Barn Finder Ikey H has been keeping his eyes open and has spotted this neat little Model A roadster for us to look at, so thank you for that Ikey. You will find this Ford listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Fort Collins, Colorado, it is being offered for sale with a clear title. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $5,100, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
I guess that I would call myself a recent convert to the whole rat rod look. I’ve come to like them because the look can offer so many contrasts. I like ideas like offsetting the rusty finish with fine looking pin-striping like this, which is present in several places on the car. While the body is pure 1929 Ford, the chassis is a 1931 model, and this is reflected in the title. The body has a nice rough and ready look about it but is free of actual rust. The owner has fitted heavy door latches in the name of safety. I also like the look of the red rims with hubcaps, chrome trim rings, and white-wall tires. A nice touch.
The interior trim carries the overall theme quite well. The instrument panel is complete, while the wheel and seat upholstery are both in good condition. There are no carpet or door trims, and whether the car stays this way will really depend on the taste of the new owner. I guess that one of the attractions of leaving the interior as it is would be that given the fact that the car doesn’t have a top, if you were to get caught in an unexpected rain shower, there’s not a lot in there that would need to be dried out.
The beating heart of the beast is a 1946 Ford flat-head V8 engine. This is coupled to a T5 5-speed manual transmission and a truck banjo rear end. Stopping power is provided by juice brakes. The owner doesn’t give us any indication of what upgrades, if any, have been performed on the engine, but we can see an upgraded intake and dual carburetors, custom headers, and an aluminum radiator to keep those temperatures under control.
This is one of those cars that it is hard to place a realistic value on, because it doesn’t really conform to any normal pricing structure. The final sale price will be very dependant on finding a buyer who finds the car really appealing. Looking at the bidding history on eBay, it appears that there are at least 6 people out there that like it enough to consider handing over their money to own what is essentially a fun car. So, what’s it really worth? I guess that depends on what price you are willing to place on having fun.
Very nice. Very similar to one that I built many years ago. I’d probably just lower it a little bit and leave it alone.
I remember a relatively unknown 1950 movie called Hot Rod. This car reminds me of the one the main star drove.
It doesn’t have any inner door panels either. Cool ass ride.
This is a real hot rod
This is not a Rat Rod. This is more of a Traditional Hot Rod. Like mine.
Sweet!!
A simple but fun little hot rod to drive on warm, sunny summer weekends. My kind of fun.
Here’s mine but it is long gone now.
Nice. When was that?
Cool hot rod…will be interesting to see what it sells for. I hate the term “old school- still wondering where the old school is that they are talking about. This is what you used to build a car when you used what you had laying around, and scrounged from the junkyards. Never painted it because it was never finished. A breath of fresh air…good luck to the new owner.
Cheers
GPC
Love these..reminds me of my uncle Hank my god father..he used to drive down the 2 lane country highway 50 miles an hour,he was getting old!.turns out in his youth he was a hell raiser..loud harleys with short straight pipes and a model A roadster throwing dirt up in the air on back roads ..had his own little track on the farm.he was something!
In the lead photo it has folding stainless windshield stanchions. The picture taken from the inside of the windshield shows painted non-folding windshield posts. Am I seeing this right?
Yes you are, and the non-folding is an unchopped windshield. Folding stanchions are worth some dough so he might have moved them to another car.
Makes one wonder what the buyer is going to get, doesn’t it.
It’s too bad that accurate terminology is worth so little in modern communication. Sorry Adam, this is not a rat rod. In days gone bye we would have called this a jalopy. A car pieced together within a limited budget with emphasis on performance improvement. Rat rods are an “in your face” creation intended to be more an expression of rebellion against highly polished, overly refined (at least per the RR crowd) hot rods. Their primary objective is shock value. Some might see that as a difference without distinction, but if the category is important to you, you’ll get it.
This was for sale recently for the same price but didn’t hit the mark then either. The body is just too damaged to earn that much unless the absolute perfect, shared taste, buyer comes along. At mid teens he might improve his chances.
Bravo Uncle Bob!!! With the limited viewing I have done on the Hokey -@ss TV shows- if you want to write checks you sit down with a designer and tell him what you want and he make$ it happen. MY experience has been to pull that junker out of a junkyard or a farmers field and build it as you want. We have come a long way from this to 1-800-STREETROD and a Visa card, or ordering on line. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I order all the time for pieces I can’t come up with myself. and IMHO- there are many ratrods that are so unsafe that they shouldn’t be on the road, then some are truly works of Art showing off super craftsmanship that is in bare metal and encouraged to rust. Guess this old grey hair is out of the loop. Well back to Gas welding and coathangers for welding rods!!!\
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-1011-rat-rod-history/
Ha Ha, The definition of Rat Rod is elusive. The best article on the subject was in Hot Rod magazine in an article by editor Brian Brennan. It describes 3 different categories under the heading “Rat Rod”. I built one, and like one of the descriptions above is created from parts I collected for years, is well engineered & built using techniques mostly from the 50s (my boyhood). The Merc Flathead I started with was unworthy so rather than going with a sbc, I ended up with a Ford 300 six, but in the old days there were lots of rods with ‘banger engines. Some people are offended by such cars, but back in high school ( 60s) there were cars in the parking lot that offended some folks then too. My pals who built them didn’t care what folks thought back then, and many Rat Rodders today have the same attitude. :-) Terry J
Another shot of my RaTT Rod. Terry J
Ha Ha. What is a Rat Rod? Best article I saw on the subject is attached:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-1011-rat-rod-history/
Terry J
People that are caught up in terminology whether it be slang or common verbiage show themselves as nothing more than posers every time. Doesn’t matter if it’s cars, motorcycles, music, art or anything else. If you like it, forget attaching words to it and enjoy it. If you don’t like it find something you do like and move on.
Good comment LAB3. My RaTT Rod attached. The frame is from a 1925 Ford Model TT (Ton Truck) thus the name. Ford 300 inline 6, C4, 9″. :-) Terry J
Terry – what year is the grille shell? And the hood? Very, very nice. Give us some more details – you’re just teasing us right? Chuck in NE Kansas
Sorry , didn’t mean to hijack the listing. Had trouble downloading pics and ended up duplicating. Grille shell? 1934 Ford commercial. Hood? was a 1948 F1. Started with a 1925 Model TT frame, a 1928 Model A Cowl a 1948 F1 pickup bed trailer and a pile of parts collected over 10 years that included 16 different years of Ford. :-) Terry J
It’s bid up to $11,766.00 at this point.
Illegal to drive in Colorado with no fenders, and I suspect most other states
OK in Oregon if properly registered (Antique or Special Interest / Street Rod). Terry J
Nice rig !
Looks like the fan is mounted on the front of modern alternator conversion!?
Clever
If you need one, here you go; https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Offenhauser-Flathead-Alternator-Pulley-w-Fan-Mount-1932-38-Ford,25025.html
This is what started it all.
Love this car! This was the car of my dreams as a young boy in early sixties. And it still is!