Ed Roth began driving cars when he was 12 years old. It was in Southern California, right after World War II, and cars were what every young man was dreaming about. At first Ed did the same thing his buddies were doing: Hed buy an old car, like a 32 three-window coupe, and customize it for racing or cruising.

Then, in the late 50s, he did something no one else had tried. He started building cars from scratch.

Using simple tools, junkyard parts, and a new, inexpensive material called fiberglass, Roth created automobiles in his garage. The first one was named, appropriately enough, the “Outlaw.” It was proof that anyone can indeed do-it-yourself, without a team of engineers and a Detroit assembly line. All that was really needed was hard work and imagination.

Ed had plenty of imagination. He became “Big Daddy,” a hot-rod Dr. Frankenstein who was more of a struggling artist than a mechanic. His garage became his studio. His cars were never meant to be driven: They were sculptures on wheels.

The Outlaw was followed by the “Beatnik Bandit ” and then “Rotar.” Big Daddy Roth had to finance his creations by selling Tshirts. On weekends, he would set up a booth at a drag strip or car show or county fair and personally airbrush shirts. He would draw cartoons of monsters and pictures of cars, but when he airbrushed T-shirts with monsters driving cars, people began to line up at his booth.

His most popular monster was a repulsive rodent named Rat Fink. Roth was a genius at designing cars, but it was “Finkie “who brought him fame and fortune. By 1963, pimply teenagers across America were buying Rat Fink model kits and mass-produced Rat Fink T-shirts.

His garage/studio evolved into the blue-collar equivalent of Andy Warhols Factory. His new shop was located in Lakewood, Calif. Dozens of employees helped Big Daddy create more Kustom Kars, T-shirts, records, and Revell produced model car kits patterned after his creations. Rat Fink was soon joined by other gross, disgusting creatures driving the coolest hot rods.

Alienated adolescents who knew theyd never fit in now had their own heroes: Drag Nut, Mothers Worry, Mr.Gasser, and other members of the Rat Fink family. The message was clear (even if it wasnt the one Roth had intended): Ugly is beautiful, and being a weirdo is cool. It was a lesson some would never forget.

Tales of the Rat Fink plays at Dundees tavern intermitantly throughout the weekend. Dundees is located at 440 Broadway. Call (503) 738-7006 for more information.