I've been working on some non-bike stuff, and while I won't post everything on this site, I thought I'd go ahead and post one of the items I'm proud of. I have this old Radio Flyer that I was thinking of giving the lowered/car look to. You've seen what I mean. Wagon, slammed to the ground, front end floating out, with a faux-engine, making it look like a little rat car, or something. I just didn't know exactly how I wanted to start, so I just never have.
So, inspired by some metalworking artists I follow on Instagram, one in particular that makes killer muscle cars out of steel that are about the size of a Barbie car, I decided to make my rat rod wagon from scratch. It'll be rough, rusty, and cool. I bought $13 worth of 16g steel, and grabbed some odd wheels that I had (kids trike for the rear, training wheels for the front), and started building, figuring it out as I went.
Started by drawing the profile on the steel, cut it out, and went from there. End of day one:
Next, I put a little more body on it, and made a faux-engine out of demoed plumbing parts. An old valve, some elbows, and a bit of black pipe. Then a ruined freewheel for the fan. I also raised it up a bit, needing clearance for rough terrain.
Day three, all I did was put as much top as it's going to get on it. It looks like a 30s rag top, but I need to be able to put flea market parts in it. I thought about making a full hinged top, but that would rattle around too much on the rough gravel that some of these flea markets have.
Stay tuned for more!
So, inspired by some metalworking artists I follow on Instagram, one in particular that makes killer muscle cars out of steel that are about the size of a Barbie car, I decided to make my rat rod wagon from scratch. It'll be rough, rusty, and cool. I bought $13 worth of 16g steel, and grabbed some odd wheels that I had (kids trike for the rear, training wheels for the front), and started building, figuring it out as I went.
Started by drawing the profile on the steel, cut it out, and went from there. End of day one:
Next, I put a little more body on it, and made a faux-engine out of demoed plumbing parts. An old valve, some elbows, and a bit of black pipe. Then a ruined freewheel for the fan. I also raised it up a bit, needing clearance for rough terrain.
Day three, all I did was put as much top as it's going to get on it. It looks like a 30s rag top, but I need to be able to put flea market parts in it. I thought about making a full hinged top, but that would rattle around too much on the rough gravel that some of these flea markets have.
Stay tuned for more!
