It seems I have ruffled some feathers on the speedhunters site, but I couldn't help it. I have been branded a 'hater' and tossed aside to die a lonely "trash talk lady". If anyone on here knows of me, I'm a pretty easy going fellow. So I would like to bring this to the JNC table to see how all you folks feel about this new trend that speedhunters is glamorizing.

Last month an S2000 with nothing more then wheel spacers and a missing rear bumper took 'the favorite' at the Hellaflush car meet by the speedhunters reporter. I thought this was ridiculous comparing it to some of the incredible looking cars at this meet. Speedhunters is pushing some sort of art house movement. Praising the spirit, mood, and attitude while all they are looking at is a ball of yarn on a dinner plate.

Yesterday a post was made about an AE86 that has been hellishly tin snipped to death in order to achieve a type of battered rebel look. I made argument that I can respect a car that is naturally beaten, but when a cars build focus is to look like trash, that's when I loose respect, especially when it's a breed of classic. If work is slow like it is here, read through the comments and pictures and report back your feelings.

Here is yesterdays link (AE86)
http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/06/11/car-spotlight-gt-gt-the-rat-rolla.aspx

Here is the Bumperless S2000 masterpiece!
http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/05/25/event-gt-gt-hellaflush-meet.aspx

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Play: 89 Z31 Turbo
Blowing Away: 71 S30 Sr20det

Me personally, I don't "get" rat-rods that look like they're about to fall apart, nor do I get drift damage as a style statement, nor do I get VWs that have cosmetic rust...

But...I do understand that the modified car scene tends to get a bit samey after a while (eg 99% of all Hakos look the same!) and so I do understand when ppl get all excited over a car that is deliberately different from the crowd.

ps. I really didn't like that AE86 either But is it all that different from a bosozoku style, where for all intents and purposes, the base car is completely ruined by all those silly add-ons? I mean...we like those, and we get the joke when we see 1981 Soarers with 5ft tall vertical tailpipes

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IDK. I like haggard looking cars, but I agree, I like naturally haggard cars.

I hate to admit it, but I do like the bumperless S2000. But, I hate S2000s, so it just goes full circle. I did drive my mother's Ford Five Hundred for a few weeks without a front bumper cover and ziptied together up front, and actually liked the way it looked, but it's such a dullbox to begin with.

The AE86 is way too much. If had something haggard, I'd probably mess with it myself, but I agree that one crossed the tacky line way back. I do like the girl in the photo on the dash though.

I like the idea of Mad-Max-esque cars, cars put together with whatever is there because there's nothing else (well, in the film world). I can respect the AE86 for that, but cutting the fender in half? What exactly was that for?

I like parts of that AE86... but as a whole, no.

I will also say favorites can be subjective and it's hard to put reasons for a car being a favorite into perspective for others sometimes.

For instance, I was at a Hot Rod power tour event on Tuesday at Metro beach... and out of the hundreds of cars I looked at, my favorite was a haggard Pinto that was blue with yellow doors, a green fender, and a primer hood, no bumpers, a sticker that said "Don't drink and park:Accidents cause people" and one that said "This Delinquent is Fucking Your Honor Student". It also had some huge drag radials in back and skinnies in front on flat black wheels, no bumpers, and a pretty serious intercooler in front. But it was still way trashy looking (nowhere near as bad as that AE86), and among all the show cars there, that Pinto was the car that caught my fancy most.

I also want to say that I do love your Z.

I don't understand making a decent looking, decent working car into a rat rod. IMO that AE86 is a waste of a perfectly good car. Here in Florida, especially where I am, so close to the beach, cars rust... I mean serious rust. I personally like the look of the black primered datsun 620s and other JNCs, but what makes me like these cars is the fact that the black primer and wide whites actually improves the car. When you take a rusted-out bomber, get it running and rattle can it black, thats cool in my opinion, but when you take a minorly damaged car and make it worse, (sheet metal spoilers and pop rivits?!) thats just a waste.

The rat rod look was bred from necessity, when some kid says "hmm... I have a 37 chevy truck cab, a 40 ford frame and an old buick V8 in my side yard, lets see what we can make out of those", thats how a rat rod is formed, and I've found that the best looking rat rod is usually the cheapest car at the show.

Kev,

Good points. I see what you mean about the bosozoku rides but I still see a difference here. As funny looking and extreme the boso cars are, they are at least built to some kind of higher standard (don't laugh). Most of them built with sheet metal and some noticeable craftsmanship, as silly as that sounds. They didn't just cut through they're fender and pull on it, or glue a house gutter to the side of the car. Boso put time and effort into their silly builds. lol.

Jabco said it perfectly about how a true rat-rod is formed, " "hmm... I have a 37 chevy truck cab, a 40 ford frame and an old buick V8 in my side yard, lets see what we can make out of those". That is what rat-rods are about, not hacking up your $1000 purchase into jagged shrapnel.

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Play: 89 Z31 Turbo
Blowing Away: 71 S30 Sr20det

I thought rat-rods were supposed to make a statement something like "I'm going modify and tune the performance of my vehicle without concern for having shiny paint or being worried about some rust, because it's for using and driving, not polishing."

I get a little confused by some of the forced modifications, like drilling holes and stitching with barbed wire to make it look like a body panel has been sewn on. That gets into faux modifying.

And the whole style does not lend itself well to cars with plastic bumpers, unibody construction, and lots of synthetic parts. Those cars don't decompose gracefully like the older cars, and that decomposition is part of the look of a rat-rod.

i personally hate that ae86. and i love all old toyotas!ok for battle damaged ae86s thats fine. you messed up a drift it hit something but you can still rock it THATS FINE. if you purposefully cut up a old toyota for no purpose then that is not a person id like to be friends with or associate with. with our old cars its hard to find more of them let alone good condition ones! plus speedhunters has gone down hill ever since antonio alvendia has stopped posting up articles. he would have had something to say about his hachi's condition. i still enjoy when mike garret posts up stuff but most others i dont enjoy there articles anymore

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I agree with the points made above...if you have a rusty car and do your best to make it safe, then fine. But if you start off with a good car and make it rusty on purpose...

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Can't say I see what's so amazing about a S2000 with a missing bumper. I guess in that case it is something different cuz ther owner liked it that way and basically said, "F**k it I'll keep it that way." Nothing wrong with that to me. Props to the guy for not getting worried over a bumper.

The AE86 is just too much though. It's like the owner is trying too hard and is just makes the car come off as lame and tacky. I can understand the cable ties, rivets and damage since it's apparently a drift car, but come on, cutting a fender in half? That's a little too much for me.

I hate that ae86. Looks like the guy was trying way too hard. That's where the line is for me.

I do like cars with a little damage though (ae: my x32) kind of gives the car some character. But it has it's place. My car came into my possession with 20 year old dents and oem faded paint. That's where the character comes from, age and use. Now if I saw someone with a pristine x32 (like saggio's awesome condition twin to my car) cut there car up and dent it to look like mine, I'd slap them. That's ruining a car.

Now just to throw this out there, I like cosmetic rust too... it has it's place.

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'70 sl350, '86 spree, '88 cressida

yeah i don't think sh is the place for you, and i wouldn't be wasting my time going against the tide of forum or a blog
they're always guys trying to find or make new trends, and i think that's what's going on here
people get bored with the same old thing
doesn't really bother me as i've never followed car trends

I guess the reason I don't get cosmetic rust is because there ain't no such thing as "cosmetic rust" here in Florida. If you parked that BMW in front of my house it would be GONE in less than a year. The worst example I can think of is a mid to late 90s fullsize Dodge Ram in my town, I don't know if its driven any more but I see it parked right across from the beach on A1A... anyway, this thing is toast, by far the rustiest "late model" I've ever seen. I mean this thing has holes the size of my arm in the rockers, I'd bet you could see through one side of this thing to the other if you knocked some of the rust out of the way! I'll try to get pics if I can for the off topic section.

Alright here's where I start to contradict myself, I play trumpet and a own a few brass instruments and I'll have to admit I love the look of a raw brass horn with some age on it. I removed the laquer off one of my trombones and I actually think it improved the sound. Of course instruments are always kept indoors and cleaned regularly, so corrosion really isn't an issue.

Personally I think rat rods are awesome. And I love shows like Billetproof (http://billetproof.com/) that stand in direct opposition to the $100,000 Street Rods that had taken over the hot rod world.

And I echo the points above... where an ae86 battle-scarred from drifting or a well-patina'ed old nostalgic are naturally cool, but one that has been purposefully mangled? Ehhh, not so much.

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eh, i just ignore things like that. people have different tastes and styles. hate or not, it's still gonna happen. the s2000 is a joke, especially the people that gave it the title of it being "hella flush". as for the ae, well. there are worse looking ones out there. that's how that guy is, he doesn't want to look the same as the other corollas at the track, so he does that to it.

i too think rat rods are kick ass. i wish to have one some time.

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i might be young, but i love old school cars.
1981 corolla wagon
1985 corolla gts
model car blogspot
http://zenkitrdcoupe.blogspot.com/

I agree with Ben here, I have been wanting to do a rat rod for awhile now and have personally seen some that were extremely well thought out without dishing out lots of money. That will happen after the 76 project though lol.

The 86 is way over the top and too much of a bad thing. I for one say sure if you actually damage it then props for you to keep driving it with the battle scars prooving you have actually done something. But to hack something up for cosmetics? Come on! It's like taking one of these uber expensive hot rods and just hacking it away to make it a rat rod!

I'm on the fence when it comes to whether I subjectively like these styles,but objectively I think it's great to see Japanese car culture going new places. The AE86 did have one feature that was to my liking:a picture of Katy Perry on the dash!

Is that who it was? I loved the picture too.

Better than Jimmy Neutron
http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/blog/20 ... es-us-lol/

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To each his own.

I should take my friend's advice, "It is better to close your mouth and appear to be an idiot, than open it and remove all doubt," but I can't help but say something about that AE86... what a piece of Sh*t! It's one thing to race a car or drift a car or whatever, and sustain battle damage and leave it that way, but to just hack a car, to punk it out, is in my book just plain stupid. But the guy is achieving what he set out to do, and that is get peoples attention. When I see a car like that on the street or at an event, I just say "Whatever" and move on to the 'REAL' attention getters!

NEXT!

oh, and what's wrong with Jimmy Neutron?

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Michael - Collector of Toyotamobilia ~ www.toyotageek.com
Tomica Fan Club ~ www.tomicafanclub.com