Thread: just wrong

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Don't get me wrong guys, I'm a fan of Foose. He's an artist, and I can appreciate that. He is famous as heck, and don't even mention money. But the reason I like the guy, even though I've never even been in the same building as him, is he comes off as a real genuinely nice guy. That being said, his name has absolutely no place in the same sentence as the words "rat rod".
Foose is a designer-for-hire. Rat rods are designed by their owners. Not to mention the fact that most of the designs are created based on what parts are available, not what vendors are on the payroll. The drivetrain is chosen, usually because the guy's brother-in-law has an old hemi in the shed, or his dad's bbc station wagon "never got towed after all." With Chip, the motor is chosen based on personal preference of the owner. Rat rodders don't set out- draw the design- hire the right crew- and build it to spec. Old school rodders are more like "motorhead marines." They establish a broad objective- open wheel- pre 40's- flathead. Then they attack! Doing what ever they need to do in order to get the objective completed. This means trading their amp for headlight buckets, doing free tats for a set of 36 ford spokes, and breaking up with his girlfriend because she said "a car without air conditioning is just stupid." When things go wrong- and they always do- a good marine adapts to the change in climate. This is also true for the rat rod builder. If the flathead is unobtainable, by acceptable means, then one must adapt to the fact that an old 68 big block will have to do. Fine! He'll say: "But will have to be blown!" See- compromise. It's that simple. So at the end is the guy driving exactly what he had envisioned a few weeks ago? Most likely not. When the wallet has restrictions, so must your design, and these "ole-skool-backyard engineers" understand this. This is what makes "rat-rods" cool. They are made through necessity and availability. Cap this with ingenuity and determination, and you might have yourself a rat rod. No offense Chip, but being paid to design a rat-rod is an oxymoron.

One is broke and the other has money in the bank. Is that whats called a sell out?