Purple nurple

Rat Rods Rule

Help Support Rat Rods Rule:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

lowbudget50

Creators of all things awesome
Joined
Sep 23, 2012
Messages
5,815
I did not plan on doing it build right up on this car but I figure I'm touching so much of it I might as well. Probably 2 years ago I have this custom purple Chevy in my shop and I work on a multitude of things. I was originally called out to look at the car because the air ride was not responding. I repaired everything to the brain box and got it working for the guy. It been came to my shop for a couple other small issues. Fast forward to about 3 months ago. The only reach out to me again because the air ride system completely stopped working. I made a trip out to his place to check it out and come to find out the ridetech control box took a dump. The shop in town that had installed it originally has since gone out of business and there's good reason for it. They installed the dumbest control system for this air ride I have ever seen. It's 100% wireless controller. There is no direct link from the brain box to the controller in the front of the car or your phone. It's all Bluetooth and it absolutely sucks. After talking to ride Tech I realized that would not be replacing it with ridetech components. I called up my guys at bcfab in California and ordered an air lift system for it. While we are waiting on that the owner has a list of things that do not work properly on the car. From Windows to push button door pops oh, the master cylinder was leaking. After diving into the car more the second time around I have found some of the most janky work I have ever seen. I had kind of already noticed this from the first round of repairs I did. I feel really bad for the old guy who owns this car because this is his third complete restoration on this car and it's his most radical and I think it's probably the worst. None of the window seal properly or at all, the wiring looks like a blind third-grader did it. Anything that they fabricated doesn't function properly. As you can see in the pictures they had fabricated a new peace for the PIN to go through on the brake lever, and in doing so it created binding and it bent the push rod for the brake booster. So now that we have installed a brand new brake booster and master cylinder proportioning valve combo those seem to be working properly. I replaced all the hardware that has fallen out of his power windows. Even with everything tight they still do not steal against anything. This car is going to be loud inside and leaky if it ever rains. I'll keep you guys up to date on the air ride replacement as it goes along
 

Attachments

  • 0512222232_HDR.jpg
    0512222232_HDR.jpg
    68 KB · Views: 30
  • 0512222232a_HDR.jpg
    0512222232a_HDR.jpg
    68.7 KB · Views: 26
  • 0512222302_HDR.jpg
    0512222302_HDR.jpg
    88.4 KB · Views: 25
  • 0512222302a_HDR.jpg
    0512222302a_HDR.jpg
    95.4 KB · Views: 25
  • 0512222302b_HDR.jpg
    0512222302b_HDR.jpg
    83.6 KB · Views: 24
  • 0512222302c_HDR.jpg
    0512222302c_HDR.jpg
    108.4 KB · Views: 32
  • 0512222302d_HDR.jpg
    0512222302d_HDR.jpg
    159.7 KB · Views: 31
  • 0512222303_HDR.jpg
    0512222303_HDR.jpg
    104.8 KB · Views: 26
  • 0512222303a_HDR.jpg
    0512222303a_HDR.jpg
    116.5 KB · Views: 24
well.... some cars just need to be built 3 times, right...? nope....

At least she`s in capable hands now.

Hahahaha, I guess. He has owned this old girl for many years. Its his baby
 
Last edited:
My buddy had a shop for years & you wouldn't believe the messes he's had to clean up after some yahoos totally screwed up some guys car & took them for big bucks. Several times he's gone to get cars & found the "shop" closed & all contents gone!

BoB
 
I see/hear all the time when someone is looking for advice on building a car that they are told to just buy one done. Unfortunately, more often than not, "Done" is some version of what this car is. Shoddy work, a lack of forethought, and requiring a rebuild of several systems. Wiring seems to be a common one.

I have 2 friends going through this right now, they bought cars in the last 1-2 years and are redoing the wiring and a lot of mechanical stuff because what was there was just not good.

Some of it is amateurs but some is "professional" shops that shouldn't be in business. I feel bad for the customer in this case. I hope you can make some big improvements to the car for him so that he can enjoy it!
 
What a beautiful old Chevy! Such a shame that somebody took advantage of the guy. I feel like the same thing happened to my car before I got it. Whoever did the engine install and paint job did a rushed halfasssed job. Only wiring on mine was from the hot side of the starter to the ignition switch and a wire to the solenoid and one to the distributor, and it was all the same gauge red wire! None of the original wiring was any good and wasn't hooked up. Only the front brakes were plumbed, the rear line was pinched closed. And the transmission pan was sitting on the wishbone, dents in the pan proved that it was driven that way!

I can say the only thing done right was my interior. Not the flashiest, but well done. I'm sure somebody paid out good money for what was done, but they got taken advantage of. I kinda figure it was probably an older guy, who, when he discovered how bad he had been taken, parked it and let it sit for years.
 
I've built a lot of hot rods so I have sold several too. I don't build to sell. And I have never done work for money on someone's car.
When I sell, I make a list of everything I don't like about the car, Things I could have done better or whatever. That way there's no surprises. I sell at a reasonable price so the buyer can put some money in the car and still feel okay about it. I see 4 or 5 hot rods that I built at Back to the 50's each June. Those buyers have remained friendly so they must be satisfied.

My friends Terry and Lee ran a welding and fab shop for years. They did repairs on rods built in well known California shops.

I too know of several times where a guy put buckets of money into a car and ended up with junk.
 
Well guys nit a lot picture worthy. I replaced master cylinder, proportioning valve in brake booster. Also fixed some Shenanigans they had going on at the brake pedal. I readjust it all the electric door pops. The installer was too lazy to make sure they were adjusted properly. Also did a bunch of work on the Windows trying to get them to roll up and down as smoothly as possible. Then top it off I replaced all the air management system. Much better
 

Attachments

  • 0522220924a_HDR.jpg
    0522220924a_HDR.jpg
    173.2 KB · Views: 21
  • 0522220925_HDR.jpg
    0522220925_HDR.jpg
    126.4 KB · Views: 22
  • 0522220924c_HDR.jpg
    0522220924c_HDR.jpg
    117.2 KB · Views: 22
  • 0522220924b_HDR.jpg
    0522220924b_HDR.jpg
    130.3 KB · Views: 15
You got me thinking LB. This coupe has been in the barn for a while now. Firewood keeps the trunk from blowing open 😏
 

Attachments

  • 20211003_141918.jpg
    20211003_141918.jpg
    93.2 KB · Views: 15
It's a fine looking sled, looks like he found the right guy to make it drive like it looks [cl[cl
You and Burger aren't too far apart, could be more custom Chevys hitting the road [ddd:D
 

Latest posts

Back
Top