57 Chevy Wagon Rat Rod

One of the more interesting rat rods ive seen of late...check out what the front air scoop is made from...some love rat rods, some hate them but i see innovation in this baby...the looks this car must get! understand its not everyones cup of tea but i admire the imagination of welding 2 front fenders together for the engine scoop and using the 57 chev grill bar to cover the straight axle..i do realise this is a station forum not a hot rod forum but hey,its a wagon and variety is the spice of life!

 

My favorite car of all time is the 57 Chevy. I assume that this wagon must have been too far gone to save in the conventional way. I would never have pursued this course if the car had been mine, but I have to admit, I kind of like it. The first time I saw a photo of this car I remembering thinking something to the effect of "huh. that's weird. Kinda cool. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I think I like it."

 

I gotta say, if I was a Chevy guy, not only is the airscoop really cool, I'd make one into my mailbox....

 

Dang...now you just gave me a Steller idea for those 2 37 plymouth fenders ive had laying around for 30 years..

 

Bahstidge, you're stealing my idea!

 

I might be wrong, but I seem to remember this car from a rat rod magazine I had about 8-10 years ago. I may still have it...somewhere. I know rat rods aren't for everyone, but I've got a real soft spot for them. I've seen some pretty awesome ones both in print and in person. However, I'd never do that to a restorable car with its original drivetrain. I'd never chop up that kind of car. But rollers that are rough and ready are just right for the rat rod look. I'm not sure where that rat rod magazine may be, but I may have to look for it. Regardless, I think it's a super cool ride.

 

I saw this car years ago as well somewhere...i like ratrods because of the "anything goes" meaning you dont have to satisfy anyone but yourself in the build...not the stock original folks, not the restomod folks ect...you can use your imagination and what you got laying around and when it all comes together you can stand back and go "dang" look at the Frankenstein monster i just created! i tend to like the ratrod pickups the most personally...as a tri-five chevy owner myself, i too hope a savable wagon body wasnt used in creating this masterpiece...

 

Yeah, for sure. That's part of what I like about the rat rod thing is the uniqueness and personality that goes into each car and each feature. I've never been into sleek, gleaming high dollar hot rods. There's just something about the look of rat rods that are just "cool" to me. But, I've always had an odd perversion for old, rusty cars anyway, so I guess it just suits my weird sensibilities about certain things. Not all rat rods are like that, of course, but the crusty ones are always pretty cool. It sure would be neat to have a few rat rod owners here though! I think a little wagon diversity is always a good thing!

 

Well said WagonTheDog!! as a car hobby guy ive owned well over 200 cars (so far) , i can have fun sitting in a car in the woods just imagining the car when it was new, who might have bought it and drove it off the lot new, and the days and times it must have had..ive taken pride in the fact ive saved cars and brought them back when no one else would have tryed..and ended up "upside down" financially of course but its my passion and therefore worth it to me.. judging from nearly 1000 views to this post and only about 6 replys i dont think theres too many ratrod fans on station wagon forums but at least theres 2 of us! and this is still a wonderfull site im grateful for..

 

Thanks! "Only" 200 cars though, huh? Sounds like an excuse to make it into the 300 cars club! Maybe get a Chrysler 300 for your 300th car to commemorate the occasion! Then again, I'm a Mopar guy, so that's what comes to mind.

But yes, I think the same things when I see cars sitting in the woods, neglected and sadly rotting away. I also think of what parts can be saved before it's too late, and about how the entire car can be saved if it's not too far gone. Because like I always say: once they're gone they're gone forever. I'll give you props for saving old cars when no one else may have done it though. You may not have succeeded in restoring every one, but at least you saved them, which is the most important part, so kudos to you!

But yeah, wow. Over 1,000 views, but only a few replies. I was going to mention in my initial post that I don't think most rat rod people would gravitate toward this kind of site, but it'd still be cool to have at least a couple. And yes! At least there's two rat rod supporters here! I'm sure there are others here too though. Hopefully they chime in at some point!...

 

I wonder if it would be appropriate to ask the powers that be for a new section on the forum for Hi Performance , racing, or hotrod and custom, station wagons? but i mean no disrespect to this great site and the love of original wagons that were and are a sign of the times..Ive subscribed to hot rod magazine for like 30 years and wagons are making their comeback and are in pretty much every issue now but hard to guage if theres that kind of interest here?

 

Well, I'm still relatively new here, so I don't know all the different threads and sub-forums, but I think some of that is already accepted and catered toward here. However, I don't think it's disrespectful to ask. You can always send one of the administrators a message to ask, and to state why you feel it's a good idea. There's no harm in that at all. But I'm sure those kind of wagon owners are welcome here too.

 

I absolutely LOVE Rat Rods. I'm an artist myself and I see it as a creative way to express yourself. My wife and I attend a Rat Rod show every year near us and some of them are just incredible.