Why let this die. Neat car ya got there Rick. It puts a smile on my face. And I have no problem with it at all. Well..............okay, one. Those plastic fuel lines. Sure they're authentic to the '50's and early '60's, but we didn't know any better then. You could be just as authentic, and safer (I know, it's a pain in the butt word isn't it?) with black, reinforced "rubber" hoses. If you're going to flame me for that comment, please take off the caps key so it doesn't seem like you're yelling.

Now some observations from real life, So Cal, experience in the early '60's. I never saw, at least driving on the street, any cars that looked like what we now call Rat Rods. That expression didn't exist then either to my knowledge. The closest thing I ever saw to what is called a rat rod then was a model A roadster, channeled, in black primer, no engine, sitting in a guys yard on Saticoy in Canoga Park. It looked like hell, even to a 13 year old novice. What I did see were lots of '30's and a few'40's vintage hot rods, mostly coupes, some sedans, an occasional roadster or phaeton. Some were painted and upholstered to a pretty nice standard for the day. Many were in primer, about an even mix of grey, black, and red oxide. Didn't seem to be any rationale for which color the owner chose, just personal preference I'd guess. My next door neighbor had a black primer '50 Olds Holiday hardtop, with white wheels and black walls. Loved that car. A guy down the street had a light grey primered '41 Convertible. A few blocks away, a kid had a '50 Ford coupe, and each boltable panel was a different color. Instead of doing body work, he replaced the fenders, and doors with junk yard parts. Sort of a patch work quilt. Near my high school was a Metallic blue '32 3 window coupe, pretty high level car even for that time. The son of a gal my mom worked with had a '29 A coupe, full fendered, rears bobbed, white roll and pleat guts, black primer, red wheels and black walls. There were many more along these lines, but my favorite was the guy on my paper route with the full fendered, stock top, '33 or 4 Ford 3 window (at that time I didn't know how to tell the difference between the years, but given history, it probably had a '34 hood and grille either way). It had black roll and pleat interior, and light grey primer outside with chrome, reversed wheels, no caps. It sat just a bit lower than most cars of that period, he was ahead of the curve. Hot rods weren't as low then as they are today (with the exception of a few true lakes cars).

So what's my point? Hot rods have long been about personal expression. And a lot of what is purported today to be a reflection of "the good ol' days", is really just one person's interpretation of what they THINK it was like. And there's nothing out of whack about that. Maybe the car doesn't accurately represent the reality of the time, but had today's builder been around then, he may well have made the car then as he has now. But the "artist" needs to understand too, that if he's going to put his "canvas" out for viewing it's going to get critiqued. And it ain't all gonna be favorable. So, back to what I said before. It's not worth losing sleep over. Opinions are like belly buttons (or the orifice of your choice), everyone's got one.

Now, is this car a rat rod, or should we create the class called "patina" rod. And is it a real old timey car, or a "clone" like Poteet's above. Only our buddy Foorden can tell us for sure. All I know is, I realllllllyyyyy like it.