In my opinion, Rat Rod has become sort of a catch-all term for poorly-built, crude and unsafe cars. To me, they seem half-assed and take no engineering whatsoever - it's all for looks and the fad has gone sour. The rat rod look dosen't really jibe with muscle-era cars either. Traditional hot rod types cringe at the rat rod label, it's become a joke.:angry7:
People who purposely build them are going for a look/style which is that of the cheaply-built and crude hot rods of the '30's and '40's. Some like to call it 'patina' as if they'd found a crusty old hot rod in original, untouched-by-time condition and decide to keep it that way. These days, it seems that anything with satin black primer, a mexican blanket and a set of red steel wheels qualifies as a rat rod.
If you're looking for a muscle car 'rat rod' look, I'd suggest '70s style - Gabriel Hi-Jackers, Ansen sprints and Indy profile tires, Accel Super Coil, Moroso Valve covers, speed parts stickers under the trunk lid etc...
We now return you to our regulaly-scheduled programming.
I agree with you totally on this.... It's like the fad a few years ago with the biker craze bandwagon that everyone jumped on to. REAL bikers ride all of the time rain, cold, etc. not because of an image they want to portray period.
Same with the rat rod people who are much the same, they do their cars up to their tastes, and drive the hell out of them, rain snow whatever.
allthough, many of these cars are very mechanically sound, not like the stereotype that is usually portrayed. Just because it looks shiny and good, doesn't mean that it is mechanically sound, and same goes for the reverse! I've seen lots of newer cars that aren't fit for the road because of low or no maintainance, looks can be decieving.....
Myself, I prefer the early '80s look of well worn, gonna fix it up as i drive it, that's the era that i came from so i guess i am a product of my youth experiences, as all of us are.
I have tried the full numbers matching resto thing and I find that it's a hassle, expensive, and it's not me.
Now, I put together cars that are like the ones in my past, beaters if you want to call them that, all of the mechanical work is first rate and they are 100% roadworthy and safe. (even if they don't look that way)
Bottom line, I have now the attitude that i enjoy my cars no matter what they look like, matching numbers, etc, I feel that this is what this hobby is all about.
It's just my 2 cents!!!!! :evil4: