Rat?

Rat Rods Rule

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I'm with snakefarm

If you end up at a show or cruise and the kids seem to like our type of car (?) you tell them get in and have a feel you can't break any thing i can't fix.
The other thing i would add is a rat/hot rod is something built not bought.
Good day to all and have great drive today. [cl
 
i have a couple of ol heaps but i don't call them rats, i call them hot rods, and one is soon to be a custom. i never liked the term rat rod, but can see them as the ones with all the unnecessary bull hanging on them like toilet seats and the sort. most of the cars here on this forum are hot rods, now that i have said that;) i'm sticking to it.:)
 
i have a couple of ol heaps but i don't call them rats, i call them hot rods, and one is soon to be a custom. i never liked the term rat rod, but can see them as the ones with all the unnecessary bull hanging on them like toilet seats and the sort. most of the cars here on this forum are hot rods, now that i have said that;) i'm sticking to it.:)

i'm with you
 
My 2-year-old calls my (his?) old Dodge "Truckie". That's good enough for me.

Looking at picking up an old Fargo panel I've found to revive soon. I guess that one will be "Vannie" ??
 
my 2 cents a rat rod is a rig you put together with parts you hunt down and gather that make you feel good and give you some release from the dailey Rat race we all have to deal with:rolleyes:
 
i have a couple of ol heaps but i don't call them rats, i call them hot rods, and one is soon to be a custom. i never liked the term rat rod, but can see them as the ones with all the unnecessary bull hanging on them like toilet seats and the sort. most of the cars here on this forum are hot rods, now that i have said that;) i'm sticking to it.:)

Yep, I'm with ya there. A rat to me is an unfinished, rusty or worn out faded paint, greasy motor, old tires on stock steel wheels, what Baskerville might have called a "gow job" back in the 40's and 50's.
Not crazy about the "theme" cars, outhouses, whiskey stills and bottles, rubber rats and spiderwebs, you know the kind. Fun to look at for a while, then they grow old on me.

I prefer good paint, even if it's a satin or flat color, a touch of chrome, good lines and proportions, and a finished interior, even if it's just paint and Mexican blankets! And no greasy, oil soaked smoking engines that look like they just came from a junk yard.

I guess there are as many different descriptions and likes and dislikes as there are different builds. If you like it and it's yours, that's all that matters.
I think the modern rat is a sign of rebellion , rebellion against high dollar cars, chrome, billet, slick paint jobs, luxury leather seats and creature comforts, you know, all the things you can get at the dealership on a brand new car, just fitted into an old style body.
It's a way to say, "Hey, look at me, I'm totally opposite of you and your high dollar ride."

Although, I have seen some rats sell for big bucks lately.......pretty soon they will be what street rods are now.....
 
My car is considered a rat rod I suppose, and by the original meaning. I call it a hot rod.
To me a rat rod is basically a hot rod built more with what's at hand, probably not painted. IMHO, 3/4s of the stuff other people call rat rods should really be called cartoon rods or shock rods. Somehow rat rod has come to mean hanging a bunch of goofy crap all over a car, like the saw blades and dead cow parts.
 
I call my Olds a rat, but like Old Iron I don't consider it a ratrod. More of a Rat Custom.

If it's done but looks unfinished, it's probably a rat. If it's done with all period correct parts, it's a traditional.

If it looks cool, but you don't know what to call it, who cares?
 
Some interesting thoughts. To me a rat is simply a SAFELY homebuilt car or truck usually pre 1950 that is built with whatever parts are available to create a running vehicle. Simply removing the front fenders on a car or truck does NOT constitute a ratrod, it only devalues whatever it was at one time.
I don't mean to insult anyone, as these are my opinions only! :D
 
Not matter where and how you ask this question, it has always had a different answer by everyone asked. Wonder if this question has been asked at hotrodders.com?
 
Not matter where and how you ask this question, it has always had a different answer by everyone asked. Wonder if this question has been asked at hotrodders.com?

One of the mods there hates anything that doesn't have a $10,000 paint job and really gets his shorts in a wad about rat rods. I won't say his name but it's the same as some 70s cheesy wheels with lots of fake rivets in them.
 
It something built your way with used and home made parts to have a lot of fun in and don't care what others think about it.
 
I hate when someone calls my 29 chevy roadster a ratrod. To me a true ratrod has rebar welded to the frame or suspension. A car built with only car parts is a hotrod to me. But thats my opinion and what do I know half my car was made of wood from the factory.
 
I hate when someone calls my 29 chevy roadster a ratrod. To me a true ratrod has rebar welded to the frame or suspension.

Huh??? Something with rebar suspension is unsafe and should be shunned by the people on this forum. We've tried hard on RRR to get rid of those kinds of junk builds being called a rat rod, or those kinds of things being built at all. Makes us all look bad.
 

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