This rat rod ain't no trailer queen !!!!!!!!!!

[donsrods]

To the people who say rat rods are not good enough to drive around in, I offer picture proof that they are. I mentioned before that a friend of mine, Bill Wendt built a rat rod because he was bitten by the simplicity and old time flavor of them. Bill is an old texas hot rodder, now living in Cape Coral Florida, and he has done it all car wise. Raced funny cars, dragsters, and even went to a few National Drags. Bill is retired, and not hurting financially, so you would think a rat would be the last thing he would build...........not so, he loves this car.

His rat rod is "skanky", and when I saw him at Daytona last year he had just driven it on a 3700 mile trip through lots of States. Hotroddaddy said he saw him at a Jacksonville show some time later, and today while surfing the HAMB I see a picture of it in a thread. It was taken at the Goodguys show in Illinois. Bill drives the wheels off of this thing, open header pipes and all !! You never know where he will show up next.

The first picture is the one they posted of the Illinois show, and the second one I took at Daytona last year. If you ever see him at one of your events, stop and say hi........he's a real character and all around nice guy. You will have to stand in line though because there is always a crowd around his rat.

Don

 

[donsrods]

Hehe, I just googled his name, and this is what came up................


www.daararacing.com/billwendt.html

Don

 

[flat_black]

That's great. I've seen so many modified vechicles that the owners are too afraid to enjoy. I couldn't imagine not being able to drive my pride and joy everyday when I'm home.

 

[joehalford01]

i love the mailbox air cleaner

 

[Gastrick]

That looks like the same picture I took of it at Daytona last year Don. I couldn't go anywhere without seeing him cruising around. He had a note on the car saying how many miles that he had put on it and where he had driven it. It was an impressive amount of mileage but I can't remember how many it was.

 

[24dodge]

I remember seeing it there last year , i`ll stop and say hello if I see it again.

 

[luckyfasteddie]

insurance issue

How do you suppose he handles insurance dont most if not all specialty car insurers put mileage-use restrictions on the vehicle. unless you have a gen type registration most states also limit the uses of the vehicle. I tried to get regular ins for the rat from State Farm-which by the way i have on my 47 and they were so picky and wanted so much that I had to pass and go with HAgerty along with their restrictions. The 47 is taged as an antique so i never have to go thru insp again but it has mileage-use restrictions on it.Too use it for any other use IE daily driver i would have to lie if stopped. I hate it when a politican lies to me or a salesman or a service tech or a secretary etc. lies to me , So i really dont want to become one of them Ok off my soap box. just my old fashioned .o2 LFE

 

[donsrods]

He has no speedometer (neither do I) hence, no odometer. We just lie to our insurance agents.

What I really like about Bill is that he could care less what people think of his car. He has done it all in this hobby so why should he let some "expert" decide if his rod is cool or not? After all, how many of us have run funny cars down the quarter at 250 + MPH, or raced at Bonneville? Not me, that's for sure.

Don

 

[Tripper]

Head 2 toe!!!

His rat rod is "skanky", and when I saw him at Daytona last year he had just driven it on a 3700 mile trip through lots of States.

Don,
All I can say is... he must have a hard tail so to speak. I call my car the Daytripper because after a full day in the seat... my seat is DONE! 3700 miles... I'd b NUMB head 2 toe!!! My hat's off to him!!!

BoB

 

[BruceR&C]

I'm sure I've seen "Skanky" parked in Louisville a couple of years ago. Neat ride, the mailbox aircleaner is what made it stand out tho I don't have any pics of it.

As for the insurance thing,,,,Sneed out of Memphis has reasonable rates & no mileage restrictions. I run KY historical tags on both of our '47's. No more registration ever. There are usage restrictions, tho. My question there is: how can they find out how often you drive your car

 

[bluepassion67]

I saw this guy 2 weeks ago at a small car show (200 cars) in Francesville IN.

 

[donsrods]

I've always wondered that too. Do you submit odometer readings when you renew or what?

For years I just put my '27 T on my regular policy as a second or third car. I have had the same agent for 20+ years, and he is a friend, but he had never seen my T. One time I ran into him at a grocery store and he looks at my rod and said "THAT'S THE MODEL T I'VE BEEN INSURING ALL THESE YEARS?? I THOUGHT IT WAS A RESTORED MODEL T, NOT A HOT ROD !!" But he still continued to write it up every year after that........I have no wrecks or claims ever, so he lets it slide.

Don

 

[SouthernRatter]

It's awesome that he drives this car so much. what I also think is cool is that he races the vintage oval cars at Zephyrhills. I've been going there as long as I can remember and watching the races while roaming the swap meet. Very Cool!

 

[luckyfasteddie]

ins issues

Having been in business for 20+ years and been sued a number of times I guess Im gun shy. One case was so frivalous that the judge threw it out on summary judgement. that means I won hands down but I had to pay a lawyer 2500 dollars to win. Ins companys and lawyers will do anything to get out of paying including throwing you to the lions. How do they know where you have been driving and how many miles you have been driving. Try killing someone with your rod and getting sued for a couple million see how fast they get some pvt eye to build a case that you were not following their restrictions . i know i sound like a old lady worry wart but having been there ie sued when I was in the right and knowing how our court system works I dont want to be there ever again,LFE