WTH? Ebay!

i just felt it was worth mentioning, i have been traveling to tikrit for the past three days and just opened ebay. there has been a average of about 160 vehicles for ratrods on ebay, today i opened and there was 300! it is already catching on like the chopper craze but i feel this is going to screw the average guy on the cost. it is already insane that we can build these for under 5 grand but the cars are selling for 20k, so again WTH!!! rant over, discuss.

on a side note i made it to tikrit and it is very nice as compared to al asad. i will leaving on the 22nd and will bombard you guys with aussie pics when i return.

Glad you are OK.....

Glad to hear you are safe and doing OK over there.
Thanks for checking in. '22

Yep, glad to hear you are still ok.

I know exactly what you mean about the prices these things are bringing. I know of one little truck, sort of like my Dodge and Boneheads truck. I first saw it at a local car cruise, and while I liked the style, there were some things in the construction I questioned. For instance, there was no suspension travel in the front before the wishbones bottomed out, and generally things were not done the best. One day I see it on Ebay, and it ends up selling for over $ 17,000 !!!

It has to upset a lot of the guys who are anti-rat when they see these bringing sometimes more than finished, painted cars. Like it or not, rat rods are not going away.

Speaking of people who do not like rats..........I just saw a thread on our "favorite" forum where a guy was all proud because he got his model a roadster running. It was a cool little rod, flathead and lots of oldtimey stuff. But it had some rusty spots and all. Anyway, people are praising him for getting it running and one jerk posts this:


It would make a great mock-up in preparation for a build.

I'm sorry...I just don't understand the "barn find" look. Reminds me of these kids walking around holding their pants up - trying to be something they're not.

But it's your car...enjoy it (which I'm sure you will)...don't mean to denigrate what you've accomplished.



In the meantime, here is this idiot's profile:



I'm a hot rod wannabe that's been stuck with a Scottish wife. The closest I can get to the cars I love (except when I go to a show) is the one I'm building now - a 1949 MG TC for vintage racing. It has an all aluminum body, cycle fenders, .040 over high domed pistons (eyebrowed to clear valves), 3/4 race cam, 4:55 rear end, wire wheels (but they all have those), roll bar, etc. It's gonna be fun when I finish and it'll join my blown show TC which has just received a 5-speed transmission transplant to replace the non-synchro 1st gear original. Much nicer to drive on the streets and highways.



HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A HOT ROD, HE HAS AN MG !!!!



It torques me that people find it necessary to say such negative things when a guy is so proud of his car. No need for it at all.

Don

Oh, here are a couple of pictures of the roadster in question.......a really cool little ride.

Don

well for the comment on the painted guys cars, HAHA! it is kind of funny, you have to admit. i did just see what i think is one of the coolest trucks of all time but that is my opinion. i am no good at putting links and pics on here so if someone is could ya? it is a 39 plymouth truck with yellow doors and the fenders are still on the truck. it is a new listing, i believe i will watch the pricing and bid on it. it is in california, do we have anybody on here that knows this vehicle?

I noticed the same thing. There was always around 150 cars on there and now 300. I guess a person needs to buy low and sell high. But are these cars REALLY bringing this kind of money on Ebay??????? Makes me wonder.

Sweet ride!

donsrods said:

Oh, here are a couple of pictures of the roadster in question.......a really cool little ride.

Don

Click to expand...

Wow, I'd b proud to drive that any day!

Carter,
Glad u ck'd in! We were wondering what was up with ya. Can't wait to see those fotoz feom down under!!!

BoB

Glad the move went well for ya carter. When you get to Oz, take some pics of utes for me please.

As for the rat rod deal, it's just like everything else that gets popular. All of the sudden, everbody has to have one and they don't even know why. It just seems like the thing to do.

Don, I saw the thread you are talking about. Isn't it funny that the rudest, most negative people are usually the ones who don't even have a hot rod, and sometimes not even a car at all.

Jealous!

Gastrick said:

Don, I saw the thread you are talking about. Isn't it funny that the rudest, most negative people are usually the ones who don't even have a hot rod, and sometimes not even a car at all.

Click to expand...

Hey, simple jealousy IMO! I'd b jealous too if I saw the cars in question & my wife was makin' me rebuild a TD. TD's r ok but...

BoB

In California, you get steel cars going for $50-100K that are "finished". For example, the shop that painted my 32' fibreglas car, charges $15k for their cheapest paint job. A show paint job goes for $20k and up. $17k for a running and driving car isn't too bad. Most decent "Rats" go from $10-25k. At car shows around here, they seem to attract the most attention.

Check out www.hotrodsurf.com
I think that's their web-site. It's located in San Diego. They build rat rods with original parts. Talk about bare bones and they were asking $25k for some of them. Beware though, I can't log on to their web site from this computer because of the company filters. Some of the pin-ups are pornographic.

yeah, i figured it out!

this truck is just flat bada$$ in my opinion!

that truck is bad-ass, on the other note, when things get popular prices tend to go up, i wouldn't worry though, it wont be super popular forever and prices will probably level out. you should always be able to build one for fairly cheap if you are resourceful.

Good paint!

gassersgarage said:

For example, the shop that painted my 32' fibreglas car, charges $15k for their cheapest paint job. A show paint job goes for $20k and up.

Click to expand...

Gasser,
I used to think that was outrageous until I saw what goes into a really nice paint job! Lots and lots of hand sanding & buffing, then lots and lots more of the same. Also, the difference in the finished product is very noticable!

BF

babyface said:

Gasser,
I used to think that was outrageous until I saw what goes into a really nice paint job! Lots and lots of hand sanding & buffing, then lots and lots more of the same. Also, the difference in the finished product is very noticable!

BF

Click to expand...

You're right! After 6 years, the paint still looked perfect. Each door gap was perfectly even. The one thing everybody commented on was the paint job. The car is black and there are no distortions in refections. The shop is called Hot Rods and Hobbies.

gassersgarage said:

You're right! After 6 years, the paint still looked perfect. Each door gap was perfectly even. The one thing everybody commented on was the paint job. The car is black and there are no distortions in refections. The shop is called Hot Rods and Hobbies.

Click to expand...

I'm one of those people who thought $ 10 to $20,000 was nuts for a paint job, but since I have been doing the T, my perspective has changed. I have about $1000 in supplies just to paint the frame and running gear, and that is an amateur job. I also have whole bunch of hours in prep and painting. I have painted stuff before, but it has been a bunch of years, and prices for this stuff has really climbed.

When you see a paint job like gassersgarage is describing, many hours and lots of supplies have been used, and that expertise doesn't come cheap.

Don

i agree somewhat don but a lot of people forget that a 20k paint job on a 1k car does not make it a 90k hot rod. these individuals that just try to flip a buck do not put the car together right most of the time and all you end up with is an expensive paint job. just my .02

Yeah, you're sort of right. But there is a local cop who is a friend, and a few years ago he bought a '40 Ford for $ 2500 and immediately took it to a custom shop and paid $ 4000 for a paint job. We were all giving him a hard time about the wisdom of doing that, until he turned around and sold it for $ 12,000 immediately after that. Some guy saw it at a cruise and fell in love with it, and wanted it more than him.

Never been my luck though.

Don

getcarter said:

i just felt it was worth mentioning, i have been traveling to tikrit for the past three days and just opened ebay. there has been a average of about 160 vehicles for ratrods on ebay, today i opened and there was 300! it is already catching on like the chopper craze but i feel this is going to screw the average guy on the cost. it is already insane that we can build these for under 5 grand but the cars are selling for 20k, so again WTH!!! rant over, discuss.

on a side note i made it to tikrit and it is very nice as compared to al asad. i will leaving on the 22nd and will bombard you guys with aussie pics when i return.

Click to expand...

If you can really build one for under 5K and sell it for 20K I would ask why arent you doing it ? An auto transaction has always been buyer beware , could you define screw and average guy.

Ebay had a deal last "week post for a penny", thats why so many more were on there, if the wife would have told me i would have threw the merc on there, i saw one a couple of months back ,that had less mods than mine go for $26`000 boy if someone is willing to pay that much , they can have it, i could build 2 or 3 cars for that. granted i have atleast 12 grand in the merc

wow wonder what I could get for the J???? Not that I would sell it but man