Buildin' A Better Beater - Tech

Without a doubt, the old-time hot rod style has enjoyed another one of its high points over the last few years. I say "one of" because old-school hot rods have never really gone out of style, and never will-they just kind of ride waves of popularity over the course of time. Personally, I've always preferred bare-bones beaters more than show-quality street rods. Perhaps it's because, as a kid, the first real hot rod I was exposed to was, well, a beater. It was a highboy '29 A-sedan sporting what was left of its original gray/green finish, a pitted and slightly rust-specked A grille shell, 16-inch Kelsey wires and blackwalls, and a grimy 331 Olds motor. To me, that hot rod was the coolest car this then-12-year-old had ever seen, and to this day there's nothin' on that baby I would have changed one bit.

Happily, I'm by no means alone in my tastes. You can't go to a street rod event or gathering these days without seeing an ever-increasing number of beaters (I loathe the term rat rod) mixed in with those cubic-dollar street rods that are now the norm. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against street rods-the talent, patience, and huge amount of cash required to build a show-quality car or truck deserves praise. It's just that I personally can't imagine building or owning a hot rod that I'd be afraid to take somewhere, park, and walk away from, or have to trailer because a stone chip or ding would be cause for a coronary. That just doesn't sound like fun to me. Besides, spending untold hours waxing and polishing ain't my cup o' tea-gimme a long day on the road and a coin-op carwash any day.

Now that I've vented my opinion, for what it's worth, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. We've all listened to the occasional stories of lucky devils who stumble across those legendary unmolested hot rods, and none of us can say we don't wish we were that lucky. Unfortunately, discoveries such as those are rare and becoming more so.

Enter the faux barn-find phenomenon, or purposeful patina-the art of making a silk purse into a sow's ear, so to speak. It's not everyone's taste, but a growing number of folks are working hard to make their hot rods look the part of the vehicle with a long, hard life under its belt. Here we're going to take a look at a bunch of cool examples of cars deliberately built with the well-worn look and feel of your favorite pair of broken-in jeans. Heck, we might even throw in a few tips on how to achieve that look for those street rodders who might consider building a cool hot rod they can spend more time driving and enjoying than polishing and protecting.