Thread: What I like about rat rods...seriously!

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Originally posted by hotroddaddy
Man hotrod paint ,nice drawings, you should be a custom artist or something

I'm still practicing, but I'm hopin' I'll get there some day. :-)~ The problem is that there is always someone better!

Originally posted by HOTRODPAINT
The question is, what happened to me between '65 and today?

Then; you didn't know what you didn't know.

Now; you've learned to be constrained by your perceived realities.


daddy, I still say it comes down to how you act. Almost every conflict on here was started by someone with a bad attitude right off the bat without knowing who they're attacking. Last night a young guy (36) came by to inspect my '40 sedan for his uncle in Montana. He's building a '27 roadster pickup in what most would think of as a rat style, though he doesn't like that designation either. We had a great conversation because he didn't have the big "my style of car is the only REAL hot rod" attitude. Interesting side note, he's a tattoo artist. I suggested he'd picked a good point in time to do that with the apparent popularity of tats. He was surprisingly open when he said they've noticed the market dropping off quite a bit in the last year. I asked him why he thought that was? He said, "fads come, fads go!". Bright "boy". Just imagine the wailing if I started a thread called "The death of tats".

I'm having a tough time with the whole premise you guys have gone down with in this thread. I look at the last 45 years and it's been a real mixed bag as far as I can see. I can remember new people coming into the hobby all along that time line. With the exception of some very, very talented folk, most started out with a car that was "rough" for want of a better term. It may have had too much offset on the wheels, a poorly done paint job, a crumby interior, junky looking wiring or messy engine compartment. The list could go on and on. Over time the one's who stuck around moved "up" in their car quality. They showed their learning curve over time. I can remember the Resto-rod period of the late '60's, with it's two tone earth tone paint schemes and high stance. Then lace paint jobs and panel painting. Then monochromatic and smoothy. Dropped stance. Wheels that used to stick 3-4 inches (sometimes more) out of the fenders, then later nice and tucked in. The gasser look came and went, smoothy pretty much came and went, resto mostly came and went, and so on. Used to be nobody wanted a four door anything except for a very few who rationalized it by saying it was "for the family". Yeah, also they were a lot cheaper because they were unpopular. Whick is how the fat fender fad came into existence in the early to mid '80's. That's where the lower buck folks went. Same reason that cars other than the traditional Ford models largely came into favor compared to back when.

Anyway, I'm not sure most guys have forgotten where they were, and what was seen on the road to here. Moreso, I think they operate under the same dillusions that parents do when trying to tell their children not to do what they did when they were young. Good try, but don't expect a high level of success. They often have to learn the hard way.

I'll still hold on to what I've said before here, and have been scorned for it. The young guys today will evolve out of what they're doing to something of a higher quality if they stick with the hobby (obviously not 100% of them, there's always a few outlyers). They'll learn from what they do today, they'll aspire for better, and they'll upgrade.

There's more, but this is all I have time for.

The more threads I read about Rat Rods, the more I consider the end result of the 52 F-1 I'm building. Rat Rodders seem to have a valid point. Why spend another year and $5K-$10K on bodywork, paint, and interior glitz when you can be driving it and spending the money on overdue bills, good food, and putting some away. HMMMMM...What do you think guys, Should I leave the body in this condition???

So what your saying HRD is what we used to call customs are now Rat Rods.....NOW I GET IT !
Hey Bob...I need that "Honey Bucket"...lol

Do what satisfies you. Only you know what you want to get out of this hobby. If you see extra money as more desireable, than a great finish, or plush interior, then that's what you need to base your decision on.

That photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. Since then the weather got cold. Next week it should warm up and I'll get back to it. Truthfully speaking, I had intended to leave the body in that condition, with a gutted interior for at least several months while I drove it to work out the bugs. For an end result I'm going with primer and an Indian blanket interior. I guess I'm a Rat Rodder and didn't know it.

7. Yeah, you get to learn new words and terms like "rust preservative", "what color you going to paint it" and "what's that supposed to be?". I say, let them build whatever they want as long as it meets the rules of the road set forth in your state...if your going to drive it on the streets. If your not going to drive it on the streets, and you want to take it to shows, then have at it....but....wouldn't that make it a trailer queen? You can get caught up in the terminology or, use that energy and time to be creative and innovative in a positive way(building the car).

Originally Posted by Aster

7. Yeah, you get to learn new words and terms like "rust preservative", "what color you going to paint it" and "what's that supposed to be?". I say, let them build whatever they want as long as it meets the rules of the road set forth in your state...if your going to drive it on the streets. If your not going to drive it on the streets, and you want to take it to shows, then have at it....but....wouldn't that make it a trailer queen? You can get caught up in the terminology or, use that energy and time to be creative and innovative in a positive way(building the car).

8. Initiative, Tenacity, Can do attitude, all things I like to see in a young man. I say these qualities are displayed in (oh I hate to say it) "RAT ROD" builders.

Andy.

Nice thread. The way I see it "rat rodding" was desperately needed by the car/street rod scene. You go to the Nationals and walk right by cars that guys have $30,000-$50,000 invested in them without giving them a second look. It isn't because they're not nice cars, but to an extent many of them all look the same. The same parts are available to everyone and I guess if you can dig deep enough you can pretty much build a street rod out of 1 or 2 catalogs. I appreciate the engineering and brilliant ideas that have been showcased in many of today's rat rods. I believe that it has brought many people back down to their roots and that is cool.

Originally Posted by hotrodsigns

Nice thread. The way I see it "rat rodding" was desperately needed by the car/street rod scene. You go to the Nationals and walk right by cars that guys have $30,000-$50,000 invested in them without giving them a second look. It isn't because they're not nice cars, but to an extent many of them all look the same. The same parts are available to everyone and I guess if you can dig deep enough you can pretty much build a street rod out of 1 or 2 catalogs. I appreciate the engineering and brilliant ideas that have been showcased in many of today's rat rods. I believe that it has brought many people back down to their roots and that is cool.

I think hotrodsigns comments sum it up for many of us who are accepting of this form of automotive expression, and sort of understand how it came about.

HOTRODPAINT opened this thread on a positive note, and it speaks highly of this particular forum and the people who participate that it did not become a bash session. I just surfed another forum a few weeks ago, and someone asked how they could create a rat rod out of a '48 Ford truck he had. By the comments from the other members, you would have thought the poor guy had asked how to molest 12 year old boys. They came down on him with every expletive known to man, and made the poor guy feel like an idiot for asking.

I know that many on here are not exactly fans of this term, and I do understand some of the reasons. You feel it is a misrepresentation of what cars of that era were like and what we wanted them to be like. But if I look back to some of my '50's magazines, I see some really bad workmanship and ideas used. True, there were some good cars, but some were really cobbled together, and those made the magazines. Some of the ones I saw on the street were true abortions.

But, I think all of the people who have responded to this thread so far have been very understanding and respectful of the other guys views. That is one of the reasons I like CHR as much as I do.

Thanks,

Don

Originally Posted by hotrodsigns

Nice thread. The way I see it "rat rodding" was desperately needed by the car/street rod scene. You go to the Nationals and walk right by cars that guys have $30,000-$50,000 invested in them without giving them a second look. It isn't because they're not nice cars, but to an extent many of them all look the same. The same parts are available to everyone and I guess if you can dig deep enough you can pretty much build a street rod out of 1 or 2 catalogs. I appreciate the engineering and brilliant ideas that have been showcased in many of today's rat rods. I believe that it has brought many people back down to their roots and that is cool.

Well, it's not just the rat rodders that build using innovation and creativity. There are still a lot of us who build our cars with a lot of things no one else uses. The same parts are available to everyone, it is how the end user modifies them that makes his car unique. A car with only $30 to $50k invested in it is far from being a top of the line car. For the builder with only average fabrication abilities, all the parts sold in the catalog are the best thing since sliced bread. Before you pick on the "cookie cutter" cars you should also remember that the guys who buy these parts spend a lot of money that makes all the manufacturers turn out better parts at a lower cost..... The "store bought" pieces are great for the guy who doesn't have a complete machine shop at his disposal but wants to have all first rate parts in his car. Not all the cars in primer are "Rat Rods", the majority of them are a works in progress and will eventually as time and $$$$ permits, end up with shiny paint and chrome goodies, too......

We all may gravitating back to building our own stuff if the current trends continue. There is nothing, and I mean Nothing, more disheartening than ordering a nice new shiny part for your rod, anticipating its arrival, unwrapping it, only to find MADE IN CHINA stamped on it. I hate that and will never have a chinese part on my hot rod. If it's not made in the good ole USA then screw it, I don't need it. How many parts on a bling bling do you estimate, were made in china? When you think about it, kind of makes you sick to your stomach doesn't it.

Bob Parmenter said:


I'm having a tough time with the whole premise you guys have gone down with in this thread.


Bob: First off , let me say you are among several members who's posts I enjoy reading. I enjoy everyone's contributions, but I find certain members to be well respected by the others for their knowledge and intelligence, and you are among those.

That being said, I feel you really do understand the premise of this thread, because in your final paragraph you say "the young guys of today will evolve out of what they are doing to something of a higher quality, etc etc" I think by letting them have the freedom to express themselves via the cars they create, they will eventually come to realize that there are certain standards that must be met if the cars are to be safe, dependable, and accepted by their peers.

HOTRODPAINT has simply told us he has come to realize that they are what we were 10, 20, 30, or more years ago. He has rediscovered a creativity not held captive by convention.

I understand his words completely, because cars were getting stale to me. I built safe cars. 'Channelled '27 roadsters with red wheels and wide whites, buick brake drums, megaphone headers,,,,,,,,,,,, all the stuff that was EXPECTED to be on that car. Then I saw these cars that weren't bound by convention. They used seldom chosen body styles, dropped them way beyond reason, used unothodox engines, and started to look alot like some of the cars in HOTRODPAINTS youthful drawings. Almost cartoonish, but fun.

I am more excited about the current car I am building than any I have built in the last 30 years. I know when it is done you won't see another one coming at you down the road. It will be unique, loud, off the wall, and FUN.

But I can't bring myself to build one that isn't safe or well engineered, plus I want upholstery and carpeting for my old bones, but the essense of the rat will be there.

Again Bob, I think you would be a facinating guy to sit down and have a chat and a beer with, and I hope a lot of us get the opportunity to do that sometime in the future, It would be a blast.

But now with the exception of a few - isn't the essense of "rat" in most personal hot rods then?
What's the difference between painted cookie cutters, and unpainted as a theme? Between running billet wheels, or all red steelies? They are still falling into the follow the leader mentality that created cookie cutters to begin with.
I like customs, always have, always will- but there is just to much work in mine to waste it by having any part of it look like everybody else's.
The ones that keep it different I like, the ones that fall into the same ole' same ole' I don't care for.

Thanks for the kind words Don, but be careful, such talk could be bad for my curmudgeonly image.