It seems that everything is getting the rat rod treatment these days, I saw a picture of a BMW done up as one and it didn't look too bad. We were having this discussion at work and I wondered, has anyone seen it done to a Fiero yet?
^^ I've seen people do that to guitars, too. If you want a guitar that looks like its played in a thousand bars, then go buy one.
Even cameras! I've seen where people picked up an old camera like a Nikon F (readily available at swap meets for $150) and rubbed off much of the chrome plating and paint and maybe put some little dents in it and now they've got something with character. Heck it may have covered the Kennedy assassination or the Vietnam war! The patina proves it!
Even cameras! I've seen where people picked up an old camera like a Nikon F (readily available at swap meets for $150) and rubbed off much of the chrome plating and paint and maybe put some little dents in it and now they've got something with character. Heck it may have covered the Kennedy assassination or the Vietnam war! The patina proves it!
But its crap. A car or camera or guitar that is worn and dented has character, has stories. Something that has been "relic"d has one story, " I was well taken care of until some asshat decided to vandalize me."
But its crap. A car or camera or guitar that is worn and dented has character, has stories. Something that has been "relic"d has one story, " I was well taken care of until some asshat decided to vandalize me."
Exactly.
I always wanted to buy one and restore it back to like-new condition. All that patina GONE.
Don't get me started on the reliced guitar fad. I know the difference because I've seen enough of them and real is always easy to spot vs. fake. As for a Fiero, I'm not convinced it would look good, it would take too much to make it look right and at that point it would make more sense to me to start out with something else. My car has patina in spades and has that well used, unrestored look. I figure nobody would want to got to jail for stealing a Fiero that looks like that so it's a theft deterant as well!
It just looks to me like the person couldn't afford a decent paint job. Just a stupid fad in my opinion.
When I was in high school and then some, we had a saying. "Beware the car in primer." Generally guys would spend all their money on the engine and drivetrains, and it would take quite a while before they had money to paint it.
(All my guitars are in pretty nice condition for their age, except one that I bought at a pawn shop and refinished)
I meant what some guys are doing with cars like that Camaro in this thread. Not a real rat rod that's built with odds and ends parts. I've always liked those.
Even cameras! I've seen where people picked up an old camera like a Nikon F (readily available at swap meets for $150) and rubbed off much of the chrome plating and paint and maybe put some little dents in it and now they've got something with character. Heck it may have covered the Kennedy assassination or the Vietnam war! The patina proves it!
I've had someone tell me a few years ago that some dents and scratches on my Wide Glide would add character. I just looked at them like they had three heads. The only scratches that I wanted to see is some polishing swirl marks!!!
People sometimes call my Fiero a rat rod. But I don't do goofy stuff like using a lawn chair as a car seat, or using vice-grips as an impromptu steering wheel. But there are parts from several different cars, plus some homemade stuff. Oh, and the car has 3 different colors of primer on it.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 10-23-2015).]
People sometimes call my Fiero a rat rod. But I don't do goofy stuff like using a lawn chair as a car seat, or using vice-grips as an impromptu steering wheel. But there are parts from several different cars, plus some homemade stuff. Oh, and the car has 3 different colors of primer on it.
A mess of several gm cars, bmw, & home made parts. Longitudinally mounted SBC 350 hooked to a olds tornado trans from the late 60's...Does this count ? Maybe to much paint idk...
You need rust color paint, road signs as floor boards and a beer keg as a gas tank, think hillbilly here not unfinished car. Rat rod = hillbilly = cool "a rat rod" Unfinished car = I don't have enough money for paint = ghetto
[This message has been edited by sardonyx247 (edited 10-28-2015).]
Hot rodder and freelance journalist Brad Ocock said of the rat rod trend: "There's a huge difference between rat rod and beater. A beater has potential. A rat rod is something someone threw together to make a statement, and usually that statement is, 'I don't know how to weld. I had a bunch of crap lying around and realized there was enough to put together a car but didn't want to put any effort into it.'"
This is pretty much my opinion as well. My Fiero is not a rat rod. But people sometimes mislabel it as one.
Originally posted by Chris Hodson: A mess of several gm cars,
Wasn't that how Fieros got built at Pontiac in the first place? If that's what makes a car a rat rod, then I guess every Fiero that rolled out of Pontiac is a rat rod.
Wasn't that how Fieros got built at Pontiac in the first place? If that's what makes a car a rat rod, then I guess every Fiero that rolled out of Pontiac is a rat rod.
