Ratrod?

Rat Rods Rule

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kdubya

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
50
Location
Spokane, Wa.
Alright, I'm new here so bare with me. I've heard, and agree with, the statement about rat rods "i cant define one, but I know one when I see it". I have also seen people post pictures here of some amazing rods and then apologize for them not being rat rods because of shiney paint.
Is it rat, as in "ratty"? Or rat as in "rat fink" Raked, channeled, monster motor, sky high shifter, cheater white walls, etc?
So, if a car has all the characteristics of a rat rod, the instant it has color on it, it no longer fits the bill? and what about the suede cars, and where do the gassers fall? Should this be rat rods rule and gassers too?
Anxious to hear what the rat rod purists have to say on this. Ha Ha ratrod purist, That's a misnomer isn't it.
Anyhow, great sight.
 
If you ask 100 people you are going to get 100 different answers. In the past it was easier to define because the first rat rods were............well, kinda ratty! :D Some of them featured really bad construction that verged on dangerous to drive. But the rat rod craze is growing up IMO. Now builders are concerned with good construction techniques, and safety. They may still feature unshiny paint jobs and undetailed components, but underneath they are completely different from the ones we saw about 6-10 years ago.

I just saw an old school rat rod at the Street Rod Nats in Tampa, and it was not a pretty sight. Stuff like using a camshaft for a steering draglink, and VERY questionable boogery welds. Hope he trailered it there.:mad:

Don
 
I guess my thinking on a rat rod is that we use what is available and within our budget to use. Looks and paint may come into the picture , but I don't think so much that as the other characteristics like what parts were used. Rat rods have really become the new hot rod so to speak. So, now even an old tractor grill may sell higher now than it would have before this hobby took over the car and truck world. Imagination is the single key that seperates us form the other guys , I think. And the fact that most of us do the work ourselves. This type of rod is a way for us working class family guys to have a cool ride, without spending too much money.
 
carefull with the deffinitions! A car that is stripped down, made to go fast with whatever is laying around is the definition of an origanal hot rod. I say a rat rod is such a car that was built but also no effort was made to hide chop welds or fix rust in non-impoportant areas. Just my $.02[cl
 
Well....I suppose the reason nobody can define a "rat rod" perse' is because they are different things to different people. Some like them rough around the edges, others like them cleaned up and in suede, and still others like them detailed a bit and shiney. But for being as different from each other as they are, they all carry that same look, that same theme. And like you said, "you'll know it when you see it". Rats are very diversified, just like the owners, builders and dreamers. I'm not so sure a Rat Rod is a vehicle as much as a personification of the people involved, this site is a perfect example. Just look at the tone, temperment, and tempo, you would be hard pressed to find another one like it. So what's a Rat?? Darned if I know...but I like them.;)
 
to me a rat rod = a true hot rod
when the first hot rods came to be - if you had preserved them in time
- i believe now they would now be mostly considered rat rods -- just someone who
wanted a kick butt car that could also be a daily driver
bc he/she didnt have a lot money --basically what you see now with
young adults - make the car just about as different as you could get away
with comfortably -

imaginary clip from back in the day (in my mind)
so you bought the car for 40 dollars from your neighbor -
no hood? no problem - rust - ehh no big deal - door windows
are busted out? thats ok they were gonna stay down anyways
and we can just put an old mexican blanket over that busted
up old seat
its got a big engine and you know how
to make it low and loud and socially a little unacceptable
good buy - if you have to ask why - you wouldnt understand
-- if its too loud - youre too old [ddd

so now that the cars are "classics" and not just a used --
somewhere along the lines
people came up with a distinguishing line that no one can draw
separating gassers, traditional hot rods, resto- rods, lead sleds,
kustoms, and of course Rat Rods --- what this all leads up to
in my own personal opinion - and ive said it before --

rat rods are a working class hot rod - a car/truck for people who think
its a little silly to have a car that no one can touch let alone drive --
its built from whats available and affordable to the individual - and is a
direct reflection of the builder(s) personality in a way... its a work of art
that can never be recreated the exact same - if only for the reason that
there is blood, sweat, and hours of examining and planning, replanning and
preparation that go into it that can happen but once -- if you want paint,
paint it - i dont care - paints never been a priority in my cars worth thousands of dollars - seems a little trite TO ME - but then i dont have a thousand let alone 100 dollars to spend on paint either - so im going rattle can if anything :) and thats just how it is.
 
cantwell.colton, I think you just nailed it. Thanks for explaining that to everyone...:D

I built mine the way I wanted it and to my liken, what others think doesnt matter to me. If someone doesnt like what I built I am sure their neck will turn the other way and they want have to look at it.

I like it and that settles it.[cl

Good explaination cantwell.colton.

Larry
 
elaboration.

Sam_Fear said:
This thread might give you a better understanding of what a Ratrod is:
Yours might be a ratrod if... :D:D:D Classic RRR!
Click to expand...

sam - i had almost forgotten about that whole thread - laughed again - just as hard --

one thing that i find very interesting - is if you look historically at say famous painters - you find that many painters works of art are covering other works of art - theyre just simply painting over the previous painting -- also - many artists have been known to destroy their works when they are finished --
the explanation here is the artist's enjoyment or satisfaction or whatever is drawing them to paint is actually in the act of CREATING the art and not so much in the finished result --- and im fairly certain this is why so many of us (myself included) get rid of projects when theyre near complete or even complete in our eyes -- we get more enjoyment in the creation than the end result --- even if we do decide to keep it or pass it on to our family or whatever

and i think THAT is the difference between a hot/rat rodder and a hotrod or rat rod owner.... just to elaborate.

i should write a Philosophers Guide to Hot Rods. :)
 
I remember when I was young-un and used to go play in my sandbox.

I would spend all day building roads, buildings, etc. just so I could drive my Hot Wheels or whatever type of toy car around on.

I remember taking apart my Hot wheels, etc. and modifying them so they would be cool and I could drive them on the roads I made in the sandbox.

Most importantly I remember that after all that work, building Hot Wheels and roads in my sandbox, it wasn't really fun to drive the cars around and so I would just start over again.

Now I am old and grumpy and still tear apart cars for fun. I think the fun and creativity is in the process, not in the final product.
 
goose-em said:
Now I am old and grumpy and still tear apart cars for fun. I think the fun and creativity is in the process, not in the final product.
Click to expand...
I realized this decades ago when we used to get together every Monday night and fart around with our bikes. Modifying something or cleaning it up or rebuilding a carb. Therapy nights. It was often as enjoyable tinkering as it was riding.
 
Kinda like those Tibetan monks that make the intricate sand paintings, just to sweep them all up in the end.

So in a way ratrodders are like Buddhist priests? [S

Its the trip, not the destination.
 

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