By David Clarke

highspeedhijinks

There are a lot of really good hot rod builders out there, from superstars like Chip Foose to the old body guy at your local shop who’s been building stuff since the dawn of time. The poor mutilated vehicles I’ve linked to below, by contrast, have never seen such quality people. They instead fell into the unskilled hands of hacks who built them all “cockeyed”–they must’ve looked good to them, but to the rest of us with good eyes (and decent taste) it’s clear that something went horribly wrong. “Homely” is the tactful word to describe these kinds of builds, and after seeing my fair share of them at the car shows I dubbed them the “Homely Rollers”. These are the cars that are the vision of some automotive Frankenstein who combs the boneyards for scraps and then cobbling these heaps together in the name of creation. If you’ve never seen these abominations, the mutilation of this Chevy Luv pickup, described by the seller as “the cheapest fun on eBay” (I bet!), should give you a good example of this particular brand of “customizing.” Want to see more carnage? Try browsing through these rides I found on Ebay without writhing in pain:  57 Chevy Belair, a fenderless ’49 Fleetline, and a sightless VW Beetle.

By David Clarke

highspeedhijinks

My obsession with rat rods is getting worse, and the very sinister “Phantom Bantom” isn’t helping at all. Created by Royal Customs, this 1938 Bantam packs the typical small block 350, but when this motor is placed in a car the size of a Mini and sits at a 45 degree angle, it looks massive. Check out the sweet way they bent the headers to look like bird wings. The kinked frame is the truly outstanding feature of this car, which is more than ready for the lead role in a Rob Zombie video. The eBay auction ends soon, so act quick!

Continue reading "Phantom Bantom on eBay" »