The Making of RATFNK

Ok I have been promising to write about the Hot Rod build for quite some time now and after getting through some of the bugs you get when you build one. I feel now the time is right to share the story. All my life I have wanted a Hot Rod! From the first time I saw my Dad's mate Ross Bridge's T bucket and Peter (can’t remember his last name) at the radiator shop I worked at, he had a 41 Willy's coupe I knew then I wanted a Hot Rod. I was never surrounded by Hot Rods but whenever I saw one it stopped me in my tracks and all I could do was admire whatever I saw. I had Hot Wheels cars all types mostly Rods and drag cars and I would play with them for hour upon hour upon hour. My father was into European sports cars and he restored an American army jeep from the Vietnam War but was never into Hot Rods. Also too I was racing motorcycles from a young age so my father was always travelling around Oz taking me to every race he could and I love him for that. Racing was such a big part of my life I did it from the age of 6 all the way to 32, injuries slowed me down. As I got to the end of my racing career especially when I was in the USA I was always going to Hot Rod shows. Back in Australia I didn't get to many Hot Rod shows but my passion for bikes was renewed. After I finished racing I didn't want to look at a bike was not interested in them just wanted to party and have fun. After a two year break I got interested in the old British bike thing. Being a little naive I bought a BSA Bobber from a mate. It needed a shit load of work as it was running like a dog with two legs when I got it. But after a lot of work we got it running sweet. I rode it around whilst I was building the Ruby Rocket. It was funny at the time when I bought the first BSA I never really thought about the whole build process and when you build a bike or a car it like it is an extension of you. My mate would say it was his bike and his build and I would ride it to shows and people would such oh that’s the dude that bought such and such bike. So deep down I really knew that I needed to build the Ruby Rocket so I felt like I was riding MY BIKE, MY DESIGN and MY BUILD. During the build my Daughter Ruby was born and hence the name RUBY ROCKET, after the build I sold the other BSA. After I sold the bike, my wife and I sat down and we talked about using the money to do a car for the family. My wife loves car shows which is why we click and I needed to build something so the whole family could enjoy and got out to Rod shows and cruising days. We talked about 52 Chev's and other old cars but deep down I wanted my Hot Rod. We spoke for a while and she said as long as we all fit and there is a harness for our daughter and it had a proper roof not a roadster then she had no problem with it, what a great wife! I looked around for an original 32 but couldn't find one. So I researched all the chassis companies here and in the states and I spoke to many people with different opinions but I went for the TCI Chassis from the States as I liked the cross member set up better and there options were a lot better than what was on offer here. So I placed the order with TCI and I had to wait for 6 months before the Chassis would arrive. I then started to look for a body. I looked into the Brookville steel body but after getting my jaw off the ground after I found out how much they were I decided that Glass would be the go. I looked at all the options here but after speaking to Elvis at Rod Bods and when told him I wanted to channel the body he had no problem with it and was always asking me to come up and check on the progress of the body.It was now November 2010 and the body arrived from Elvis. I was so impressed by the quality of the body and the attention to detial it had. Several people who came to the work shop to look at it were so impressed too. It was exciting as the journey of the build was starting and the body was ready to go all I needed was the chassis. I will write the next part of the build soon. My little helper in the last photo, and yes she helped with the build. CheersLukefink