2009 Autorama
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From: Sacramento Ca
Car: 91 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: Killer SBC, w/ RV cam
Transmission: AutoMatic, w/ shift kit
Axle/Gears: Posi-Traction
2009 Autorama
Well I dragged the wife and kid to the Sacramento Autorama.
Rocklin Automotive did the exhaust, wheels & tires on one of the entries,
(a 54 Chevrolet). BTW, I personally bent the exhaust myself.
Anyway, it was good to see a bunch of nice hot rods, especially w/ TPI.
It was good to see Classic Hot Rods running 3rdgen TPI set ups & thinking they had the ****.
The only diff was they'rs were polished, chromed, & painted to match.
Rat rods were big this year, maybe unfinished hotrods will the next big thing??? hint daily driven 3rdgen's???
I'll post some pics soon.
Rocklin Automotive did the exhaust, wheels & tires on one of the entries,
(a 54 Chevrolet). BTW, I personally bent the exhaust myself.
Anyway, it was good to see a bunch of nice hot rods, especially w/ TPI.
It was good to see Classic Hot Rods running 3rdgen TPI set ups & thinking they had the ****.
The only diff was they'rs were polished, chromed, & painted to match.
Rat rods were big this year, maybe unfinished hotrods will the next big thing??? hint daily driven 3rdgen's???
I'll post some pics soon.
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 629
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From: The Sticks, Ca.
Car: '79 Camaro; '84 Z28
Engine: 350; none
Transmission: TH-350, 2500 stall; none
Axle/Gears: posi, 3.08; disc, 3.23
Re: 2009 Autorama
I still think that with all of the new technology and engine designs, nothing looks better than the TPI, especially polished and cleaned up. Would have liked to have been there. The "rat rod" has been making a strong comeback in the custom car culture in the last few years. Kind of cool though, the flat black paintjob my '79 has worn for the last 10 years went from "hooptie" to "bad***" and all I had to do was wait.
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 5,244
Likes: 14
From: Sac, CA
Car: '89 GTA
Axle/Gears: 3.27/9-bolt
Re: 2009 Autorama
A rat rod is a style of hot rod or custom car that, in most cases, imitates (or exaggerates) the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It is not to be confused with the somewhat closely related "traditional" hot rod, which is an accurate re-creation or period-correct restoration of a hot rod from the same era.
Most rat rods appear "unfinished" (whether they actually are or are not), with just the bare essentials to be driven.
The rat rod is the visualization of the idea of function over form. Rat rods are meant to be driven, not shown off.
Most rat rods appear "unfinished" (whether they actually are or are not), with just the bare essentials to be driven.
The rat rod is the visualization of the idea of function over form. Rat rods are meant to be driven, not shown off.
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 629
Likes: 0
From: The Sticks, Ca.
Car: '79 Camaro; '84 Z28
Engine: 350; none
Transmission: TH-350, 2500 stall; none
Axle/Gears: posi, 3.08; disc, 3.23
Re: 2009 Autorama
What you quoted there outatime, basically sums up the appearance of my '79. A lot of people I run into call it the "rat rod" of muscle cars. The basic idea of these cars is to "drive it like it is", not to just hide it away until it is a showroom perfect show cars. Some of the cars are built to be a "rat rod", but most owners will tell you they are works in progress and may someday even see a shiney paint job.
Couple quick "rat rod" examples
Couple quick "rat rod" examples
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,428
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From: Sacramento Ca
Car: 91 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: Killer SBC, w/ RV cam
Transmission: AutoMatic, w/ shift kit
Axle/Gears: Posi-Traction
Re: 2009 Autorama
There was an entire section dedicated to "rat rods". It was kinda cool, those car owners go all out, dressing in 50's fashion & hair to match.
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Jan 22, 2019 12:27 PM