Er, different....

[notsofast]

This, er, unique machine is currently going for over 12 grand.

Would someone really be buying this as art, or could it be driveable if the fluids were restored (the blurb says "as it was a museum show all fluids had to be drained out")?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383350217329?...SwoaNeDS~3

[Guanock]

I would not want it as a gift.
Geoff

[Gadgetman]

It looks horrible.
There seems to be rust on panel edges, so it may require a lot of bodywork.
It's missing wing mirrors and who knows what else.
It's a M49, so no later than 2003 so he's not 'a year or two out' in his estimate of 2010...
The engine and gearbox is going to need a complete overhaul as I expect there will be serious rust issues inside with no oil to protect the insides. And seals will have deteriorated.
It's possible that there's bearing damage in the gearbox, too.
Did they mess with the driveshaft gaiters and remove the grease there?
If so, you probably want new driveshafts.

It's scrap Jim, but not as we know it...

[Sol]

It's supposed to look like that! It's "ratted" and the rust is added using hydrogen peroxide and another chemical to make a fluid called "unicorn piss" - it's a scene all over the world for rat-rods.

This van featured in the FB forum for a rat club  called RBC or the "Rat Bastards Club".

Ratting is not my personal scene but a lot of folk love it. The rust isn't real but chemically induced on the surface. The paint job will have cost a fortune.

When they are shown indoors at scene events the fluids must be drained for safety reasons. It's art of a sort, not scrap. This kind gets trailered around. Some are daily drivers. Google "rat scene" or the club name above ...

:rolls eyes

[Gryffindor]

If you don't buy it you won't be the first to not buy it...

https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-20297.html

[Gadgetman]

Oh, it's an ersatz rat...

In the beginning, Rat rods were unfinished hot rods. The mechanics were done, but the cosmetics were either not done or only partially. What was important for the owner was that it was DRIVEABLE! The rest he could 'fix later'...
Some of those ratty things were never finished, and for some weird reason some people think it looks cool...

So, this one isn't even a real rat rod since it's neither a 'rod in progress', nor driveable.

No, I don't like the 'lets make it look rusty' look.

[notsofast]

Never heard of the term "ratting" (not for vehicles, anyway), so you learn something every day. There's a VW Beetle near me that looks a bit like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhAunlyEm_Q

except the one I see has what looks llike an advert for an anti-rust treatment on its sides, and I couldn't work out why someone would use an anti-rust treatment that makes the car look totally rusty. Now I realise it's been "ratted" and the advert must be a joke, lol.

Sorry Rasputin, I hadn't realised you'd posted on this before.

[Sol]

Yep, ratting is a thing. Not my thing, but lots of folk think it's cool. I prefer shiny and rust free.

[Gryffindor]

No, I don't like the 'lets make it look rusty' look.

Shame - mine has been gaining that look all by itself!

I suppose recreating the barn find look, complete with brambles and dead mice and half-chewed looms, will be the next thing. (Note to cancunia: I decided not to mention the fragrant nature of barn finds to save your sensibilities).

[Gryffindor]

Sorry Rasputin, I hadn't realised you'd posted on this before.

Not at all. As a friend of mine once said, "Minds of a feather bird-brain together."