Projects This car suffered a brake failure. Don't do this.

WOW, just WOW. very scary.

 

I am glad the owner found you and is letting you build his hot rod.
I am not so worried about the owner as I am some Innocent person being hurt.
Thanks for posting.

 

That has to be one of the best quotes ever!


I'm nor sure what is scarier though, the way these two heaps were built (the OP and the on from El Polacko's pics) or the fact that so many here have said their's are similar or it makes them feel good about thier work - kind of makes you wonder how much better their work really is?

 

I can't believe anyone would work on a car in that condition and send it out the door. I wouldn't touch it after I saw the condition it was in, looks like a deathtrap for the owner.

 

Looks like the builder was drunk during construction. Unbelieveable.

"Built by another shop in town, Chad had it for two days and dropped it off for us to fix".

Did the buyer have any idea just how bad this was constructed when he bought it, or did he get it so cheap (free?) that he built the rework into the equasion? There has to be many shop hours required to right all these wrongs=some serious bucks.

BTW, how does one aim the headlights-heat up the con rod mounts with a torch and bend them?

 

Hell, yeah! Me too!
Gives encouragement to us mere mortals!

 

Note to self. "Buy more rebar" sheeeeesh...

 

The thin fence tabs the connecting rods were attached to were flimsy enough that aiming the headlights was futile.

From what I understand from the owner, this was the effort of about two years and about $17K. Just not all at one place. The last shop, Young Kustoms, said they were only responsible for the front suspension, aligning the rear, wiring and plumbing. None of which is what I would call reasonable or acceptable and the work I take the most exception to. However, as I can see on their website they had first crack at this, as there is an entirely different (stock) frame under the car in earlier pictures of the build.

 

Looks like the work that was done on a 37 chevy pickup I went and looked at a while back. Guy wanted 15 grand for it. I told him I would give him five cause I would have to take it apart and fix it right to make it safe. Pissed him off. Guess it was his work.

 

There would not be enough money for me to do ANYTHING to it. No matter how good your work is, when people see it (among the carnage from brake failure and fuel fire)that abortion will get pinned on you.

I would have refused to touch it untill everything was up to par. Just opens you up for an invite to the court sanctioned party. Even if you win in court, that will be something you will forever be connected with. RUN FOREST, RUN!

 

It seems like at a certain point it takes more effort to do such a shitty job. The scary thing is the guy kept going without stopping to consider if there was a better way to do things, or figure out why he is getting bad results. By the way that looks he just didn't care, or was high. ....Yeah I figured it out it was the drugs.

 

Your being to harsh it's Ray Charles's first build. The next will only have half of that bad welding and poor line routing. ( because someone thinks I'm serious it's a joke, that is some scary looking stuff)

 

Scary, but I think I found my missing collector flange.

 

This whole thread makes my guts ache. What I see is a hurried pile of shit done without an ounce of pride or skill. This is the kind of stuff I end up seeing when some j'moke wants to show me his "Ridler" contender. This same knuckle dragger that gets as insulted when you critique his work (for his own good and because they asked) as if you called his daughter a whore. The same "Nobody ever sees that part of it anyway..." and the same "Well I build my cars to DRIVE!" nimrods.

This is very disrespectful to our chosen craft and hobbies. I really hope some innocent kid doesn't get run over at a car show when this shit suffers catastrophic failure. And WILL fail. Back in the 90s I'd see this type of shit show up at the annual chassis certification sessions. Some of the sanctimonious bullshit you'd hear when they were refused 9.99 certs was priceless. Even better when some of them were flagged as banned from racing at the track REGARDLESS of ET. My cynical side wants to view it all as "Natural Selection"...

 

Looking at this wreck, this question comes to mind:

"How did they die?"

 

A prime example of a job to refuse ! Deep pockets would love this one.....

4TTRUK

 

Definitely crusher material..... Much as I hate to use that word.........

4TTRUK

 

Both of these cars are fine and the build is good .... for demolition derby.

 

I think you guys are missing the consistancy that the builder applied to each aspect of the car, from the brakes to the fuel system to the general chassis fabrication. Everything is built to the same level of detail! It's not easy for one guy to be so even handed in every detail of the build.

Seriously, this kinda stuff is a black mark on builders everywhere whether a home garage or a shop that does things correctly. As has been mentioned, the govt. would just love to rid this country of menacing hot rodders and their machines. Examples like this are more than enough ammunition to move in that direction. I am an NSRA member and from what I have seen, their voluntary inspection program is a great way to flag workmanship like this.

 

What gets me about the Hudson is that it's obvious nobody was scrimping on materials or time, except for the hunk of rebar. Everything was there to build a good car except for thought and talent.

Not long ago a thread here on the HAMB suggested that guys working in their home garages were the ones creating shoemaker jobs like this. I'll take this opportunity to suggest that the guy doing the work is a lot more important than amateur or pro, or where the build takes place.

 

Hey! The guy that built the Hudson used grade eight hardware!!
Seriously...I realized just how bad my build skills were when I started running around with guys that build sprint cars. And I started learning, every day.
I wonder if some of these guys that are just gluing shit together like these were model cars are never around someone with skills that eclipse theirs. They think they have a handle on what is a good build because they never have someone with practical knowledge point out to them the flaw in their logic. " My, aren't the emperor's new clothes marvelous?!". I saw what my racing buddies were doing and went home to notice stuff on my car that just wasn't right!
I could have had my car done long ago, except that not only am I now re-thinking the whole chassis, I'm practicing my welding, my wiring, my cutting, and every other aspect of the build. I want to put out a machine that makes no excuses to any craftsman.

 

Thanks for posting this. I feel really GOOD about MY welding and fab skills now!

 

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you never know when something will happen. last week i was working on my cousins 50' chevy coupe and yes it has a few non traditional items on it but its VINTAGE! seems like everyone has had brake issues as of late, here is one i had, SCARY STUFF!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj2TF...re=uploademail http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRBFI...re=uploademailess

 

i've been on the verge of projectile vomiting for fifteen minutes. first, from the outright terror of seeing the car, and second, from the hilarious responses!
there's a couple of local candidates for this kind of work.... but i ain't naming names. there's not a car they can't (or WON'T) put an S10 frame under.

 

Those pictures look like bad homemade porn.... hard to tell what's going on in some of the shots.

Bob

 

I would have called the cops, because allowing this fucking piece of shit on the road is a crime. It'll be a damned miracle if nobody gets killed by this fucking thing.

 

"just paint it flat black so nobody sees it..."

 

My area is ripe with mini trucks and clapped out g body "drag racers" with this quality of work on them. I can't believe I'm saying it but after seeing these I sometimes wish modified vehicles in minnesota needed some sort of inspection every once in awhile

 

True, with sprint and stock cars, you learn really fast that anything shoddily done can and will put you out of making the main or breaking in the main. Stuff that would work on the street is another animal with the contact sport of racing.

It becomes a discipline of having good welds, good material selection and sound engineering behind everything. Thank god for tech inspection, most tracks only do it at the beginning of the season though.

Bob