![]() ![]() Though he was no stranger to wrench or welder, painting and pinstriping became his priorities.īy 1956 Roth was in business for himself in south suburban L.A. Roth preferred his rods decked out in flashy flames or trendy scallops. He was always good with his hands, both mechanically and artistically, so instead of simply stripping down and hopping up an old Ford coupe he would pay every bit as much attention to outward appearances. Roth was an imaginative kid, and like any other card-carrying So-Cal teen at the time he grew up a hot rodder. Here on Earth he was known as Ed “Big Daddy” Roth (no relation to Don “Big Daddy” Garlits), an only-slightly-evil genius who, according to allegedly official records, was born in 1932 in Beverly Hills, California. Or in the company of anyone with a taste for the weird, wacky artistry of a weird, wacky man surely not of this world. “R.F.” might still be found lurking about today, perhaps amongst a gang of graybeard bikers or maybe around a convention of custom-car crazies. If you were a T-shirt-wearing teen during the Sixties you can’t help but remember “Rat Fink,” yet another undying car-culture icon born in zanier yet simpler times. Unlike Dean Moon’s ever-present pair of clear and bright peepers, these ogling eyes were beady, bloodshot and bulging, and they belonged to a flea-bitten face not even a mother could love-not with that psychotic saw-toothed smirk. Beneath this banana’s skin is a Jim Davis chassis stretched out on a 153-inch wheelbase. Yellow Fang’s body came from Tom Hanna’s shop in San Diego. ![]()
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