yup it was that many years ago i'm still young but getting close to being older everyday. and yes to the rocket powered derby cars. GOOD TIMES i think? pics from that nite are still on the RRT website. later jim
the BIRTH of a roach rod http://www.roddingroundtable.com/events/meetings/socal/troadster.html later jim
I remember that the white rims weren't exactly popular, but to me it made the car stand out from the de rigeur red steelies. It makes me wonder what happened to the frame I welded up, I hope someone made something out of it. God bless the man who made the frame for the Roach.
The white rims were actually Mike Bishop's idea. He, and my dad's long time Pal were to blame. Both Mike and Joe cringed when I originally said I wanted to run black wheels and white walls... and suggested white rims and black walls. I went with it... and it DID look great... Sam
Yep, working on it over the last few weeks. New under cowl cage to suspend the new column, brake and clutch systems.
Getting a ride in the Roach Rod is one of my favourite memories. Sam gunned that little car mercilessly round the local streets, finishing with a final wheelspin up the drive. I can remember hearing a "Was that necessary??? " From Sams better half Katie in the house. My non-rodder but car enthusiast friend who also got the ride still talks about it now. Mart.
With everything that's screwed up in this world one thing that would make things a WHOLE LOT right would be to get the original Roach Rod body back to Sam. We aren't talking about some ultra rare piece of tin that is now part of some cherished collection- it's what was left of a Model T Coupe that no one else wanted- and now languishes in the dark corner of a shop somewhere. Sam gave it life and a soul and it just seems wrong to keep it from him when he obviously wants it back so badly (we told ya so, but the time has come). I experienced the car while it was in his garage and it deserves to be back there again. If ANYONE does ANYTHING with that body it will never be the same as if Sam had it back to make it live again as his creation. That car (the Roach Rod) was the real turning point of when a bunch of guys went from TALKING about cars on a website to when one guy went out in his two car garage and CREATED an ICON before our eyes that represented exactly what every one of us wished we could do. Many did follow suit and eventually made their dreams a reality just like Sam did. I personally got to build a car that was on the cover of Rod & Custom and when I drove it across country a big piece of Sam's spirit was with me the whole way. I'm lucky my dad owns that car now and it doesn't sit dismembered in a shop somewhere waiting for someone to transform it into something DIFFERENT than what I envisioned before building it from nothing. Starting RIGHT NOW we need to make it heard that Sam needs to get that body back and make the car live again. Please voice how you feel about this and make something RIGHT in this screwed up world. "Get Sam the Roach Rod Body Back"- Number One!
I still have that copy of Rod and Custom around here somewhere. That article started my interest in old skool rods, now I have one.
I have definitely been inspired by that little car. I love it's proportions and it's simplicity. I remember seeing it in a magazine my dad had when he was building his "A." Thats when it pretty much sealed the deal for me. I said "that looks easy enough, I can do that." (little did I know). I don't think I ever returned that issue to my old man come to think of it.
I picked up a model A frame from Sam years ago, back when he had the roach rod. He offered to take me for a spin, and I still remember it. It inspired me to get my ass in gear and build a hot rod. I will admit, I learned alot back in those days on the Hamb. And Sam's can do attitude gave me the courage to go ahead and try to build it myself, even with out a garage, even without alot of money. And three month's later I was on the road driving my own hot rod. Sam's build thread and tech threads are what this place was about. He was not the only person building and documenting it here, but he was one of the major inspirations in the beggining. Thanks Sam, and let the frame builder know that his work combined with your's and this new fangled internet has inspired many of us to build a hot rod ourselves, and to go out and actually DRIVE the hell out of them.
WoW! Some truely great stories here! Never knew of the car back then but sure wish I had. Looks like a true hot rod. Seems to be like alot of cars out currently, built to have fun!
ill locate the tape and make it happen.... that little car was quick, and loved high rpm's haha.... there are a dozen or so people/cars that inspired me over the years, Sam/RR are one of them. edit - weird.. i typed the message out, went about 10 ft into the closet and within a minute of looking saw the tape labeled, "Sam Roach Rod/Trumpet/BFD/coupe ~ 9/3/04", i think i took the video right after you got the Triumph running.
Yeah, but to build something else. At the the time he probably had no idea the car would be bisected and the body tossed aside in favor of a different one. Well now the original body has no real direction and Sam would like it back as he has expressed. Who hasn't wanted a special car back. This one is probably a lot more special than something we never really wrenched on- just had feelings for. It's stranger for me when I see someone that has an opportunity to get their old car back and declines the offer. I guess I'm just weird like that and alone thinking he should have it back to make it live again. I was sad when he sold his Model A as well, but he was happier getting the stock one back that was restored by his family when he was a kid.
Just a bit melancholy about a little car don't you think? Think about this, is it the existence of the car itself or the driving spirit behind the build of the car. Jim, from reading your posts, its the latter. The car itself is inconsequential to Sam and his imbiggened spirit to lead a build. You shouldn't be calling for the restoration of a car, rather the creation of a new car? It's the cromulent thing to do
"Cromulent"? I don't use ten dollar words I can't afford or know the meaning to, but I wasn't calling for a "restoration"- just and answer to the requests I've seen him make to buy back the body. It's obvious Miles has used the rest of the car with a different body so what gives? Either say absolutely not- or try and work something out. Yes, I am a little melancholy over a special car that was in my family for decades, was my first car that my uncle borrowed and wrecked while I was away in the Air Force. They scrapped it even though it was totally fixable. I'll never get it back or the the 30 years of family memories. I don't think this is out of line to at least ask why it can't be sold back when I've seen him ask many times.
LOL, Pop culture reference to The Simpsons and the iconoclasm that is the Roach Rod in this instance. Sorry it was an inside joke to myself. Miles doesn't own the body and hasn't for years. Joe (fivesdaddy) does, Sam has been in contact with him before and if he wanted to own it again, he knows where all the parts are.
Do any of you guys remember the very first thread that I believe got shut down when it was discovered what had happened? I sure do, I distinctly recall Sam relating a story about daughters and screen doors banging away. It was pure awesomeness from Sam, I expect no less.
None of this is hostile- just good fun like that car WAS. That car made a lot of people smile. After the last 4 years I know many of us would like to smile again.
someone on the hamb made a flash version of that rad burnout video already posted. sorry i don't recall the name of the person who made it but it's too cool not to share. here it is... flashified roach rod burnout
Glenn, you are so spot on. Jim, there is a ton of other builds going on that make me happy just the same. I do enjoy the finished product, but the build is what I live for. I see the HAMB as an anachronism more than an historical preservation society. Sure, we have our historians but cars like the Roach Rod were not built as an historical artifact but built in the spirit and style of our predecessors. Honor the spirit, not the icon.
Cromulent is a really good word! And I wish R&C would bring back the Ego Rama. That was a cool deal that several of our pals got to participate in! That and Young Guns. It was all part of the tide change...........
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