not everyone can build a safe hot rod ,,,

its amazing what i find on some of the customers rods i work on,i been getting allot of 80's style rods coming in for upgrades lately,i had a chopped and channeled full fender all steel 32 ford tudor come in last week for a check over,he been driving it for about a month,the guy just bought it (25k!),he is not a car guy but retired and wanted a hot rod,it had rubber fuel line from front to back,splice and splice of metal tubing,zip tied to the x member next to the exhaust !!,and its been there for a while,,,the steering shafts where pipe welded to the end of the old ford column,the bearing in the end of the shaft welded to the column after they shortened it ,and the u joints where swivels for sockets !!,,the brake lines where all leaking at the flares and had compression fitting all the way back,,thats just a few things that really jumped out at me,he is going to spend allot of $ to make it safe ,,,but,thats what is keeping me really busy in my shop,safty upgrades, really bad e bay buys,cars pulled out of other shops that the body shop guys screwed them,or peaple that buy a car without knowing what they are looking at,,,,,on the flip side i am getting a good collection on my wall of shame!!

 

It's good for them that they have somebody they can trust to get it safe! Good for you that you can make a living doing it.

 

I see way to much of that stuff.

 

I just heard today that part of the revised registration process for any new rods down here involves a lane change test (completing a slalom test at 65 mph through cones laid out on an airstrip).

 

Thats crazy but im not suprised.I seen to many weird thngs selling parts to people over the years.Ive even refuse to sell parts to people who were doing unsafe stuf with them. I was always told it might be your mother they hit.

 

Our cars are built to and have annual inspections against these guidelines. With 3 inspections during the build. This system is managed by hot rodders for hot rodders.

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/street_rod.aspx

I love the system as all the cars around you are built to a good standard and within 12months have been checked over.

 

Put me in coach I would love to do that with my hotrod.

 

Yeah,theres a sucker born every minute.Glad you're doing it right.

 

Lotsa butchers out there and they're not just building rods either. Good thing he brought it in to you for a look see.

 

I see the worst of it in the '30s style rods at local cruise nights. Gumball welding on critical brackets, frame splices that scare me, the gas hose thing I've seen, rust running out of tie rod sockets, unsupported brake lines, etc.

I made the mistake of pointing something out ONCE to the owner and he looked at me like I had 9 heads. I say nothing now.

Bob

 

I think most people out there are just nuts. They read about hot rods and race cars and have the money to purchase serious machinery and never have learned the basics of what they are dealing with and never have the respect of how dangerous it can be. An engine builder friend was actually sued by a customer that crashed his car claiming the blower motor that Don built him made too much power!
I quit doing 'tub jobs' for that very reason, back in the 80's bracket racers needed to have that work done and then some fool tried to drive one on the street and a no-account magazine did a feature article on how cool it was to drive around in a tubbed out claptrap. Look at the shit we are in now because of it, if i see one more camaro with a blower sticking out thru the hood and big meats under i will throw up on the spot. Even with all the nuts and bolts in the right places, brake lines tight and secure, lights, windshield wipers and horn all work fine they are just plain trecherous pieces of work and have no business going around any corner other than turning onto the return road.
Got off on a bit of a rant there, touchy subject i guess. oj

 

BUT, would you like to be required to do it?

 

Its amazing what I find on the internet forums.
Some people can't construct a paragraph or even a sentence.
Some guys are not allowed to use proper punctuation or capitalization.

 

Traditional spell check ?

 

Had a guy bring me a 'roll cage' he bought out of a junkyard and wanted it installed in his street car for safety. I bent one tube over and then the others in front of him and he got a little pissed. It was made of EXHAUST TUBING. He figured out I was helping him and he screwed himself buying that crap. tnrotter

 

Iz dat wot a "rat rod" iz???

 

Dat diz.

 

I was eagerly awaiting the 'One' fng looking to impress his new found peers.

 

I didn't know it was required to use proper sentence structure to make a post. But at least most people can fill out there profile. Were mostly just a bunch of grease monkeys not english scholars. Stick to the topics. or go play with your dolls.

 

I know what you mean..... I have a customers channeled Model "A" coupe in right now that was an E-bay purchase. Way too much scary stuff to mention, but highlights included a GM steering box welded to the frame, rear suspension setup so that it actually would bind in five different points if it moved more than 3/8"! Worst part is that my shop is the third shop it has been in, and no one noticed these problems! The first shop ordered aprox. 2000.00 of "Street roddy" stuff that was for a stock height coupe, (Walker radiator, firewall kit, floor kit, etc.) none of which can be used. The second shop screwed a Wiend blower on the big block, and was waiting for a "welder friend" to weld a Vega box mount (in the wrong place!) "so he could test drive it". I didn't mention the front end set up, because it was so wrong that it would take an entire page to describe it. Nor the brake pedal ass. tack welded to the frame, or the salvaged brake lines with tons of kinks, or the....................... After all is said and done it will save, but at what cost?

 

You go EB!

 

You see it all depends where you are standing when looking at these things.
For instance,the guy that builds his t-bucket with a cordless drill and a Harbour Freight gasless wire welder may be happy with it, but to the guy with a two car garage ,a Miller 200 and ten years experience it will look like crap.
But then a decent fabricator with a full setup garage will think they both stink.
Next step up is the guy who does it for a living and he wonders how any of the above should be allowed on the road.
Next up is the superstar, has his own t-v show and hundreds of builds to his credit as well as Riddler awards, he looks at all of the others and wonders why they turn out such junk.
Next is the guy that restores Jay Lenos Dusenburgs and he looks at all of them and giggles.
We all would like to think our peers here would approve of our cars but in reality that is not going to happen.
What I determine as safe and stylish is not what everyone else agrees on.
Traditional rods were not always built to be safe.

 

Shit I've been known to work outside in the mud with hand tools and I know better than to build stuff that way. Rubber lines all the way, socket U-joints, shitty welding, doesn't belong in any car.

 

i read the whole thing and understood every word,i don't read the complete item every time but this one held my attention, in fact i was thinking he said it well, until i read your critique i didn't see anything wrong with his post,

RodP

 

I hear what your saying but if you are building a car with a cordless drill you should at least have your shit together and actually read the tech articles in magazines to learn how to build something that won't kill you or even worse someone I know. Alot of these cars are built this way not because of what tools are used or skill level. Alot of them are built because the guy was just too fucking lazy and could give a shit about the safety of the guy he sold it to.Just my 2 cents.

 

No excuse for doing it wrong. We share these roads and should be better than the "civilian" drivers in our habits and equiptment.

 

I commend your "customer" for having the foresight to take it to a professional for an inspection. It is a learning curve for your customer-but one that he will later appreciate, I'm sure. I do not believe all vehicles on E-bay are mis-represented though. I personally have sold several vehicles on e-bay, and have been very honest about their condition-my 100% feedback attest to that fact. I know that I am not the only one, who is honest out there. Always have the vehicle inspected before you lay your hard earned dollars down (there are people who provide that service no matter where the vehicle is). I know this sounds a bit self-righteous, but good sellers are getting slammed because of the bad ones out there. Just wanted to get it off my chest.

 

I had a o/t truck that had a chopped top and when i got down to bare metal to redo the body work i found that the top was only tacked back in!

 

40FORDPU Absolutely no offense intended, I know the vast majority of Ebay sellers are the real thing. I even believe that whoever constructed thing thing honestly thought he built something good, and of value. It does go back to the point made by glmarkie and Tman, it should be built safely. It doesn't matter what tools the car was assembled with, or what parts are used, they need to be assembled correctly so the car is safe. There is so much information out there today about our hobby/business, that just by reading magazines, books, or a couple of weeks here and someone should have a good idea of what is safe. That said, I don't personaly mind scary cars that much, because it puts food on the table and a roof over my head. As long as no one gets hurt.