What is "rat rod"?
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I didn't see any GT's available on their website and a 2 second search on eBay was unsuccessful too....
But I did find one that Gary might be interested in...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3577103468&category=223
But I did find one that Gary might be interested in...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3577103468&category=223
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"Rat Rod", OK I had a car that qualified as one of those back in high school (actually I've had many cars that have qualified....) And it actually had an Opel GT connection.
This was a true '50's-'60's low buck, shade tree, rattle trap road hazard 1929 Ford Model A hot rod. Chopped and channeled, it was actually made from two frames welded together in the middle. The front half of the Model A frame and the back half of the 1957 Ford that also donated the 9 inch rear end (with 2.69 gear ratio!!) and the big block 352 ci V-8 and 2 speed automatic tranny.
I was 18 years old and a senior in high school. I got the Model A in trade for painting an Opel GT for a friend of my dad's. The guy's wife loved the GT and actually named it Charlie.
The Model A had been sitting around for years in their garage. It didn't have any floorboards or windows or wiring or anything when I got it. Being 18 years old my fabrication skills and resources, as well as my budget were pretty low. Boeing Surplus came to the rescue, though and I picked up some some sheet aluminum for the floors and trunk lid and some plexiglass for the windows.
The workmanship on the car was pretty scary. The firewall was made out of thick diamond plate steel. The headers were made from half inch thick steel plate cut out with a cutting torch and welded to flexible tubing. They were really heavy and for sure flowed much worse than the stock manifolds! The brakes took 2 or 3 pumps to slow the car down. It wasn't street legal so I raced it out at the dragstrip. I skipped school and took it to the High School Drags at Seattle International Raceway and Bremerton Raceway. I came in 3rd overall at the High School Drags in Bremerton.
At SIR:
This was a true '50's-'60's low buck, shade tree, rattle trap road hazard 1929 Ford Model A hot rod. Chopped and channeled, it was actually made from two frames welded together in the middle. The front half of the Model A frame and the back half of the 1957 Ford that also donated the 9 inch rear end (with 2.69 gear ratio!!) and the big block 352 ci V-8 and 2 speed automatic tranny.
I was 18 years old and a senior in high school. I got the Model A in trade for painting an Opel GT for a friend of my dad's. The guy's wife loved the GT and actually named it Charlie.
The Model A had been sitting around for years in their garage. It didn't have any floorboards or windows or wiring or anything when I got it. Being 18 years old my fabrication skills and resources, as well as my budget were pretty low. Boeing Surplus came to the rescue, though and I picked up some some sheet aluminum for the floors and trunk lid and some plexiglass for the windows.
The workmanship on the car was pretty scary. The firewall was made out of thick diamond plate steel. The headers were made from half inch thick steel plate cut out with a cutting torch and welded to flexible tubing. They were really heavy and for sure flowed much worse than the stock manifolds! The brakes took 2 or 3 pumps to slow the car down. It wasn't street legal so I raced it out at the dragstrip. I skipped school and took it to the High School Drags at Seattle International Raceway and Bremerton Raceway. I came in 3rd overall at the High School Drags in Bremerton.
At SIR:
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There's skinny 18 year old me standing in front of the car at the High School Drags. Fade back to 1983... The smell of burning rubber, hot dogs, and high octane gasoline... The sound of big American V-8 engines revving, speakers blaring AC/DC's "Back In Black"... Not a Japanese car to be seen anywhere. This was 1983, you didn't drag race rice burners!
Check out those rear fenders made from a 55 gallon barrel. For a gas tank I had a 2 gallon metal gas can duct taped to the frame rail in the trunk, I'm not joking! I don't know how I ever passed tech with that car. It was dangerous on so many levels.
Check out those rear fenders made from a 55 gallon barrel. For a gas tank I had a 2 gallon metal gas can duct taped to the frame rail in the trunk, I'm not joking! I don't know how I ever passed tech with that car. It was dangerous on so many levels.
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Here we are later that summer at Bremerton, 1983. So how fast was it? Slower than it should have been. The 2.69 rear end ratio did not make for quick acceleration. It was an open diff as well. The headers were very restrictive and the motor was otherwise stock. Still, the car didn't weigh anything. The best ET I remember was about 14.20.
Later on I took the thing apart and sold the 352 and junked the cobbled together frame. I bought a stock Model A frame and picked up a 460 and C6 auto out of a Lincoln. I was gonna build a Hot Rod Lincoln! Boy was I over my head. That thing would have been really dangerous. I eventually sold the frame and body to a Model A restorer. All he wanted was the title but I told him he had to take everything. The title was the most valuable part of that car! The only thing I kept from it was the grill shell which i still have.
Later on I took the thing apart and sold the 352 and junked the cobbled together frame. I bought a stock Model A frame and picked up a 460 and C6 auto out of a Lincoln. I was gonna build a Hot Rod Lincoln! Boy was I over my head. That thing would have been really dangerous. I eventually sold the frame and body to a Model A restorer. All he wanted was the title but I told him he had to take everything. The title was the most valuable part of that car! The only thing I kept from it was the grill shell which i still have.
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A couple of years later I ended up with Charlie again. The owner's delinquent son was speeding through Tacoma and killed him. I was in college and had my first Manta by then so I bought Charlie back for parts. Alright, a 9.0:1 engine for my Manta!
You guys would have killed me! There were so many good parts in that car that just went to the wrecking yard after I stripped off what I wanted...
That's the only GT I've ever owned, BTW. I'm more of a Manta/Ascona guy.
You can see what's left of the Model A next to Charlie.
You guys would have killed me! There were so many good parts in that car that just went to the wrecking yard after I stripped off what I wanted...
That's the only GT I've ever owned, BTW. I'm more of a Manta/Ascona guy.
You can see what's left of the Model A next to Charlie.
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This is the Minichamp car below. The paint looks less metallic than in the pics. If you do a Google search, you can find model/hobby shops that still have a few in stock.
http://www.iol.ie/~donohoer/0Opel_GT.htm
oppositelock: Salvage front end, welding, frame straightener... Charlie could be on the road. But considering the price of cars in better condition, Charlie is a good parts car. I like driving Mantas better than GTs, esp. as a daily driver. And you can carry more stuff than a suitcase and your dog. Sounds like the Model A is a lot of fun. Title allows him to build a kit car and not meet all the new legal stuff, no emissions.
http://www.iol.ie/~donohoer/0Opel_GT.htm
oppositelock: Salvage front end, welding, frame straightener... Charlie could be on the road. But considering the price of cars in better condition, Charlie is a good parts car. I like driving Mantas better than GTs, esp. as a daily driver. And you can carry more stuff than a suitcase and your dog. Sounds like the Model A is a lot of fun. Title allows him to build a kit car and not meet all the new legal stuff, no emissions.
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There are Cobra roadster and coupe kits that use a Fox-body Mustang as a donor. Some are not as bad as it sounds, most kits includes a new tube frame, body and suspension among other things. Basically the only thing Mustang is the steering rack, and some nerds (brakes and drivetrain CAN be used but have millions of upgrade options)... but I digress.GT-Freak said:
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IMOA that's the true definition of a rat rod.
A rat is UGLY period..but fun Don't think about mouse engines or rat engines,or even elephant's here.
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A rat rod is anything you wanted it to be. You start by gathering old parts until you have enough to build a car with. Paint, interior and other flash items are ignored so you end up with a unique car that you can drive the crap out of.
In this day and age, the true definition has been lost since people are getting old vehicles and spending tons of money just to make it look like a rod. In a Opel this is very hard to do since you can't actually put other body parts together to make a statement. But as an example, you can get a Model A, cut out the rumble seat, replace the front with a T engine cover, add a truck rear and old POP lights. You find the largest engine you can fit, wire it like you just don't care and voila!, you now have a rat rod.
Of course you will not paint the outside, just leave blobs of primer everywhere and the interior must be done using the same scenario. People actually pay big money for these vehicles and they are just spare parts jammed together to form something.
In this day and age, the true definition has been lost since people are getting old vehicles and spending tons of money just to make it look like a rod. In a Opel this is very hard to do since you can't actually put other body parts together to make a statement. But as an example, you can get a Model A, cut out the rumble seat, replace the front with a T engine cover, add a truck rear and old POP lights. You find the largest engine you can fit, wire it like you just don't care and voila!, you now have a rat rod.
Of course you will not paint the outside, just leave blobs of primer everywhere and the interior must be done using the same scenario. People actually pay big money for these vehicles and they are just spare parts jammed together to form something.
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ANYWAY....
Back to the original question:
The REAL reason you'll see this in a description of parts on ebay is because MOST 'rat-rodders' use found objects, and also adapt odd things to thier particular use. Mostly for aesthetic reasons. Bits and pieces from other cars, farm implements, bikes, etc... Puttin 'rat-rod' in your desription brings it up on a search...
A stock opel gt mirror is actually quite the cool little mirror. It's all about making yours a little different from the crowd.
Hope this helps.
Back to the original question:
The REAL reason you'll see this in a description of parts on ebay is because MOST 'rat-rodders' use found objects, and also adapt odd things to thier particular use. Mostly for aesthetic reasons. Bits and pieces from other cars, farm implements, bikes, etc... Puttin 'rat-rod' in your desription brings it up on a search...
A stock opel gt mirror is actually quite the cool little mirror. It's all about making yours a little different from the crowd.
Hope this helps.
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I've always thought of the Rat-Rod as a counter-culture approach to automobile styling. It's the "I don't care that it looks like crap, just as long as it goes like hell" attitude.
I wonder if the term is derived from the old hot rods and those true enthusiasts who live in the desert; those old grizzled non-conformist individuals who live to drive hard, even to the point of sleeping out on the old lakebeds next to their car just to get an early start on the racing. They won't spend any money on their car's appearance, only the engine. What we would call a desert rat.
For some reason the rat-rod should include red rims. Perhaps that's indicative of money going into racing rims instead of paint or damaged body parts.
I came across one of these individuals at a car show. He entered an old beat-up badly oxidized generation two convertible Corvette. Though it looked like it had been driven hard and put away wet, it looked like a machine not to mess with. With fat tires on back, lots of engine with definite modifications, lack of hood, serious roll bar and torn out interior there left no doubt the only reason for its existence was to go like hell. The owner looked as tough as the car; scuffed leather vest, boots with holes, skinny, grey stubble on a wrinkled brown leather face. He sat on the back of his car chain smoking and drinking coffee, not caring what folks thought of the car, oblivious of this butt-ugly vehicle sitting amongst restored classic beauties.
He looked grumpy like he had slept in the car. Maybe the ground was too hard. He didn't say hello. I took the long way around to the refreshment stand.
I wonder if the term is derived from the old hot rods and those true enthusiasts who live in the desert; those old grizzled non-conformist individuals who live to drive hard, even to the point of sleeping out on the old lakebeds next to their car just to get an early start on the racing. They won't spend any money on their car's appearance, only the engine. What we would call a desert rat.
For some reason the rat-rod should include red rims. Perhaps that's indicative of money going into racing rims instead of paint or damaged body parts.
I came across one of these individuals at a car show. He entered an old beat-up badly oxidized generation two convertible Corvette. Though it looked like it had been driven hard and put away wet, it looked like a machine not to mess with. With fat tires on back, lots of engine with definite modifications, lack of hood, serious roll bar and torn out interior there left no doubt the only reason for its existence was to go like hell. The owner looked as tough as the car; scuffed leather vest, boots with holes, skinny, grey stubble on a wrinkled brown leather face. He sat on the back of his car chain smoking and drinking coffee, not caring what folks thought of the car, oblivious of this butt-ugly vehicle sitting amongst restored classic beauties.
He looked grumpy like he had slept in the car. Maybe the ground was too hard. He didn't say hello. I took the long way around to the refreshment stand.
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Ok guys!
This is a rat rod which was sold for $45K last year. The car was built using parts from anything that was available laying around the shop.
Was quite impressive and sure made some noise....
This is a rat rod which was sold for $45K last year. The car was built using parts from anything that was available laying around the shop.
Was quite impressive and sure made some noise....
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See, a Rat-Rod selling for $45 grand just seems all wrong to me. The one pictured in the post above looks too polished and deliberate.
But this one in the attached photo is a good example. It needs a few more interesting items; such as a hand grenade gear shift knob, and a few birds stuck in the radiator. It could also use wide tires and red racing rims.
I'd love to see this with some of that faux wood panel vinyl (available from J.C. Whitney's) pasted on the sides of the bucket. And if it was peeling that would just be the icing on the cake.
But this one in the attached photo is a good example. It needs a few more interesting items; such as a hand grenade gear shift knob, and a few birds stuck in the radiator. It could also use wide tires and red racing rims.
I'd love to see this with some of that faux wood panel vinyl (available from J.C. Whitney's) pasted on the sides of the bucket. And if it was peeling that would just be the icing on the cake.
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The deliberate ones are the rage now. Hot Rod Mag shows them all the time. Funny how much effort it takes to restore/build a new car, and then rather than show it off with tons of billet, pearl, chrome and other such bling, it is purposely finished in a weathered, tattered, "rode hard" look.
I guess it's for those of us who are tired of, maybe jealous of the "Roadster of the Year Award" type cars. Just too far out for the average broke Joe. The rat rods are back to basic, homebuilt, low buck junkers that any one of us could own. That is my definition.
Hey, look at it this way: now anyone can get a photo of his car in Hot Rod. But I suggest any persons posing with the car be clothed in accordance with their rules. They have to be politically correct nowadays, don't ya know. Not that I'm into that...
Yes, forty five grand for a rat rod is kind of oxymoronic, if you get my drift. I don't even know if that's a real word. Otto?
I guess it's for those of us who are tired of, maybe jealous of the "Roadster of the Year Award" type cars. Just too far out for the average broke Joe. The rat rods are back to basic, homebuilt, low buck junkers that any one of us could own. That is my definition.
Hey, look at it this way: now anyone can get a photo of his car in Hot Rod. But I suggest any persons posing with the car be clothed in accordance with their rules. They have to be politically correct nowadays, don't ya know. Not that I'm into that...
Yes, forty five grand for a rat rod is kind of oxymoronic, if you get my drift. I don't even know if that's a real word. Otto?
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The rat rod I posted was built on a chevy S-10 chassis. It had a '32 body which was made (badly) into an unfinished convertible, plexiglass windshield, '23 "t" firewall and part of the tub, painted white wall tires, motorcycle torpedo front lights, '29 model A radiator with chrome shield found at a swap meet.
The interior is just a carpet, a mercury steering column and a '65 mustang steering wheel. The paint was a single coat of clear after the body was sanded and a few decals from a P-51 were added just to be cool I guess.
The parts above are just a skim of the list, the vehicle has lots more from different manufacturers.
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