
There is a Rat Fink poster on the blue wall at stage left in The Pee-wee Herman Show. The song was featured in the film Beavis and Butthead Do America, along with an animated sequence reminiscent of Ed Roth's artistic style.įink's, a bar-and-grille in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is named in tribute to Rat Fink. The band White Zombie produced a song titled "Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks, and Cannibal Girls". West Coast and in Australia (Roth drew Rat Fink artwork for the album Junk Yard by the Australian band The Birthday Party). Roth's lucrative idea to paint hideous monsters - including the Rat Fink of the title - on children's T-shirts.Ī Rat Fink revival in the late 1980s and the 1990s centered on the grunge/ punk rock movements, both in the U.S.
#Rat fink 1968 el camino movie
Ogling fins and drooling over fenders, the movie traces the colorful history of the hot rod from speed machine to babe magnet and, finally, museum piece and collector's item. Jeannette Catsoulis reviewed in The New York Times:

Rat Fink and Roth are featured in Ron Mann's documentary film Tales of the Rat Fink (2006). Sloane and Steve Fiorilla, who illustrated Roth's catalogs. Other artists associated with Roth also drew the character, including Rat Fink Comix artist R.K. Rat Fink continues to be a popular item to this day in hot rod and Kustom Kulture circles in the form of T-shirts, key chains, wallets, toys, decals, etc. The initial run of the kit was from 1963 to 1965, but the Rat Fink kit, along with Roth's other creations, has been re-issued by Revell over the years. The ’68 El Camino SS396 featured a blacked out grille, domed hood with chrome vent grilles, blacked out lower body paint, chrome lower body moldings, specially styled wheels, and SS396 emblems. Also in 1963, the Revell Model Company issued a plastic model kit of the character. The 1968 El Camino Custom also featured bright window frames, bed moldings, and wide rocker panel accent moldings. MENTAL 1957 CHEV, VW AND EL CAMINO-BASED RAT RODS. The ad called it "The rage in California". SPEEDY GONZALES KEY RING Car Surfing Rat Fink Ford VW HOLDEN KEYRING. Rat Fink was advertised for the first time in the July 1963 issue of Car Craft. His T-shirt designs inspired an industry. By the August 1959 issue of Car Craft, "weirdo shirts" had become a craze, with Ed Roth at the forefront of the movement. Roth began airbrushing and selling "weirdo" T-shirts at car shows and in the pages of hot rod publications such as Car Craft in the late 1950s. He is often seen driving cars or motorcycles. Rat Fink is usually portrayed as either green or gray, 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. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. As far as wagons go, this Chevelle may easily be able to match any SS 396 at the traffic light drag strip.Rat Fink is one of several hot rod characters created by artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, one of the originators of Kustom Kulture of automobile enthusiasts. The odometer reads 80,000 miles and it’s on its second time around the dial. The interior has had a makeover, with new upholstery, per the seller. And some of the side trim is no longer present.

The body looks okay, but the black (?) paint looks to be an older finish, a likely respray.

Also, the “high-rise” floor gear shifter is not something that would have been stock in a ’68 Chevelle. While they could be original, we’re guessing the drivetrain components are replacements for something that was once more sedate in the performance department. This wagon sports a rebuilt 396 V8 and a 4-speed manual, typically reserved for the Chevelle SS 396 and not a “Family Truckster” like this. Also, we’re told this is a 1969 model, but the front end and steering wheel are all from 1968. The seller’s wagon is one of these, but there’s no indication which one this is and we can’t make out any badging. Those choices, from basic to upscale, were the Nomad, Nomad Custom, Malibu, and Concours. The softer styling saw production exceed 464,000 units, including four station wagons that came with six-passenger seating (nine-passenger was also available). US 57. Located in Creswell, Oregon, this performance coach is available here on craigslist for $10,000 OBO (thanks for the tip, Rocco B.).Īll of GM’s intermediates were redesigned in 1968, including the Chevelle. This second-generation 1968 Chevelle wagon would be an ordinary people mover if it didn’t have a 396 cubic inch V8 under the hood. Chevrolet would follow two years later with the Chevelle, which ironically had similar dimensions as the 1957 Bel Airs.
#Rat fink 1968 el camino series
Ford was perhaps the first to respond by creating a mid-size or intermediate series of automobiles, shifting the Fairlane nameplate to that duty. The 1968 El Camino featured brand new sheet metal and the wheelbase was redesigned, modifying it from 119 to 116 inches. With the advent of the compact market segment in the late 1950s, a gap between the new smaller cars and Detroit’s full-size transports quickly developed.
