Why build a car with a rusty body?...

If I could find a way to peel the "Patina" off of my Olds, I bet I could find a buyer for it. Lots of people like it that way, but I see it in paint, shiny paint, in my mind's eye.

No, I don't want to sell my Olds, but I wish I could sell the "Patina"...

 

I agree with Bob that it is getting played out but for me in order to drive my Merc to the Salina Show I will just not have anytime to fish the main body. I have to get it running and roadworthy for the trip. The only way I am going to that show is in my Merc. Now with that being said and what is being said here please note that I am planning on finishing mine just not until after the show. Just to much **** going in my life but I am still young enough to finish my stuff down the road. I figure if I can get them running and driving then I can move them around and if I ever had to let one go it will make it easier to re sell. But my Merc will not be going anywhere nor will my 39 .

I am just hoping that at the show the rust and patina on the body of my Merc will not be the attraction but instead the stuff we do to in a short period of time just to get this car to the show will be. Plus I think the piece I am doing for Bill Hines will draw the attention away from my car anyhow..........being I will have more time in it.........lol

 

I said it before and I'll say it again, all rust is, is nature's way of lightening our steel bodies...

 

If and when I find a motor/trans combo I like this one will be driven in naked sheet metal for a couple years than shut down one winter for the make over. Everything under the body, including under floor will be completed and the main coupe body interior jammed out in black.............
The red wheels will be turned into gold............

 

Just my opinion but Rust ****s, always has, always will, it's cancer and will eventually make your "Rat Rod" a pile of dust. If it's rusted on the outside you can bet it's rusted on the inside and even if you are painting the outside and not addressing the corrision it will also become dust. I agree with 3W Larry. Tell me you wouldn't take his 3 window over any rusty POS

 

I like the barn find/ field car look and have for a while unfortunately it took me a while to decide to build an older car so I'm sooo 2000 I guess. I'm no body man so it will be rough for a while. I will not drive an unsafe car so the floor boards will be repaired and the diveline brakes etc. will be done before the car ever hits the road. Eventually I may paint it but I need to learn how to weld etc and I want to hit shows to get ideas of what to do to fit the look I want. I do think it's funny seeing fibergl*** cars made to look rusty....that's taking it a bit far. Sorry I'm a newbie and not up on what I'm supposed to do...at the same time I always thought hot rodding was doing what you wanted to do. One think I know is I'm a speed freak so it will have to at least run 11's so it can't have rust falling on the track and such.

 

this post has made me do some thinking. and i hate that. the post started with the question why build around a rusty body only to deal with it later rather than sooner. (at least that's what i got from it) then turned to "patina" and then to rattle can paint. i liked the look of bad bobs car before because you could tell the steel was in good condition and of course i like it better painted. i got thrown when the topic turned to patina, i have several old side by side shotguns that have great patina and would not refinish them for any amount of money, but they don't come out in just any weather, i actually take better care of them than my new ones, because they need it. that said patina, to me, is not just a rusting shell that because it doesn't look "done" to some people it doesn't have to be cared for as much. paint is paint wether it comes several hundred dollars a quart or several quarts for a dollar. i see paint as a way to preserve metal from the elements, yes it can be costly, but as seen by the number of rattle can jobs it can be cheap and still effective.

 

Man this is a touchy subject.You ether like it or you don`t. You get some good debates over it tho.I enjoyed reading this.

 

My merc will be a little ruff looking at first because I want to drive it by July. But it will get some color sprayed on it next fall.

 

The way I see it build the car you want and don't even think about the trend.

What are you going to do if the "biggest trend" a few years down the road is fully finished Mercs with $30,000 paint jobs? When all the rust haters turn in to satin paint haters? When the "biggest trend" is color change paint and 20" billet wheels on 1949 Mercs? Are you going to change your car because you need to keep up with the "trend" and make everyone else happy with YOUR car? No you would not and nether would I because your car is killer the way it is.

Why do you guys feel the need to tell other people how to build there cars? Not all of us have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on a car. Should we all just stay home and not show up to the car show? I guess we should do the body work first before we make them drive even though for most of us that would take 5 or 10 years of saving our money and not driving our cars then when it is painted another 5 to 10 years to get all the parts chrome plated before we put it back together and don't forget the interior has to be 100% new. Who cars about having fun and driving our cars when there are other people to impress.

 

hey bob nice coupe you need to drive that to the ho down. billy

 

i normally don't post on topics of opinion but, i felt compelled for some reason. for me, patina is cool because it's something you can't buy. in terms of preservation of the metal, it really serves no purpose though. it does look neat but, if i had a car that was in good enough condition to warrant a nice paint job, it would have paint on it.

if anyone here is into guitars they might understand this. i have a 67 stratocaster. it's a little worn around the edges but has a certain character and vibe to it (plus it's worth a few bucks). fender makes these new guitars called "relics" which essentially are modern copies of a guitar like mine with "patina" on them. people buy these things and spend thousands on them. the only reason i can figure is to emulate the guitar that they cannot buy. the guitar built in 1967 has bumps and bruised that were earned along the way. similar to the cars we're talking about now. faking it is stupid but, the real thing is pretty cool and rare.

anyway, i can see going either way with fixing the body first or fixing the ch***is and drivetrain. i guess it depends on how soon you intend on driving it and what your priorities are.

 

I put too much work in my cars to let them rust, so It's paint for me. Besides, that rust fad is kinda dead, isn't it?

 

Rust ****s! If you love your car, why insure it's eventual doom by leaving it rusty? Good job on yours Bad Bob. It looks great

 

Most the early cars and trucks you find are covered in rust. Mother Nature does that to them. There are probably a few builders who cover their cars on the trailer to avoid embarr***ment.

 

Hopped up - primered approx 1947-48'

Staying that way , when all the primers are painted, I guess it will really stand out...just my preference-


On the A -
I Really dig the two tone paint, seeing more of that lately ...

 

Yeah well so has the word "traditional" and as far as being grown up, what does that have to do with an originally and nicely aged car??? you must be one of those trendy guys.

 

... because before long all we'll be allowed to use at home is finger-paints....

 

Well i wasn't trying to get personal like you, but maybe when you GROW UP you will understand and appreciate my last responce. I'm guessing your one of those my way or the highway kida guys. Trendy? if you knew me you'd know how frick'n stupid that remark is. Rust away my friend.

 

when i said i liked the before better, i meant because it looked originally aged, and the body was in nice condition. it didnt look fake or like it was purposely done. to me an original body with all its battle scars and surface rust just shows that its not a re done rod, but an actual survivor. your car looks great in paint also! just wanted to clear that up.

 

well i dont know you, maybe i just took your remark the wrong way. no harm, no foul.

 

Because I'm not going to do $20k worth of metalwork on a $1500 car.

Plus I'd rather put the $20k into the car that's worthwhile. And since rusty steel doesn't look good painted gloss black, there will be no rust on the Chrysler. But then again, there never has been...

 

I'm just happy to see something coming together whether it is painted or not... depends on what look you are going for...

 

Before? or After?....you decide.
Well Bad Bob, with the ride shown, to me it would have to be the before.
Because I can see just how cherry that body and build really is.
Once it is covered with up with new paint I'm left to wonder just how much Bondo, cheesecloth, and beer-cans were employed in the bodywork.
Something that anyone who has ever encountered three inch thick Bondo backed up with card board under a 'perfect' shiny paint job can appreciate.
Cars from the mid 50s are particularly scary in this respect, with often a weathered but honest original being a far better vehicle than an attractive shiny show job with loads of Bondo slapped over ****ty workmanship, like rockers and quarters that are virtually made out of mud and chicken wire.
This is why when I attend a show, it is not everything smooth and shiny that impresses me, but old well preserved, or original finishes that have endured the test of time.

 

Anybody else on here notice that the majority of guys that like the rusty/bare look are from places other than the southwest? Maybe we like 'em painted on the west coast and nearby states because we know with a certain amount of confidence that what's underneath that shine (for the most part) is nice, clean steel.
When guys from other states see actual real patina on an old car, they might be amazed at the sight, where as we take it for granted because it is the norm here. I could be way off base here, but it is something that seems plausible to me...

 

I like a car that shows its age, I like 'em shiny as well. But at any rate a car that is not in progress and a rusty pile seems a little short of the ultimate goal. Cars purpose built to look like **** or fauxtina just don't make it for me. It's a lacking depth thing. But an old paint job that's showing its age is priceless. Currently I have all three types- 1.finished shiny, 2. old paint showing its age kinda beater but it's the truck I can take **** to the dump in or push dragsters with, 3. total work in progress that wil be shiny soon.

But honestly the shiny sits in the garage alot more.


Tim

 

That is how I feel. I love shiny cars but when I see a car with weather paint that is 40 years old I know it is a good car.At my shop I strip all car to bare metal.You would be amazes what I have found under a shine coat of paint.

But For me I can understand the guys that are able to attend a show ever weekend with a 100 plus car.if you see too much of one thing you tend to get sick of it and like Bad Bob said.One big problem he had is people call it a rat rod.I can agree with him there I probably would paint my car too.I`m lucky like that I Have a flat black car and it is rare around here.

 

I don't worry about the shiney paint, I just love that Patina !

 

I thought the subject/question was RUST, not Patina

 

Every car he showed has rust on it. either just a little or the whole thing, rust is rust, right guys?