Makin a Rat Rod

(04/01/04) I've been plannin to do this Rat Rod Truck thing for a while. So I figgered that cuttin a coupla coils outta the front springs would be right in the spirit of things. And the red wheels kinda go along with the concept. It's funny what can get started just by puttin new brake shoes on. I figgered that since I had the wheels off, I might as well paint 'em...and then it wasn't too much of a stretch to cuttin the coils and....

...then the rusty grill and bumper started lookin awful bad, so I sanded them down and primed 'em with self-etching primer.

And as the gods of automotive irony would have it, the new bumpers and grill were delivered as soon as the primer was sprayed.

(04/02/04) But I didn't let that stop me. I went ahead and finished the front end in Zero-Rust and satin black Rustoleum and the bumper and grill in safety red Rustoleum. Again, it seems to be fitting for a rat rod to have a rattle can finish.

This was around noon on a Friday...and my plans were to attend the Rat Fink Reunion in Manti, Utah that afternoon and the next day.

(04/03/04) I actually made it to the reunion. Manti is about 115 miles from where I live and was the home of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth until his death in 2001. Here's another site with some pics of the reunion.

There were lotsa pinstripers there and I asked "Coop" if he'd lay a few stripes on the Ugly Truck.

I told him that he didn't need to worry about the parts that weren't painted in black, but he said, "I'm gonna do this one the way I want to." I told him that was fine with me.

He put this really kool pinstripe design on the hood, a coupla outline flames along the sides of the hood and a coupla stripes on the doors.

Then he added this lettering to the tailgate. Seems totally appropriate.

Next page: Beautification project.

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