Rat Fink reminiscing...

I was out in the city on Saturday night. I wasn't out wandering the streets aimlessly, of course, I was there for an industry event at the Adelaide Convention Centre. I didn't stay long being the people-phobic person I am; It was crowded with some 800 people, all seated at big round tables for the three-course meal and presentations. It was loud with everyone trying to talk over each other and I couldn't even hear the people on the stage. I stayed for what I thought was an acceptable amount of time and then quietly left. I was home by 2200 (10pm) and thankful for it.

I decided to take a walk despite the cool night and wait for my ride home a little way out of the hustle and bustle of a Saturday night in the city which is where I saw this car. I'm not sure what it is, possibly a 1934 Ford pickup, but I could be wrong. Whatever it is though it was very COOL. I thought so anyway.

I assumed the guy driving was the owner, and probably builder, of the car which was done up as a wrecker (tow truck) as you can see. It would have caught my eye regardless but the initials R.F. on the side in yellow made it stand out more! So cool.

R.F. Stands for Rat Fink which is a character created by Ed Big Daddy Roth who is a hot-rodder and one of the originators of Kustom Kulture, a neologism describing artwork, the vehicles, hairstyles, and the fashions of people who drove and built custom cars and motorcycles in USA from about the 1950s through to today. Rat Fink was designed as an anti-hero to the Disney charachter, Mickey Mouse.

"Rat Fink is usually portrayed as either green or grey, comically grotesque and depraved-looking with bulging, bloodshot eyes, an oversized mouth with sharp, narrow teeth, and wearing red overalls with the initials "R.F." on them. He is often seen driving cars or motorcycles."

Seeing the car the other night made me think about some of the cars I have built and cruised around in my time. I've had a lot of cars, some 38 or so in my 48 years of life and considering I got my drivers license at 16 years of age it's a lot of cars, some 1.18 cars per year. Not all of them were cruise-worthy though, in fact very few were. I had a very cool Valiant VG Coupe on which I spent a bucket of money, a Hilux 2x4 mini truck (Cali-cruiser-style), a Holden WB ute which I also spent a bucket-load of cash on and a Ford F100 pickup that was pretty cool, if not quite as schmick, as the others. I had some pretty cool motorbikes as well and may (or may not) have done some idiotic things on the roads with them...Anyway, No point incriminating myself.

There's something cool about getting a few mates together and cruising around in cars. OK, so maybe not so much now that I'm older, but back then it was cool. We'd just drive around a bit, then arrive somewhere for pizza and a few beers and to talk some shit. Our partners would join us mostly, but not always, and when we'd park we would end up with a small crowd of admirers (car admirers) who would gather to take pictures of the cars, ask questions and talk shop with us. It was good harmless fun, except for the street racing we would do from time to time, but boys will be boys, right? I even won a few.

It seemed a more simple time, those youthful days. But yet at the time life seemed so complicated. Things that I now know to be trivial in the extreme seemed so important and looking back now it's laugh-worthy and somewhat cringe-worthy. (Certainly someof the clothing could be described in this way). We'd have long conversations about Holley carburettors and dyno-tuning. Genie headers and Mallory ignition systems and so on. We'd use words like ported intake manifold, supercharger, wheel-tubs and of course horsepower at the rear wheels. It all seemed so interesting and critical to life at the time. You may note there was no talk of sub-woofers and playstations in the back seat...We were all about horsepower not wank-factor.

Saturday (daytime) would be spent making sure the vehicle would run at its peak, cleaning and polishing and then Saturday night was for cruising, racing, pizza and shooting the breeze with mates. Good times.

I have a solid respect for, and interest in, cars to this day. Motorbikes, helicopters, army tanks, drones, guns...Jeez, the list is endless...Maybe I'm just a kid at heart? Yeah, I know I am. But I think it's healthy. To have interests like this I mean, and interests in general. How boring would life be without them?

To be honest I don't think things have changed all that much. Sure, I'm not as impulsive and won't street-race anymore. Racing is for the track and that's where I leave it. I'm also better-funded and so my vehicles (and other hobbies) reflect that. But essentially I'm still that late-teen/early twenties kid at heart I think. I've done a lot of things in my life, some I recall with pride and others I would be happy to alter; I don't live with regret though, and nor do I wish I could go back. I'm 48 and I'm the man I am today because of all of the places I've been and things I've done. Did I always come out unscathed? Haha, if only...I got battered, bruised and cut but it's those bruises and scars that make for good conversation now, right?

Thanks for reading.

R.F. image source