rat rods

I like them for the fact that they dont have to be perfact to drive them, they are just what you have. I dont like them for the fact that some people actually put work into trying to copy that look. Thats not really what a rat rod is, its more like an unfinished car that most or all of your money went into making it fast, rather than pretty, which is what i think is important. I WANNA GO FAST!!!!

When the name Rat Rod first came out, I really thought it was more intended as insulting...but later I came to like the title. Something about being human...we have the need to classify and catagorize just about anything we see.

I agree with the statements made, it is a fantastic "brotherhood" if you will (no offense to the ladies....just a term I know), these folks, like the lowrider scene, made it into a culture...they don't care if you are running four, six, eight or twelve cylinders...it can be flat head, overhard, cammed whatever, as long as you did it with your own two hands...and usually with the hands of many friends helping you.

Some do "look" dangerous, and some really are dangerous....but you get that in any automotive culture. I've seen some cars at the track you really wonder what they folks were thinking when they made it, but overall most are fun, and legal, to drive.

As for adding on stupid things that don't work or function as they should...well to me that is personalizing your ride...and that is what it is all about, making a personal statement. Yes, I've seen the adaptor to put two Stroms onto a four barrel manifold...sure it hurts performance, but the owner made a choice to go with what he likes, if he is concerned about getting every single horsepower out of that old Buick Nailhead, or Ford Y-Block, he would have made a more practical choice. But sometimes in this insanity (sorry...hobby ) we do, practicality isn't the right way to go...you want to make a statement, not be like the rest.

I like the idea of Rat Rod...and one day I hope to be able to get a buch of friends together, get an old barn find and just see what happens....sometimes the build can be more fun than the results.

Mike

Can my 73 mustang count as a rat rod? it will be built with my two hands, def not too pretty, probably dangerous, but a lot of fun

If you want to see a bunch of them come to Morris IL Saturday. There will be quite a few there.

Originally Posted by sharpshot71

Can my 73 mustang count as a rat rod? it will be built with my two hands, def not too pretty, probably dangerous, but a lot of fun

Back in high school my 71 coupe probabaly would have been called a Rat Rod had that term been around back then. It had no paint just primer, and was cobbled together with parts from about a dozen junkyard Mustangs and various other Fords...some of which to this day I still think were in better condition than my 71 .

She was not pretty, but man that car was loads of fun! Drive it to school during the week, run it hard Friday and Saturday at the track...then spend Sunday trying to piece it back together so I can drive it to school again.

Body working tools that I used mostly back then was a large can of Bondo from Pep Boys, a small 5 pound sledge, and a pop rivet gun! The engine received most of the attention, pieces scavenged from junk yard finds, and the occasional gravel pit mystery derelict (the kind of car someone dumped in the old gravel pits or side trails because they were too lazy or cheap to go to the junkyard with it)...we had what I think was a old Country Squire station wagon someone left there. Got myself a nice 4300 off of it for my 351W I was running...if I recall right, got a radiator, rear end and a few other goodies before the state finally found it and towed it away.

Of course the real fun began after getting the parts in trying to get them to fit and run properly..or at least as close as we could at the time .

So to me, if I had to "define" a Rat Rod I would keep it simple like I said before...done with your own two hands...and done with cheapies, freebies and a lot of inginuity...or as my Dad would have said...rigging.

Mike

Originally Posted by F15Falcon

I have been accused of being a Rat Rodder because my '66 Falcon and '64 Galaxie still wear their original colors that are worn down to the metal in places. I AM NOT!!! I never got arount to painting them, but that is coming, eventually. I know a few people who have spent just as much time and money to build something that looks like crap vs. a nice rod. So to answer the question, I do not like Rat Rods that are deliberately built to look like crap.

I agree with the fact that people are spending big money to build "rat rods" to look like crap is crazy. Now building a car from parts that you can scrounge up is kinda cool. I realy like the old pickup rat rods but they are a long way from being cheap and easy to come by. If your gonna buy "rust" colored paint and spend time painting your ride why not Paint it with a actual color.

Originally Posted by 347LX

I agree with the fact that people are spending big money to build "rat rods" to look like crap is crazy. Now building a car from parts that you can scrounge up is kinda cool. I realy like the old pickup rat rods but they are a long way from being cheap and easy to come by. If your gonna buy "rust" colored paint and spend time painting your ride why not Paint it with a actual color.

It's a different art form there is something real primal about a well done Rat. Sprial copper fuel lines, door knobs for shifter handles and vintage Drano or coke bottles for catch cans. Most seem to be pieced together with scrap parts from here and there. I have seen many that are quite impressive looking. Even a band of Rat bikes showing up at car shows. I personally get tired of the trailer queens that have never seen pavement. But a hand forged car shaped over an anvil...you have got to give it up to some of these guys for creativity. That said, I like them and if I get my hands on an old high boy or bucket I will try my hand at one. It's art.
Ras Daniel

rat rods are cool! but to many of them are not built with safety in mind. I have an old HOT ROD `47 Ford Coupe that is flat blackand it is safe.
common sense is what it is all about.




KEEP ON CRUISIN!!!!!!!

Being a huge fan of all forms of racing and different customizing trends I must say.....I HATE the "Rat Rod" trend. I like sleepers and unfinished primer cars with sick motors but the whole rust-bucket things doesn't do anything for me, if I want to see an old piece of rusted junk, I'll go to the salvage yards.......No offense to anyone who owns one or enjoys that direction of the hobby.

I think the term rat rod came from the old Ed Roth Rat Fink cartoons and designs that he drew in the 50's and 60's? The only source for new or replacement parts was the junkyard in that era. There were very few muscle cars to customize, you had to chop and channel a 50 merc to make it look bad and you had to do it yourself!

Today, I think the rat rod culture (if it can be called that) is great in that it keeps those old rust buckets on the road that would likely be crushed otherwise. There is a lot of ingenuity and creative design that goes into those cars. I think the faux rust and worn paint is silly because rust isn't very hard to find in old car parts but for the most part those rat rod mods a cool.