Words & photos: John Gunnell
Well, Tim Buttle’s latest hot rod used to have handlebars because it started out as a 1981 Honda Goldwing motorcycle that Tim purchased for $200.
“The complete bike, except for the front wheel, is under that body I built,” Buttles explained. He has a total of around $3,000 into his hot rod, not counting labor. “The paint, fiberglass and upholstery materials cost me more than the Honda I started with.”
As far as labor, Tim writes that off as part of a “project” – and he has many of those. Like a typical hot rodder, he builds a vehicle and then often sells it to buy his next project. When that one is done, he moves on to his next project. The projects are usually built during the Wisconsin winter, driven the next summer and sold in the fall.
This is the second three-wheeled hot rod that Tim built on an 1100cc Gold Wing. He calls this one his “Leftover Special” because it was made from parts left over from his other car, bike and teardrop trailer projects. The front end is made from a pair of extra fenders that Tim got as spares when he was restoring an early-1950s DKW convertible. Of course, he had to narrow up the fenders to get them to fit the Leftover Special.
A fiberglass hood was used. The doors that Tim fabricated are all metal and the back of the body is also all metal. He modified the front end of a Volkswagen and blended it in up front.
“The headlights (actually headlight housings) are chimney metal or ‘stovepipe,’” Buttles revealed. “I got the fenders from some kind of a minivan, but I had to add onto them to make them wide enough. The rear deck center section is actually made from the same type of fenders, but without the added material.”
Inside is a dashboard that originally came in an old 1928 Chrysler parts car. “The grille might have come from some Buick,” Buttles guessed. “The hinges for the hood, doors and engine lid are homemade and had to be placed on the outside of the body in order to work properly.”
The Honda Goldwing came with four carburetors. “I didn’t want to be tuning and balancing carburetors all of the time, so I made my own intake manifold based on a how-to TV show,” noted Tim. “It takes a single Volkswagen carburetor.”
Buttles did all of the mechanical and body work on the Leftover Special. He says that he spent about six months building it.
“I don’t watch television, except for that one do-it-yourself show that has some really good tips,” said Tim. “I know how to make stuff, but unfortunately there’s very little demand for that today. Young people don’t want this kind of homemade vehicle built on the cheap with leftover parts; why should they, when they can just go out and buy a Spyder and make payments on it for seven years?”
Tim has built airplanes, cars and motorcycles. We told him that he should be working for big auto products suppliers building SEMA show or PRI show cars. “I’m not in that league,” he said. “I’m just a little guy working in my garage at home having fun with my projects.”
We weren’t going to argue with him, but a lot of car enthusiasts in Central Wisconsin who know Tim’s work and his vehicles would not agree with his downhome modesty. Like many rodders, he knows how to do a lot with a little – even just leftover parts.
