Rat Rods

[daves66valiant]

We have had the Primer Nationals here in Ventura, CA every year for the past 4 years. Really cool show and lots of cool cars. Some shiney and some ratty. All good fun.

 

[dodgetkboy78]

See, all I see there is a off the wall hot rod in bare primer. It isn't even rusty, and the frame is finished completely... all painted... and it has shiny chrome wheels on it. Perfect example of the term being used too loosely.

This says it best.

Some shiney and some ratty. All good fun.

All I see is someones neat toy they are proud of, sorry you don't think the same thing, but if the owner loves it, so do I, don't care if it's a Honda, a Chevy, or a huffy.

 

[LJS30]

Wow if all you need is a rusty frame, a motor, and some pedals of some sorts, then my ranch is full of "rat rods". I'll post pics of my rat rods tomorrow.

 

[72bluNblu]

I like some rat rods. I would like to build one for my next project. No top, welded doors and chrome exhaust along midline of body front to back, with mopar motor of course.

YouTube - hemi powered rat rod... omfg this is great

turn up sound

Before this thread goes totally sideways, I want to make one thing clear. The video bad shrimp posted is of Jimmy White's Hemi powered '31 model A. It is in absolutely, positivley, no way, shape, or form, a rat rod.

Jimmy's model A is a well thought out, safely built, and expertly finished traditional hot rod that happens to be finished in bare steel.


"Rat rods" have had their definition change quite a bit in the last few years. Originally they were built as low dollar hot rods, and while they may have been rough in appearance they were mostly safe and built to be driven by folks that wanted a hot rod and didn't have a ton of money to invest in it, sort of an answer to the insanely high dollar "street rods" of the 80's and early 90's.

But, as near as I can tell, most rat rods now are built solely for shock value at shows, and are either rusty death traps, or cars that could have been fixed up that instead have been hacked to pieces in order to fit into what is becoming a ridiculous trend. It has become a derogatory term to a lot of hot rodders, especially in the traditional hot rod scene, because many people mistake unfinished, or even some finished, traditional hot rods as "rat rods".

And it's easy to see why it would be derogatory, and down right insulting to call Jimmy White's beautiful '31 model A by the same name as some of the rusty death traps that most consider "rat rods".

 

[xlexl]

Before this thread goes totally sideways, I want to make one thing clear. The video bad shrimp posted is of Jimmy White's Hemi powered '31 model A. It is in absolutely, positivley, no way, shape, or form, a rat rod.

Jimmy's model A is a well thought out, safely built, and expertly finished traditional hot rod that happens to be finished in bare steel.


"Rat rods" have had their definition change quite a bit in the last few years. Originally they were built as low dollar hot rods, and while they may have been rough in appearance they were mostly safe and built to be driven by folks that wanted a hot rod and didn't have a ton of money to invest in it, sort of an answer to the insanely high dollar "street rods" of the 80's and early 90's.

But, as near as I can tell, most rat rods now are built solely for shock value at shows, and are either rusty death traps, or cars that could have been fixed up that instead have been hacked to pieces in order to fit into what is becoming a ridiculous trend. It has become a derogatory term to a lot of hot rodders, especially in the traditional hot rod scene, because many people mistake unfinished, or even some finished, traditional hot rods as "rat rods".

And it's easy to see why it would be derogatory, and down right insulting to call Jimmy White's beautiful '31 model A by the same name as some of the rusty death traps that most consider "rat rods".

Took the words out of my mouth. from a kid, I grew up around rods, the muscle car scene is fairly new to me.
The term "Rat rod" for us was always applied to low budget builds which were done out of a garage by the owner without many specialty tools. In essence, a driving portrait of individual ingenuity. Without relying on mass marketed after market specialty parts and tools, or wads of cash.

 

[justin hughes]

i think rat rods are cool when they are built with next to no money and when they look nostalgic like something that you would have seen on the road in the 1950s. i hate it when people tell me that i went for the rat look on my valiant, no i didnt, i just want to keep it all one color while i am doing the bodywork until i can properly paint it i tell them.

 

[SpeedThrills]

I don't like them. That's my opinion, that's all. It's motivation to build my Duster "overkill", as far as looks go.

What I don't get, is Hot Rod Magazine's promotion of safe, well built, mostly good looking cars for the last 60 years, and now they've put rat rods in the mag.
Hot Rod has been responsible for creating and/or promoting some questionable trends over the years, but I really don't get why they've done this.
It can only serve to exacerbate the very reputation they've been working to eliminate.

 

[Frankie]

See, all I see there is a off the wall hot rod in bare primer. It isn't even rusty, and the frame is finished completely... all painted... and it has shiny chrome wheels on it. Perfect example of the term being used too loosely.

Unfortunately, the term "Rat Rod" is most often misused. It's even applied to pure junk, especially when attempting to sell it, especially on eBay.

 

[memike]

My friend gets this allot Nice rat Rod
He is proud of his 1926 Hudson and it still has the wood top and all the metal
It's a car under construction and he drive it everywhere.

No!! It's not a Rat Rod, a 26 Hudson with rac steering, a/c small blower and a great driver :cheers: and yes !! it halls @!! :burnout:

 

[dodgetkboy78]

Here ya go....

Sweet truck....

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je0LHKp51u0"]YouTube - 453-T Detroit Diesel in 1950 GMC 2[/ame]