photos of the "almost no longer a rat rod"

[thehackmechanic]

I have this '73 2002 that I bought last year. It is fairly solid for a New England car, but had been sitting outside for several years. I thought I'd keep it as something close to a rat rod, a car I'm not afraid to drive anywhere. Once I washed through the layers of bugs and sap, what was beneath was horrifically sun-oxidized agave paint. After quite a bit of looking locally on Craigslist, I found someone who knew about compounding and polishing these old single-stage paints (something of a lost art, apparently, in a world where everything new has a base coat and a clear coat). For two hundred bucks managed to get a shine on the car, yet when you look at it closely the paint still has this wonderful patina of age about it. It sets off nicely against the gold basketweaves off an E30 325i convertible.

Gee, now that it has the shine, AND the basketweaves, AND the 320i Recaros, AND the 5-speed... not such a rat rod anymore, is it?

[51deluxe]

wow very nice car, deffinetly not a rat rod, love the wheels

[bills2002]

Looks great! Rat the Geo and love the oh2.

[Retrogroucher]

+1 on the Geo, and you can still drive the '02 anywhere. Maybe your mother in law will ride in this one and not be afraid.

Befittingly, that car is on Respectable Street!

[Mike Self]

(nt)

[mcaden]

Nice ride and I agree with others - not a rat rod, at least to me. My favorite year and color, but I am less than partial (see pic).

-Marc

[thehackmechanic]

Now THAT'S shiny paint!

[Kidasters]

Almost makes you want to take care of the rust bubbles now, doesn't it...

C'mon Rob - you know you want to......

Paint the Geo flat black - baby this one like your E9....

[SteveJ]

If you drive it right, the only body panel that needs to be shiny is the rear. That's all they'll see as you blast past them on the twisties.

Otherwise, park next to Carlson at every event. Guaranteed to make your car look good by comparison.