Dr. Cranky

Ah, sleep is a great thing when you can get it . . . I tell you what, you guys' vehicles got me so excited last night, I could not sleep, so I stayed up until the wee hours reworking my frame . . . and I am happy to report this morning that my Frankie is sitting pretty low . . .it was like a crash lesson in framing . . . no wonder most of you guys could, by now, build a read one of these with the right tools, etc . . . just wonderful stuff . . . I also want to thank you Jairus, and all the other friends on this forum who came to the rescue with great suggestions, and most of all the right kind of cheerleading and critical eye . . . As you will get to know me, you will realize that I am mostly a lazy builder, always trying to take shortcuts . . . and this exchange has taught me a lesson . . . I mean, why build something if you ain't gonna do it right, right? Just a heart-felt THANK YOU to all of you who pushed me forward . . .

Wow, those are great . . . yeah, I am getting the idea, though now that I've started to work on the second frame, which turns out it is the first frame I built but with the rack in the back higher . . . I think I would have to cut into the floor of the cab to go all the way down to the ground, and that is something it might be too late for this build . . . But I did manage to drop it lower . . . we'll see what it looks like in the pictures once I get the frame reprimed and repainted. Jairus, you did that rat rod? Man, I remember seeing it in a someone's show archive and I though it was just too much . . . didn't you build a companion piece to this one? I love rat rods, and I can't get enough of them . . . Thanks for sharing!

You know what J & folks? . . . I am not happy with this frame . . . and the way I look at it is I have worked too hard on the cab, the bed, the tires and wheels to let one component get in the way of this baby looking mean and ground bound . . . Okay, so I'm thinking outloud here . . . in order to get it lowered, I need to bring the top rails of the Zs a bit higher, right? This is only going to set me back a few days, so I might still make the unveiling for Holloween . . . I hope you guys don't think I'm crazy, but Jarius is right . . . it should be LOW. LOW!!!!

Here are a few more shots . . . I hope that those of you have had more experience Z-ing a frame can jump in and let me know exactly where I could have gone wrong . . . maybe I needed a bit more height for the rear suspension and then leave the rails straight in front . . . what do you think? I still think it looks pretty darn good . . .

Okay, J . . . here are some pictures . . . it's not sitting on the dirt, but it's low enough . . . even when I tried a few different suspension systems, it would still only come so low . . . I guess next time I will have to measure a bit better to get a real pavement pounder! Thank goodness I had not glued anything in place . . . so it made the cutting and rigging a bit easier . . . Those frame rails are riding welded to the front suspension cross bar . . . I have to admit it's a much better look . . . it would have been killer to have it on the grass!!!

It's fixed, now it's only an 1/8th off the ground . . . probably a little higher, but a much better fix . . . it's going to make for a rough ride, for sure . . . I should have a few pics up within the hour . . . the wife and I are going to dinner. Thanks for keeping me honest with this build . . . I mean, why Z-frame, if it ain't gonna go low, right?

Oh boy, this might just set me back a little . . . well, ahem . . . I thought it was low, but now, gee, now I will have to build the front and rear suspension again . . . I will have to hatchet . . . cut . . . lower, you say, LOWER? Oh boy . . .

Me likes it!!!

Wow, nice pair . . . great color too!!!

They are in the tradition of some of the best duos out there: Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Sony & Cher, Larry & Moe Fine . . .etc . . .

You know a lot of the fun that comes from working this way, at least the way I work, is to bring out all the gadgetry and what Shep Payne calls gyzmology . . . just stuff that fits but god knows what it does or is for . . . case in point, the little lever on the left hand side of the steering wheel . . . don't ask me what it does, but I sure like it . . . And, well, I decided against the slice of pizza . . . (I think that would have attracted roaches, and you know how Frankie feels about those tasty morsels!), so instead I went with a box of nice cheapy cigars, just the way I likes them . . . Plus if ever the song by Pink Floyd comes on: "Come in here, Dear Boy, have a cigar . . . you gonna go far!" comes on, the he's gonna crack a smile and feel the zap of electricity coursing through those neck bolts of his!

Good news: the steering wheel is finally on . . . and with a necker knob too . . . I think this sucker is gettin' done!!! I want to thank all of you who suggested details . . . it made me quite aware I should have a healthy list of stuff to put on . . . So thank you!!!

I've added a few more trinkets to the interior . . . I still want to do a dirty rag and put it on top of the pizza box and on top of that a slice of pizza . . . Man, these shots are really pumping me up . . . I better hurry up and get to work on that engine . . .

That frame is looking too clean . . . I'll have to do something about that . . . you know I tried to reduce a picture of myself now with one of my So-Cal T-shirts on and my Mr. 666 cap I had made a while back, but it didn't work . . . it doesn't look as good as this replica of me when I was in my early twenties . . . when I weighed more than half of what I do now . . . After I put the radiator hose connector in the radiator, I realized the hose might not fit in now . . . which means I'll have to think of another trick . . . we'll see . . . I'm liking those panel welds more and more . . . I think they are still not exactly like J's illustration, but they are pretty close for my taste . . .

I also got the radiator painted and washed and installed . . . I think it looks all right . . . we'll see when some of the other details get on there . . . The metal piece over the edge of the hood is another watch part I though would double as a machine gun style sight . . .

All right, the monster is still on schedule to be unveiled this Halloween . . . and it is coming together nicely, thanks Igor!!! I brought out my stash of handy dandy watch parts and found some air valves for the wheels . . . Man, I really was concerned the buckets would not fit between the tires, so I had to cut the grill on each side slightly, just enough to get the lights to sit right on the frame . . . BTW--thanks for the necker knob idea, James . . . I'll have to see what I have in the parts box that would look good . . .

Also, please keep in mind that I still have to bring out my weathering lotions, potions, and pastels and give this a bit of a "BAM!ing. This is the funnest part of building this stuff . . . those little details I hope folks will spend the time mulling over . . . Which brings me to this point, which is that I am working this over so that when I take pictures of it from low angles, I can make the comparison to Jairus's illustration which is also why I decided to have 3 beds now . . . 1) the rock'n roll Frankie 2) a welding moster's shop truck (you'll see) 3) Jairus's original idea, which is basically a slightly dirty bed with just the moon style gas tank . . . This way I can just play around with different attitudes for this one.

All right, so here is a round of pictures of how the cab has come together . . . I'm still going to add a shop rag on top of the pizza box and maybe a half eaten slice of pizza over that . . . I could not resist putting in the tiki head shifter . . . a few watch parts, some tools . . . etc . . . and one of the hollow cans of beer which suddenly disappers into the shadows and you can no longer tell it's hollow aluminum tubing . . . . Cheers, this monster knows how to ride in style (I guess ) It's obvious from the short windshield that this one attended the Goodguys hot rod nationals . . . hum . . . Oops, I just realized I did not rescribe the vent panel . . . In this next one you can see the tiki sticking its tongue out!

Here's something I almost forgot to put in . . . after all this focusing on the little details . . . the STEERING WHEEL!!! Geez . . . I don't know why green, other than I was trying to get something to stand out from that Mexican Blanket . . . though Jairus painted his gray . . . but I have some leeway, right?

I've really been trying to get the right look and feel to the cab, both outside and inside . . . I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but I added a few smudges to the dashboard . . . just light stuff . . . later I might be able to bring them out better with pastels . . .

I went back to the body and added a bit more metal paint and a spinner as gas tank cap . . . you all gave me some great tips on how to improve this and make it look closer to the illustration . . . so thanks . . .

Of the two beds, this one seems to be the milder one . . . you know, chicks, music, and other bad habits . . . Go figure, this cat gets into his music . . .

All right, stay tuned in for a few more pictures of how some of the cab details are turning out . . . I had a moment of panic because I thought the headlights would not fit between the grill and the tires, but that's another story . . . Here are some smaller details . . . I guess this "Frankie" dude has some bad habits . . . but then again, who doesn't? I know, the beer cans appear to be hollow . . . he likes eating metal! What can I say?

All right, maties . . . I have everything in parts ready for assembly . . . I mean, I still have to do quite a bit of work to the engine and bed cargo #2, but everything is coming together nicely . . . Here's a mockup of how the frame is coming along . . . trying my best to make sure all the wheels are lined up and that they all touch the ground! I ended up painting the frame German gray because it is pretty neutral and I don't really want the frame taking away from any of the more colorful elements like the body and these pretty wheels and tires . . . I still have to hit up the front suspension with a wash . . . and also the break pads, etc . . . . Just like I have done with the rear suspension, etc . . . . You know, after all this work on the frame and suspension, I still get the uneasy feeling that this sucker is not going to ride as low to the ground as I thought . . . my next build, I promise, is not getting off the ground . . .

Thanks, J . . . yeah, man, that's exactly the kind of rat-rodding that has taken the car enthusiast world by storm . . . you get a fixer upper and you go to town in terms of using whatever parts you find . . . that's the right spirit . . . for sure . . . In terms of model building is what keeps me coming back to building rat rods . . . it's just lots of fun to build like this . . . All right . . . I'm now rested a bit and am ready to get back to this build . . . though don't hold me to it, I am beginning to see this one getting finished pretty soon, though I doubt I will have it wrapped up this weekend, but I hope to be done with it by the middle of next week . . . that is if all the parts come together as they should . . . Usually, what slows me down toward the end is the detailing, the washes, the potions and lotions and powders . . . just making it look driven and rough . . . again, just in time for Holloween!!! And one more thing: I really appreciate everyone's comments and cheerleading--it's the best way to build!