One of the many great things about our Autopian co-founder Beau is that he has perhaps the world’s best collection of Hot Rods and Show Rods and other “Kustoms,” all curated by Dave Shuten, arguably the best restorer/builder/conservator of this wonderful category of automobila in the world. Too bad Dave thinks of me as a worm, but that’s how life goes! Anyway, a number of years back I was shooting some videos with a few of these amazing machines, and it inspired me to make a sketch of a show rod I’d like to build (you know, if I had the money, time, equipment, or skill, all of which I lack in generous amounts). Anyway, I just found that sketch.
The terminology of the Hot Rod world can be a bit confusing; “Hot Rod” is a pretty general term and can encompass your neighbor’s Chevette with a huge LS engine shoved into it or a carefully-crafted machine that is more sculpture than car. The cars I’m talking about now I think are better classified under the “Show Rod” term which I usually think of as the very exaggerated, incredibly and meticulously built cars made primarily for shows as opposed to actual driving.
These were the sorts of cars that were made into model kits, and were big in the 1960s and 1970s. These were often genuine works of art, mobile sculptures with exuberant styling and materials, usually built around some sort of coherent theme. When I was at the Galpin Speed shop that time, I actually got to drive an amazing example of one of these, Chuck Miller‘s 1968 Fire Truck:
As you can see, that thing was deeply bonkers. It was also beautifully made and very cleverly adhered to the fire truck theme. This got me thinking about what kind of themed show rod I’d like to make, and I realized, with some surprise, that no one had ever seemed to make a video game-themed show rod back in the 1970s. Unable to shake the idea from my head, I made this quick sketch on a big pad that was in the speed shop:
To tighten the focus of the theme, I went for a specific late 1970s/early 1980s Atari VCS/2600-based theme, with healthy amounts of ’70s rec room thrown in. I want the traditional Ford C-cab style/pizza cutter front wheels/massive rear wheels/forward raked stance sort of thing, but with as many old Atari references as possible.
I’ve always wanted to use CRT TVs as headlights, so this is the perfect place for that, and they’d both be playing old Atari games on them. There would be lots of woodgrain and ribbed black plastic-like material on the outside, an Atari joystick shifter and big red button-pedals, and the seats would look like the couch from a Lutheran church basement rec room in 1979.
Here, I can break it all down:
The windshield I think could be the real show-stopper here: I’d like it to be playing an (automated or actually interactive!) game of Pong, using a transparent LCD screen or perhaps projected onto a flat and appropriately coated pane of glass. I’m sure it could be done, and would be cool aigh eff.
The taillights would be a bar made of a matrix of period-appropriate red LEDs, which would show space invader-type characters dancing around, moving in either direction for turn indication and that sort of thing.
Atari is still around, and for the first time in a long time seems to have a upbeat financial prospects. I say they should celebrate by commissioning me to design this thing and have it built! The world needs more ridiculous show rods, after all, that’s just a fact. And this one could be fantastic! What do you say, Atari? Live a little! In the past, kinda!
Just wait until he installs the series 5200 steering and control module. The steering wheel will never re-center itself nicely.
Thanks! I hate it!
Daddy, Dave, and Digger would approve.
red button pedals … tap tap tap tap taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap to go faster
What? No paddle controller to steer with?
Love it Jason! I’m not even really that into show rods (other than deeply admiring the craftsmanship that goes into them, just as I am w/low riders) but your 80s Atari rod strikes a chord given some of my misspent youth.
If it’s possible to cleanly remove the backlight from a LCD TV set, maybe that could be the windshield (not sure the game would be that visible, but a small test w/an old/small dissected LCD should say whether it’d work… I have some doubts).
If the windshield doesn’t need to be clear (see through) WHILE the game is playing, I think a simpler solution would be to make it out of one of those fancy bathroom windows where it goes from clear to opaque white at the flip of a switch, and to then just project the game from a little DLP or LCD projector mounted just under the headliner between the seats. Gotta make sure the resulting image comes out with left on the left as viewed from the front of the car since I assume the game would be played from out front rather than from in the seats, where it’d be too close. I think some projectors have switches to flip the image on the vertical axis to account for front vs rear projection.
The CRTs as headlights are awesome too. 🙂
I can see someone needs to give Torch a sketching and mood board tutorial. If only we knew a trained designer.
Rather than a joystick shifter, it could be steering/accelerator/brake control. The red button would be for reverse.
I didn’t see any mention of Cheeto dust or fruit pie wrappers for interior decoration.
Atari are not still around.
Or rather, the company that made the 2600, ,all the games etc. is long dead, and all that exists today is a set of trademarks that it’s current owners use to extract money from nostalgic people.
Or to put it more poetically, it’s a corporate monster wearing the skin of Atari.
Even as an Amiga owner I don’t like it.
That’s true, but this latest incarnation seems better than it has been for decades; the 2600+ and new 2600 carts at least feels like a better path.
This is awesome, and I could see it displayed as a set with a second NES-themed show rod (sketches TBA).
As someone who put far too many hours into state of the art games like Night Driver and Pitfall on a 2600, let me just say this put a massive smile on my face
It may push the boundaries of a show rod, but I’d lose the T reference and start with a circa-1980 station wagon. Ford Fairmont would be ideal and probably what Galpin would’ve started with to build an Atari themed car in 1980.
What I really appreciate about your sketch is that it looks like VCS box/cartridge art.
I think you should run with the idea. Finish out the artwork and come up with a wacky Autopian-themed backstory.
What else do you have to do? Write a new car review? You already did that. Draft up some more…ugh…blogarinos…? You’ve got like, so much time to get that done.
Yeah, if it can’t be built let’s at least sick the Bishop on this!
Dave Shuten is now .0000001% more famous than he was just 20 minutes ago, all thanks to you, Jason. He owes you this build. Go forth and demand what’s yours!
I think you should push the sofa back further and the driver should sit on the floor in front of it. I’m imagining some plush green shag carpet…
No curves should be allowed in an Atari car, and it should look like the Bump ‘ Jump car from the top. Extra points if you can get the wheels to pop in and out as it goes down the road.
To be followed shortly by the Sears Tele-Games version, which is exactly the same except for different badges and a slightly different style of woodgrain.
You need to have Adrian make a mockup!
Looks like something George Barris would have built and I approve.