I think the car is nice looking for what it is, a piece of art. I appreciate what went into the car. I thought the underside was dissapointing, it looked like the bottom of an RV. The glass grill is a neat idea too. It's not my cup of tea though. I'm glad someone appreciated it as much as they did. You can't expect to build something like that and make a profit (which I'll bet they did anyway). The engine was the neatest feature of the car IMO.
To each his own. I think it's cool, I'm interested in the build, the drivetrain... and that's about it. To me, it's not worth 5k because I couldn't do anything with it. It just feels like a showoff to me. Feels like "we need to showcase our metalworking skills, let's build something so off the wall that it looks crazy." I dunno, maybe I'm too young. Maybe I don't have access to that kind of money. Please don't get me wrong, I'm sure these are extremely skilled individuals.
yeah when ron platt gets up to bid the rest seem to sit back in thier chair and stop bidding if he wants somthing he is going to get it no question and as for the car yeah it's a lil over the top but that grill and those head lights they sure would look good on my fucking ride i know that shit
if you are [SIZE=-1]Cruella de Ville then $475k is a bargain. I can apreciate the work that went into the car, just not to my taste. its looks like 1/2 Mercedes 500k, 1/2 Bugatti Atlantic and [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]1/2 Talblot Lago with [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Falaschi coach work. [/SIZE]
I gave up giving a fuck what the extremely rich pay for their cars a long time ago. if I ever become extremely rich I think I'd rather have a bunch of 30 - $50,000.00 cars rather than one for $475,000.00
Not that long ago, you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting Chevelles and Mustangs in a high school parking lot. Big blocks, SS's, Mach Ones, they were pretty much like belly buttons. Someone would have to be crazy to drive one that they spent over $125,000 on last weekend. They could buy or build a clone for half the money. How anyone could justify the huge $$ paid for the musclecars, except for investment purposes, seems impossible. The Blastolene however, is a work of art, few even know what it is, and when you hear the price tag, it seems like a deal by comparison. It may be a financial risk, not knowing if it will be bringing Duesey money in years to come, or become a cartoon flop like an Excalibur. I think it's beautiful, and would rather have spent the money on it, rather than a common muscle car, or that hideous Corvette concept car from Italy.
... a true work of art built just down the road from me!! the down side is because it went to Ron Pratte it will NEVER be seee again...till he needs the money...
How can you guys talk about "Historical Significance"? Iskederian's Roadster wasn't worth nothing till years later, as are all of them! Have a car completely built to "your taste" like this one and see how much you spend on it. That's probably a cheap deal considering the hours in on it. Probably $100/hr is average and they have 7000 hours in on it Fab alone!
I don't care for it, but I do appreciate the creativity behind it. Some build pics. http://www.blastolene.com/B702.html
I don't care for it but to each his own. I would like to see those skills put on a 49 Mercury but they would probably want to put a CAT motor in it.
What I can't figure out, is if I had that much moolah to sink into a car, why I would buy someone else dream. I'd much rather have my own....
You guys must know nothing about the great designers of the 20's and 30's. It is one of the greatest periods in automotive design. From the Delahays to the Dusenburgs, Auburns and many others. What a great and visionary time. Open your eyes and take a look around. You might learn something.
I agree. I would've cloned that "nothing" roadster before paying that much. But hey, he's rich, and I'm just a dumbass mechanic. So, he can laugh at me, way before I can laugh at him. Oh fuck it, after a few shots, I'm laughing anyway. ahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha. That's how I laugh when I'm drinking
I'm very familiar with all those cars and more. That's the problem I have with this one; it's a hodge-podge of design grabs from here and there, with strange skinny exhaust pipes, a plain jane dash and headlights that seem to be ornaments instead of part of the design, all aspects that the great designers would have shuddered at. I applaud their work and metal shaping abilities, I just feel they're more appreciators than designers. To take inspiration is one thing, to just plain take elements and force them together is this car.
36C8 nailed it. The classic cars were designed by great designers. Not ripped off a piece from here and a piece from there. I am glad to say I spent some of my working life in a shop that catered to the real classics. This thing is a sleek version of the Homer. A shit load of work polishing a turd. THOUGH I cant fault the work that went into it, that is awesome.
Hey, 475K is a grip of cash in my opinion. That rootbeer brown RPU that Pinkee(?) built that went for 195K last BJ was a BIGGER crime. That was one bad sonofabitch. Someone really got a bargain for 195K on that one
I know about them but I could care less about any of those makes. I dont want anyone asking me for Grey Poupon when I pull up to a stoplight.
Its hard to imagine a car bringing that much money when most of us are working for the average blue collar income. The guys out at that auction are alot of the high rollers in the car world and they can afford to spend what they see fit to have what they want. If one or two of them think the car is pretty cool, there goes the price. Honestly, I think the car is an interesting piece. It does make your mind wander back to a time of coach built cars with smooth flowing lines. But, I do think that they missed the boat a bit. As others have noted, the interior looked awfully plain and simple for such an "in your face" car. From a time period when gauges were beautiful it seems as though they ordered the biggest NAPA special they could find. Leaving the rest of the dash pretty bare looking. The body of the car does capture the essence of what they were after. Although it looks to me that the fenders are the only real attention grabbers. look closely at the body, aside from the boattail. Its really pretty simple, not alot of major compound curves, no body lines, no added design elements like say the scalloped edges on an auburn. I have a hard time believing that they have 7000 hours in it. I dont know if that"fact"and thinking of value based on effort affected the selling price. But 7000 hours is, ALOT of hours. I know that fabrication work takes alot of time when your starting with a clean slate but im not really seeing alot of crafts gadgetry, or swiss watch like inner workings that could add up to that amount of time and effort invested in it. I'd be willing to bet that a shop like say Marcells for instance. Given a rolling Firetruck chassis or whatever it may be? Could replicate that car from a drawing on a napkin in a fairly short amount of time. This is just my opinion, I do think its a cool car and I'm glad they built it. I just think it could use a few more thousand hours to get all the rest of the details buttoned up that it seems to be lacking. But, who am I to talk? I'm still stuck on old Fords! Zach
I know the guy has bought a lot of cars over the past couple of years....I can't imagine that there is not some sort of museum in the plans for the future!!!!
There are some great fabricators out there that can build a lot more for a lot less. How many real cool hotrods could you buy for that money.This car is ridiculously proportioned and utterly useless except to show off. As a work of art? so so. The harmony of form and function in an automobile is so important very few ever get it right. This car is a parade float. Sorry
Nice to see people putting that much time & effort into there project. Blood - sweat & tears for sure. A labor of love. Following there own design ideas to a finished work, and imparting as much craftsmanship as they could afford. I think That's cool. If you think 7000 hours is to much time - maybe there slow - or maybe you never took on a project this big. And next time your out by the bay, Stop in & see Moal. - Ask him how much time His Ferrari Roadster took to build - then sit down & ask him what was it's final cost.
Yes, not to mention, I wish I had 7000 hours to kill fucking around like that. But, for $475K I can buy a decent place to live AND a couple bitchen old cars. That car, and others like it are for the extremely wasteful rich, not real car guys
I think it's a real "conversation piece" for the wine sippers at Pebble Beach. The craftmanship is amazing and the idea is pretty cool. It just looks excessive and exagerated. Seems like alot of money,especially from a guy who KNOWS what cars are worth! I wouldn't call it a collector car or a future classic. You would think that an original,one-off,hand made,custom car,with plenty of magazine coverage,and built by a world famous builder,like Ed Roth,Custom car,would bring more money than that car. Don't you think? In comparison,the Beatnic Bandit should be worth a million,right? Would this car be on the same level as the "Whathehey",built (i think)by Boyd's shop? It seems to follow the same path,as far as copying a look of Coach-built era car. As far as it bringing a "pile" of money,down the road,well we'll just have to wait an see. I don't think so because the craftmanship is there,but the details aren't at the same level. The dash is an example. I've seen better details on some of the cars built here on the HAMB. I thought the dash looked like a "Kit-car". The fact that the underneath wasn't detailed also leads me question the money. You can't compare it with a Duesenburg either! They are in a class all their own. 475K? Well,only if you wanted it REEEAAALLL BAAAD!
Yes, Woodlites. May have been standard equipment on that cool old duPont, and were standard on Ruxtons. I read a while back the lights were being repopped by someone, but in aluminum.
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