I guess I am in the minority a bit here.... While I do not condone the hacking of a good restorable truck (or car or bike) sometimes you play the hand you are dealt. I just aquired a REALLY REALLY rough and rusty 56 F100 that had about 75% of a chop completed... and done correctly, but money ran out and was soon followed by lack of interest. I am going to save this heap of tin and do what I can. I will not have to be afraid to walk away from it in a parking lot... I doubt I will paint it, at least no time soon.... I bought a set of rear F250 fenders (complete with spare indent) that have some rot in the running board area.... I might patch em..... not yet sure about the box... thinking about cutting down a RANGER mini truck bed and attaching the fenders to that.... I am not building my truck for a judge's approval, I won't be offended if someone calls it a "rat rod" or a POS... unless they are outright rude about it.

I guess in my opinion, you can like, love, dislike or even hate what the seller done to HIS truck, but the bottom line is that it was (presumably) HIS truck at the time of the "modification" so it was his decision on what he chse to do to/with the truck.

I don't care what others think of my truck, but then, I have no intentions of ever giving mine up... at least until my Grandson has graduated college and gotten his life started.... then it's his to do with what he may.

 

I'm picturing what your truck may look like. And that is definitely not what I would classify as a rat rod. Actually, I'd like to see a picture of yours. I think the most of us have a problem with these totally hybrid "vehicles" that require a tetanus booster to just look at them, let alone drive them. We're talking about the ones with a Ford cab, chevy front end, a tractor steering wheel or grill, some sort of homeade excuse of a rickety frame, etc. (you get the picture). Like everybody else says, I personally don't care what somebody builds. It's their money. But it's such a shame to see good useable parts end up in these things. And like I said above, they're asking for trouble if they get out on the highway and a freak accident hurts somebody.

 

You can say that about a lot of things, tho. Reverse tilt hoods, chopped roofs, suicide door conversions, the list goes on. Look at pictures from any mid-fifties show and you'll see row after row of trucks with the same mods, most ordered out of a catalog. Certainly their right to do it, but "they are only original once".

At least the truck in the OP is priced right where it belongs (for now anyway)

 

I'll bet you anything he had those parts left over from a parts truck, then threw it together making that thing to try to make some money for his real project in the garage in the back ground. I don't like it when people do that stuff either taking good trucks and destroying them like that. I have a friend with a "rat rod whatever you call those things" like that and he had chopped the top of a 51 f1 model cab...yall would cringe if you saw the job he did. I couldn't look at it for very long, had to focus on other stuff in his garage HAHA

 

I noticed he didn't post any pictures of the steering linkage. That seems to be the one place these type of monstrosities always are in question:



I just find the pictures of the front end very questionable. Looks like he got so far and either lost interest or didn't know how to finish it:

 

Last time I commented on this rat rod thing firstrider got reamed a new one . I still think they look like a dogs behind !!! Complie a pile of S and you still have a pile of S . If it fits within a 1/4 inch or so stitch it together , only adds character . I totally agree with mountiandoc and iwanaflattie .

 

I'll probably get hammered for this but... I like some of them...But I like them when someone takes a cab and they start to build around that. But to buy a restrorable truck is a sin. But when someone builds them right, they can be works of art. But I wish I had that grill!

 

I guess I should clarify my opinion on a truck like this. I personally think a rusty, patched together piece of junk looks like a rusty, patched together piece of junk. I wouldn't want something like this to parked next to me either at a car show and especially next to me at a stop light. I'd rather not see a contraption like this on the road. But if a greatly modified truck is done right, showing a lot of craftsmanship that's another story. It may still not be to my liking but I can appreciate the work. I've posted this before but there's a truck on the HAMB that is greatly modified but the owner is doing a great job. I don't generally like over modified trucks but this one I really like.

 

I feel where you're coming from Vern, and I believe in the whole "This is America and I can build whatever I want" thing, too. Lord knows I don't want anybody telling me how I can or can't build my junk. This contraption just goes too far, though. It's almost as if it TRIES to offend. For example: You were looking high and low for a nice, affordable grille for your truck not too long ago. Look at the grille in that heap of junk. You couldn't find a straighter '48-'50 grille if you were standing on a Bonus Built assembly line in '49. And that moron took a SawZall to it and hacked the headlight panels off. Tell me that doesn't really **** you off at some level. Go ahead and lie to me, Vern. It's OK, I can take it.

 

I am a eternal optimist when it comes to my views of people. I tend to think the best of folks unless proven wrong, so here's my 2 cents on this build.

I think he is like a lot of us, out of work for the winter, and can't wait till spring to get back to work on his (in the garage) truck. He wants, like myself, to be able to drive and enjoy his ride this summer, but there are a few missing components that are a little spendy before he can drive the old girl. So looking around his property he realizes that there are bunch of spare parts left over from having to combine two trucks to get one in good shape. Being a welder and having scrap iron laying around an idea hits him of how he can make some extra build cash. About 1-2 weeks of work and a couple of cases of beer later...you have this! He's hoping that he can catch the FOTM (flavor of the month) crowd and get some poor kid with extra change to buy it. Makes perfect sense to me!!!!!

 

That frame is just Wrong. I wonder what the cab and hood are worth. Depending on the reserve, it might be a good buy to get the parts.

Since it's not running, I can't imagine he will get some kid to buy it. It will need to be bought by someone with the skills to get it going properly and those folks won't buy this. Compare it to what Bob posted up and you can see big differences. Not necessarily my style, but good quality work there.

 

OH, BlueOvalRage; Yes you are a bad person, but you already knew that.

 

It is my opinion that the term Rat Rod was orginally placed on just junky cars. Then what came along in the same rat rod style is the shock rods. Just a bunch of crazyness with weird stuff everywhere. Finally now I think we are going back to basic hot rods. It is unfortunate that the term rat rod still gets posted on thesae vehicles...

Now as for the first truck the guy was building, that is a junk rod. It is not built in the old style of while it was simple it was safe. Look at the difference between the other F1 posted. One is example of unsafe junk and the other is a hot rod. Which I happen to like.

But no matter what, there should always be a standing agreement that I won't tell you how to build your truck and You won't tell me how to build my truck. Works for me.

jim

 

Must have been his to do what he wanted to and lucky enough to live where he can, .......but I do have to admit that it certainly improved the looks of that monkey face!

Tee-hee tee-hee

 

In the past few years there has been a young man in our community that builds these rat rods; one is called stinky fink. It is put together from old Dodge parts and possible other make parts. It is my thought that they are a lazy way of getting a rod on the street but not completing it. I enjoy going to shows and seeing street rods and restorations or just original cars. These abortions of vehicles don't quite cut it as far as I'm concerned. All in all whatever floats your boat. I believe that sometimes they are put together the way they are because that is the way the builder could do it. It seems to me that in most states the fenders are supposed to come out past the width of the tires; what's up with no fenders? Enough venting. Take care all.

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