Just for you guys that like this stuff, I prefer my cars not to have rust, a rat rod to me is in primer and has glass.


Every once in a while, poking around the Internet message boards reveals more than just self-appointed experts jabbering about the finer points of inconsequential nonsense. Such is the case with Jeremy, an electrical engineer from Olathe, KS, who has been posting a build thread over on KillBillet.com – a forum for rat rod builders and enthusiasts.

It all started with an old truck cab.

Posting a detailed build thread is an unselfish act of sharing information, techniques and results. Jeremy, who posts under the handle 70_Fastback, started a rat rod project in late January of last year and has been studiously keeping forum members up to date ever since in this thread.

Currently up to 32 pages, the thread is an amazing tale of persistence and “mad skills” in fabrication. Jeremy started with little more than a ’39 Chevrolet truck cab and now has progressed beyond the rolling chassis stage, as you can see in the lead photo. There’s plenty more work to be done, but it is getting close enough to taste.

If you have any interest in seeing what it takes to build a hot rod pretty much from scratch, this is as close to a step-by-step guide as you’ll ever see.

We’ve taken the liberty of extracting just a few of the photos for you to see what’s going on over there. From building his own frame to recycling connecting rods as steering column supports, it’s a pretty amazing and entertaining story.

http://www.streetlegaltv.co...ant-homespun-skills/


And for the build thread...
http://www.killbillet.com/s...C-Truck-Build-Thread

Appears to be missing a good portion of the pics now, still some useful info.

[This message has been edited by dennis_6 (edited 01-18-2016).]

quote Originally posted by dennis_6: a rat rod to me is in primer and has glass.

I agree.

IMO, a rat rod is like a patchwork quilt. You put together pieces from other cars to make a custom car of your own. If you're building a chassis from scratch, and building a new engine, then IMO that's not a rat rod. That's what I call a "rust rod"... a hot rod built by someone who doesn't like to do bodywork.

I'm not trying to dog on the guy's build. He obviously has some skills, and built a neat project. But let's not fool ourselves. It's a custom hot rod, not a rat rod.

Like most automotive trends, the current "rat rod" trend seems to have been standardized, for lack of a better word. In other words, there seems to be a checklist of modifications and styling cues that are expected to be used in a "rat rod" nowadays. For example, they all seem to have the same style of tires. They're all chopped and channeled. They all have a rust patina on the exterior. And underneath that crusty exterior, there's a scratch-built chassis and a professionally built drivetrain.

Anyway, I should probably get off the soapbox now.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 01-19-2016).]

Growing up, this was a "Ratrod":

quote Originally posted by Blacktree: IMO, a rat rod is like a patchwork quilt. You put together pieces from other cars to make a custom car of your own. If you're building a chassis from scratch, and building a new engine, then IMO that's not a rat rod. That's what I call a "rust rod"... a hot rod built by someone who doesn't like to do bodywork. I'm not trying to dog on the guy's build. He obviously has some skills, and built a neat project. But let's not fool ourselves. It's a custom hot rod, not a rat rod. Like most automotive trends, the current "rat rod" trend seems to have been standardized, for lack of a better word. In other words, there seems to be a checklist of modifications and styling cues that are expected to be used in a "rat rod" nowadays. For example, they all seem to have the same style of tires. They're all chopped and channeled. They all have a rust patina on the exterior. And underneath that crusty exterior, there's a scratch-built chassis and a professionally built drivetrain. Anyway, I should probably get off the soapbox now.

I agree, rich kids of today, trying to imitate the poor kids of yester year. Still, some valuable tech in the build.

[This message has been edited by dennis_6 (edited 01-19-2016).]