Rat Rods and Unfinsihed Rods are two different things. From what your describing, yours sound like unfinished. A Unfinished rod is 100% safe and legal, but its not all chrome and glitz. Flat black, steel valve covers, simple interiors, these are the signs of an unfinished. However, rust(in some places. Dont live in NY!), rotting exhaust, shot brakes, iffy wiring, these are associated with "Rat Rods". Now theres varying degrees between both standards, but I personally lean towards Straight and Functional.