I think Gasser t makes a good point about some of the attacks that take place. Some people accuse rat rodders of thinking their cars are the only true hot rods, and yet take the position themselves that a rat can't be a hot rod at all.

How about this? What if we consider the fact the ALL of us are rebels to some degree, otherwise we would be all be driving stock SUV's. The reason we build these rolling pieces of art is so that we are different from every other guy sitting at the red light next to us. We are ALSO all artists, using steel as our canvas. Just as no 2 pieces are art are the same, no two cars are exactly the same. But that doesn't make one guy less of an artist than the other guy.

I like rats because they make me smile (different from laughing at the guys work) some of them are pretty clever and original. Also, they are refreshing, because rather than seeing the same old same old, you actually get to see some oddball engine or body not normally used. My currently under construction '39 Dodge with an Olds 394 is an example, For years I thought all hotrods had to be either a roadster or coupe. But I've chopped, channelled, and generally turned this Dodge into one that I won't ever see coming at me on the street. It makes me smile when I look at the pure badness of it. And it is well built and safe.

So that is my take on why we should all be a little more tolerant of the other guys who love this 4 wheel hobby as much as we do.

2nd subject: How do you guys post those pictures of your cars here? I am computer stupid, but I do have a digital camera, and am able to post pictures to ads on my ebay auctions. I just can't figure out how to get the pix out of my computer and onto this forum.