should have sent him down to michaels hot rod garage...im shure he could use a good laugh

 

not laid eyes on that one either...i hope see it coming an get out the way of that death box...

 

I'm certainly on the safety side of this argument. I'm all for being creative and frugal but my wife and 2 small kids are out and about every day. There are enough shitty drivers on the road and the last thing we need are cars that can compound that problem.

 

(Pussy cat theater?)I wouldnt be laughing at somebody else

 

I thought that you folks in PA had some really restrictive inspection laws...When I visited there in 77 in my daily driver 66 Opel Kadett ('d pregnant rollerskate my g/f's dad called it) college car had more than it's share of rust, and I was told that it wouldn't pass sthe state inspection. We didn't have any of that in good 'old Cold Snowy Michigan. (and that's a good thing..)

 

nothing about that car is legal, safe or smart
i just hope he gets caught with beer in the car when he gets pulled over, that will be 150 for no registration, 90 dollars non moving violation (got one once for no mud flaps on a truck), oh i just noticed that stop sign thats probably a few hundred dollar fine, way to build on a budget, leaves more money to pay the fines

 

I cry BULLSHIT.Bullshit story! where are the pictures.I don't believe this crap.What did you do,wake up with indigestion from one bean burrito to many at the cum and go.This never happened.You sir are a liar.Anyone that mentions crusher in the same sentence as hotrod is an asshole.BULLSHIT!Have I made my position clear?Beware the anti hotrodder, he looks like this

 

Reading that post made my brain hurt. I hope your building skills surpass your grammar skills.

 

I have problems with the story also. Original poster calls him a "young" Hot Rodder. How many of us (that are no longer young) didn't do dumb things in our youth?

Seems to me that one would compliment the kid for not going the civic route and picking a cool car. Then perhaps offer alot of suggestions and if possible even help in fixing a few things rather than go somewhere behind his back and talk about him.

Pointing out how dangerous something is and being concerned for others is admirable. No doubt. When I was young though I drove some not the safest cars because that was what I could afford. Rusted out strut towers hoping they would hold until tax time.

That's not the same as building in dangerous aspects but give the kid some credit for giving it a go and offer your help OR even direct him here to get all the free help in the world.

That would likely do far more to get a kid on the right path than talking about him behind his back. Maybe in the end the kid rejects the help. When you are young that does happen, but at least he knows where to go when something brakes and that maybe he needs to listen to some advice.

 

I don't get the whole "rat rod" thing. I mean, it looks to me like people go out of thier way to make something subpar, then brag about it?! When I build something, I want people to comment on the nice job I did, NOT bask in the shittiness of my creation!

Whether it's an alternator bracket or a whole engine, I want to do nice looking and running work.

I don't want people to recognize me as the "driver of that primered, rusted out, smoking pile-of-shit deathtrap."

Nick

 

...note to self...do not invite this particular 5w into the Hamb Deuce Club.


....I gotta poo...

 

Did it have Para cord in it?? I think you should stop doing that in shop driveways...........

 

...that's just gross...

 

Might be like it is here in MD. No inspection or emissions for Historic/Street Rod vehicles over 25 years old. Or he was dishonest and bought an inpection sticker. Can't believe it's still that way here, but luckily we don't have too many piles like the one described around. If we did, people would probably start complaining and the good deals would go away.

 

So what if the kid is young. He has to be at least sixteen to be driving, right? So he should sure as hell know better than that by sixteen. I don't see why you call his car cool. He ruined a perfectly good 32 which is worse than ruining a Civic.

 

Not the same rat rodder!!!!

 

In my state we have no inspection required if you have antique plates. The catch is that antique plates can only be had if you plan on driving less than 2500 miles per year.

I believe that many years ago in this state you were required to keep the car to the same safety standards for the year it was manufactured. That obviously leaves a big grey area for many of the customs and one-offs but there are some items that be required.

I'm all for a basic inspection that at least checks for the essentials like brakes, lighting and not seeing a trail of transmission fluid.

 

What are YOU talking about Einstein?
Rat Rod is not a badge of honor. The vehicle you are describing IS a rat rod.

 

That is the point, most people try to build something, either on a budget or period correct or a combination of both, but some are intent on building shit for the sake of calling it a rat rod.

You see homebuilt cars here everyday that are "unfinished" but have proper welds on the frame, working linkage etc.

Youth is no excuse for building shit. PERIOD.

 

Don't know about the original post, but I am getting tired of people calling my car a rat rod. I take offense being that I feel my car is far too well built to be called such. I don't mind as much from people who don't build cars as they are just a little ignorant, but does unpainted have to mean rat rod? I was having dinner with a car group the other night and a friend of a friend gave me quite the lecture on how a 69 Mustang could be a "rat rod" if done in that style....

New bumper sticker "don't call it a rat rod or I'll punch you in the nose"

 

Cole Foster said it perfectly, "Shit is Shit!"

 

I guess that I'm in the minority that did dumb things as a kid. {shrug}

I guess you missed my main point though. About how it would be better to attempt to help the kid out as opposed to simply talking about him behind his back.

And no, just because he is 16 or 17 or even 21 doesn't mean he knows better. Again, maybe nobody has told him.