Rat Rod Project
- Thread starter Rusty5150
- Start date
Good luck with that project buddy... They get very pricey once you get started...lol... But it is a bas ass car.. Im hoping a few more weeks on mine then we can shoot the photos of her all dressed up.
That is the plan. hit it with some 600 then satin clear. I am going for the old Hooch Runner style. Simple and fast.
Looks cool!!
Leading cause of divorce is car building and racing!! Luckily the wife figured out a long time ago that it's a sickness. She knows all my girlfriends and right where to find them, (in the garage).
Crazy to think that back in the day that there was such a demand that mfg's would design a car for the traveling salesman. They would have a huge trunk so he could not only carry his luggage but all of the product he would hawk on the road.
I'm admittedly a bow tie guy (that's the house I grew up in), but I like them all. Rat rods, hot rods, classics, rusted, painted, done up or done down it doesn't matter. I have done a few over the years, but the last couple I decided to go into more of a rescue mode.
Our 1954 Bel Air I found in the state of Washington and it has a cool story behind it. My son was going off to college and had been accepted in the honors engineering program (proud papa). So, I wanted to do a big summer road trip with him and make it something we would never forget. I worked on it for a few months until I came up with a plan. How cool would it be to find the right car somewhere in the country, make a deal on it and drive it home. Well that's what we did. The Bel had been pro built and the owner had fallen out of love with it. It had been sitting in his garage for 5 years and only started and driven rarely.
It's a Resto-Mod with 305 V8, 350 trans, and 10 bolt rear end, so I knew it was a driver/Napa car that we should be able to fix if we had any problems on the road. I shipped a couple of boxes to my wife's uncle that lived in the area, camping gear, tools etc. He picked us up in Seattle and dropped us off in a little town 40 miles north. I made the deal on the car and drove it back to the uncle's pad, loaded up our gear and off we went. We took the coast route all the way from Washington state to So. Cal, until we had to turn inland to get to our home in the high desert. Racked 1,700 miles stopping in Oregon to see long lost family and rent a RZR at the dunes, camping and exploring the Redwood forests along the way.
She wasn't perfect, and needed a little attention... The owner handed me the original stainless hub caps, because he could not get them to fit on the modern steel rims. He had wire wheel hub caps which I immediately ditched. I found a way to retro the caps and on they went. It didn't have the skirts on either, which needed to change. The owner had an original set which I worked over and had paint matched to the '84 Chevy metallic blue paint. The car has a Mustang II front end so I freshened it up with new springs and shocks. The rear still had the original leaf spring and shackles. They where beat and the packs where wearing into each other, so all new leaf packs, shackles and bushing where in order, along with a 2 1/4" lowering block that came off of a '66 GMC truck my buddy had. It was an original GM piece and worked perfect and gave it a nice road stance.
I reworked some of the wiring issues, slapped a new battery and starter in her and she's back to form. The list on this car is pretty long.... Mustang II front end with Power disc brakes and power steering, Painless wiring front to back, 90% original stainless trim (all the way down to the hub caps). Poly gas tank. Inside... Vintage Air, '64 Nova buckets with a custom center console, Dakota digital dash with full VDO gauge package, bla, bla, bla.
I have enjoyed Bel for a few years now, but it's time for her to go... I also have a rare 64' big window pick up that I traded for an aluminum fishing boat and a little cash. It needs a few more things.
Also, a '27 Capitol that I want to turn into something crazy when time and money permits. It has the original paint with a perfect patina that still shows the factory pin stripping. I will not touch the body except where I absolutely have to.
Good luck with your project, it's a heart and soul deal. Oh and bring the wife some flowers occasionally, maybe a dinner out and all will be good. lol
Leading cause of divorce is car building and racing!! Luckily the wife figured out a long time ago that it's a sickness. She knows all my girlfriends and right where to find them, (in the garage).
Crazy to think that back in the day that there was such a demand that mfg's would design a car for the traveling salesman. They would have a huge trunk so he could not only carry his luggage but all of the product he would hawk on the road.
I'm admittedly a bow tie guy (that's the house I grew up in), but I like them all. Rat rods, hot rods, classics, rusted, painted, done up or done down it doesn't matter. I have done a few over the years, but the last couple I decided to go into more of a rescue mode.
Our 1954 Bel Air I found in the state of Washington and it has a cool story behind it. My son was going off to college and had been accepted in the honors engineering program (proud papa). So, I wanted to do a big summer road trip with him and make it something we would never forget. I worked on it for a few months until I came up with a plan. How cool would it be to find the right car somewhere in the country, make a deal on it and drive it home. Well that's what we did. The Bel had been pro built and the owner had fallen out of love with it. It had been sitting in his garage for 5 years and only started and driven rarely.
It's a Resto-Mod with 305 V8, 350 trans, and 10 bolt rear end, so I knew it was a driver/Napa car that we should be able to fix if we had any problems on the road. I shipped a couple of boxes to my wife's uncle that lived in the area, camping gear, tools etc. He picked us up in Seattle and dropped us off in a little town 40 miles north. I made the deal on the car and drove it back to the uncle's pad, loaded up our gear and off we went. We took the coast route all the way from Washington state to So. Cal, until we had to turn inland to get to our home in the high desert. Racked 1,700 miles stopping in Oregon to see long lost family and rent a RZR at the dunes, camping and exploring the Redwood forests along the way.
She wasn't perfect, and needed a little attention... The owner handed me the original stainless hub caps, because he could not get them to fit on the modern steel rims. He had wire wheel hub caps which I immediately ditched. I found a way to retro the caps and on they went. It didn't have the skirts on either, which needed to change. The owner had an original set which I worked over and had paint matched to the '84 Chevy metallic blue paint. The car has a Mustang II front end so I freshened it up with new springs and shocks. The rear still had the original leaf spring and shackles. They where beat and the packs where wearing into each other, so all new leaf packs, shackles and bushing where in order, along with a 2 1/4" lowering block that came off of a '66 GMC truck my buddy had. It was an original GM piece and worked perfect and gave it a nice road stance.
I reworked some of the wiring issues, slapped a new battery and starter in her and she's back to form. The list on this car is pretty long.... Mustang II front end with Power disc brakes and power steering, Painless wiring front to back, 90% original stainless trim (all the way down to the hub caps). Poly gas tank. Inside... Vintage Air, '64 Nova buckets with a custom center console, Dakota digital dash with full VDO gauge package, bla, bla, bla.
I have enjoyed Bel for a few years now, but it's time for her to go... I also have a rare 64' big window pick up that I traded for an aluminum fishing boat and a little cash. It needs a few more things.
Also, a '27 Capitol that I want to turn into something crazy when time and money permits. It has the original paint with a perfect patina that still shows the factory pin stripping. I will not touch the body except where I absolutely have to.
Good luck with your project, it's a heart and soul deal. Oh and bring the wife some flowers occasionally, maybe a dinner out and all will be good. lol
I've always liked that style too^^^^ Amazing the skill and craftsmanship that goes into something like those seats and door panels. I dream of being able to create something of that caliber. To me, it's pure ART
