Manufacturers spend thousands of hours and an untold amount of money devising the name of their latest offering. The badge needs to achieve two aims. The first is that it must, in some way, encourage an emotional response from potential buyers, motivating them to hand over their cash to park the car in question in their driveway. The second aim is more complex. If the manufacturer intends to market that car internationally, they must ensure that the chosen name does not suffer what we shall call an “unfortunate” meaning when translated into a foreign tongue. Please don’t laugh, because it has happened! Those bold individuals who tackle a custom build are not constrained by those needs. They can christen their creation whatever they like, whether it represents the character of the car or the person themselves. Such is the case with this 1930 Ford Roadster Hot Rod. Its creator christened it “The Barbarian,” a name that seems as appropriate as any. He has reached the point where he feels that it needs a new home, so he has listed it for sale here on Craigslist. The Ford is located in Silver Lake, Washington, and you could park The Barbarian in your garage by handing the owner $12,500.
It is common for builders to create these old-school hot rods utilizing fiberglass panels or bodies. That is not the case with The Barbarian. All of its panels are genuine steel, and they look pretty good. There are no appreciable dents or other damage, although there are some minor bruises in the lower sections below the doors. Due to the photo quality, I have been unable to determine what frame hides under this classic or whether it is structurally sound and rust-free. The panels look clean, which is an encouraging start. Typical of vehicles of this style created in the 1960s and 1970s, its exterior features plenty of custom paint touches. The creator applied an orange base coat and then employed various tricks to bless the Ford with a distinctive appearance. These include fogging and blending, along with some beautifully executed airbrushed murals. The effect is stunning and ensures that The Barbarian should attract attention wherever it goes. Rounding out the package are color-coded Rally wheels with spotlessly clean trim rings and center caps.
For many people, one of the greatest attractions of creating a vehicle like The Barbarian is that they aren’t constrained by dealing with a rare and numbers-matching classic. That allows scope for them to devise the drivetrain of their dreams. In this case, the Ford is powered by a 383 Stroker V8 that sends its power through a four-speed Muncie transmission to a 9″ Posi rear end. It isn’t clear what sort of power this V8 is generating, but the low weight of this Hot Rod means that it should offer stunning performance. Disappointingly, the owner supplies no information on how well The Barbarian runs or drives, but the overall presentation is encouraging. We also don’t receive any clear interior shots, but what we can glimpse suggests that the seat is sorely in need of new upholstery. It’s looking pretty tired and worn, but once again, the buyer can replace it with the upholstery of their choice. It looks like the builder has added some essential aftermarket gauges, but the state of any other upholstery or carpet is impossible to confirm.
As with any classic car, The Barbarian will not appeal to everyone. However, for a potential buyer looking for a vehicle that will allow them to let down their hair and have some unbridled fun, it has to be a hot contender. The asking price remains in affordable territory, and when you consider what it might cost to create a clone, it looks highly competitive. It has only been on the market for a few days, but do you think that someone might snap it up pretty quickly?
12K for a nice, shiny, brightly-colored Barbarian! Seems like a good deal to me, considering this is about the same price as the torn-apart Chalet and rusty C-10 above.
Looks like a nice build and a ton of fun to me.
This one has that “Rat Fink” aura about it.
I like it, don’t have room for it but still like it none the less.
“Manufacturers spend thousands of hours and an untold amount of money devising the name of their latest offering.”
**Mercedes & Lexus have left the chat**
Is it the displacement? The horsepower? Or have they fully gone over to the number in the model designation being the monthly lease payment?
Nice to see a manual trans in there , looks like a fun ride. Going to be plenty quick
And to top it off it’s a Muncie, I wonder if it’s Rock Crusher?
well built and well priced. No Problem!!
For three times the money, I’d rather have the VW above.
This car is about 2 hrs. from me.
Certainly looks like an early 80’s build? I like the overall vibe of the car, but would definitely ditch the “Bowtie” rally wheels for something more “blue oval”. Even if only for some old FoMoCo steelies.
I briefly googlelated for R.O. Powell & Pomeroy (Paint work), but found nothing. Also, didn’t try to hard.
Being located “semi-local”, I would be curious to know more about the painters, but who knows where the car was originally “built”? GLWS!
Take a good look at it, it’s in bad shape. I would not pay 12k for this
And to top it off it’s a Muncie, I wonder if it’s Rock Crusher?
Is it just me or is the back fenders radiused wrong? it looks like it’s got way more space between the fender and the tire at the back that it does the front.
True dat, Rick. Goofyness.
i’d throw some skinnier front wheels and tires on it and some fatter wheels and tires in the back and run it
Real nice Chevy…..Why did they put a ford body on it???
What? Somebody washed a car while taking photo’s for Barnfinds? Oh my god! Total chaos! What is the world coming to?
Very nice hot rod. But I’d have to put front fenders to keep it from throwing rocks or other road junk at me. Price seems fair.
God bless America
Looks good in the pictures. But you can’t tell much about it. No clove ups or close engine pictures. No interior pictures. Price is fair. If it’s in decent condition.
Well here goes, this is a piece of junk, from a Hot Rod stand point, It really isn’t a Model A. Yes it is pieces of a Model A, put together to resemble a Model A Roadster , what it really looks like is a Dune Buggy. Maybe we could say beach Buggy and it could be from the 1960’s and was the star of one of the Teenage Beach Party Movies. If you think this is a well built Hot Rod, you have not a clue what that means, so you should choose your words more carefully.