The RODENT is leaving the garage !

[Geezerman]

It looks like I may be able to pull this off after all.

Some may find it interesting.

Build came to mind when I found a small squirrel skull in the yard. I'm matching it up with a broken glue bomb 36 roadster body.

My first step was to fit a chopped 50 Ford windshield and a convertible top that I want to look like a hardtop. You can see the pie cut that I tried to narrow the top with, but abandoned and put it back, choosing to bring in the side edges.

Body and rear end treatment was inspired by this car that was featured in the latest Ol Skool Rodz mag.

After some serious cutting and fitting, I'm getting into the ball park.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Geezerman

[Geezerman]

here, the body is roughed in. I deleted the drip rails.

I will be using this engine that came out of an older build that I tore apart and rebuilt using a flathead.

Next, I'm bashing up a frame using some dragster rails and the rearend of a Revell Merc that went prostreet.

[diymirage]

not sure if i like it or not but i definatly aplaud the origenality of the idea

[Geezerman]

In this chapter, I tackled the skull

Here's a mockup, and that's where I'm at now.

[Geezerman]

Nobody has to like it but me. I'm just showing it.

[george 53]

VERY TRUE, Geeze, But even if folks don't like the skull, the BODY WORK is FANTASTIC!!! It's commin out GREAT! Poor lil skwirrl, wonder if he was any kin to the Capn's MR. skwirrl?

[Dr. Cranky]

Oh, no, I love the skull idea . . . ROADKILL!!!

You are thinking outside the box and it's going to pay off . . . you are also going to end up with a model that nobody else in the world has done!

Congrats and keep it going, buddy.

[Bernard Kron]

The coupe conversion is gorgeous, worthy of the Cord 810! And the chassis work is such a cool idea, definitely one to remember and "borrow" from liberally! The engine ain't nothin' to sneeze about, neither. And the skull.... Can't wait to see more!

[Jon Cole]

How Geezerman got a squirrel skull...

This is going to be one "out there" rod!

Kind of "out of the box"... rolled off the table... on to the floor... out the door.... into the yard...

BTW, keep an eye out for it's relatives seeking vengance!

[pstreet]

This is awesome, little dudes skull makes for one heck of a grill shell.

[Foxer]

This is really cool. I like the coupe and the skull. Are you going to make the skull blend in smooth with the hood?

[george 53]

I saw that dam Squirrel Hunter/ Killer Team an I laughed so hard my Pepsi came out my NOSE!!! Brought back memrys of the Nam!!!! Do they got squirrel ears on their "Ear necklaces???" That was just TOO COOL !!!! Glad ta see this is goinna ta be a COOOOL build!!!

[Raul_Perez]

Wow!!

That is really wild!!

I can't wait to see more!!

Later,

[B_rad88]

wow, this is really freaky! but thats is a nice job!!!!! what a build this is going to be!

[MikeMc]

Not Ratickle.....but Rodenticide comes to mind.........

[diymirage]

Nobody has to like it but me. I'm just showing it.

i know, i wasnt complaining about it iether, just stating that i liked the originality of it

and like other said, the body work looks very good

[mr moto]

So that's what happened to Rat Fink!!

[62rebel]

gruesome! cool! and if they actually made fiberglass skulls big enough SOME ratrodder WOULD use it for a grille!

BTW: google Roger Dean, a very cool artist/sculptor who worked with Hipgnosis doing what we old people call "Album Covers" for "Albums" back when they were vinyl and 12" across and you could SEE the design on the cover without it being covered with "WARNING! Explict Lyric Content" stickers.... one of his sculptures was a jet plane which incorporated a bird's skull....

and that H/K team snap absolutely slew me. i squirreled away a bunch of 12" figures and eqpt to do picts like that one day, like a robotchicken sort of thing.

[Geezerman]

Been doing a lot of the mundane, uninteresting things, gathering wheel parts, painting acessories, etc.

Here's a teaser shot.

I have melded the skul and hood some, and am fooling with the lights.

I'll have to figure mounting them a little different. Get them more in the eye socket area. Light shells will be painted. I had to make them from a pair of headlight rings and a pair of baby moon hubcaps. :

[Dr. Cranky]

Oh, my, that is looking perfectly original and well executed. Like I said, there's no other model out there like it!!!

[Scott Colmer]

Geezer - Great idea! I like it! I found a rat skull in my fuse box (got lucky he passed on before I had to do some rewiring). I have been wondering what to do with it. My first thought was alclad or candy red. Keep going. The Rodent looks cool.

Rebel

Roger Dean. I haven't thought about him for years. I have a book of his art, that has been an inspiration. It been read so much, it's falling apart. It has the plane you are talking about and a bunch of other cool transportation designs. Alos a lot of album stuff.

Scott

[Dr. Cranky]

The anticipation is killing me, buddy!

[Alyn]

Skull or no skull, that body profile is killer. Very nice work on transforming the soft top into the end result.

[Geezerman]

Thanks, Everyone, for your nice comments.

Geezer and Igor have gotten the chassis up on its wheels out in the garage.

Working on the interior, which will be built right on the chassis. The Geezer seldom uses a 'tub'.

The 'billit' piece on the front of the engine was fabricated from a soda can, several years ago when this engine was first built for a 32 3 window.

[Geezerman]

After shaping my homemade headlites, I painted them with Duplicolor white. Florida humidity hazed them flat. I then tried Rustoleum gloss clear and that hazed. I had forgotten to recover the lens' and they hazed. Not having any more lens' that size, I had to start looking for alternatives. Paper punch was the exact size and now I can get all I want of that size. Just not convex, bit I can live with that

Couldn't find a dash in the salvage yard that I liked for this build, so I cobbled a simple one from soda can material. Kind of a competition look.