Thread: hot rod history ?

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

To further the theory that hot rodders evolved, I am also seeing some evolution in rat rodders.

Don

If you remember Don, that was one of the points we tried to make in the famous (or would that be infamous?.....whatever) "Death of Ratrods" thread. We talked about this being another fad that will grow/evolve/pass through, the hobby just as all previous trends did. Oh the howling!!! People who haven't experienced enough to know that change is constant will often prove that denial is more than a river in Egypt. Also stated there was the observation that some of these young builders will move on to higher build qualities in their cars as their experience grows, and their budgets allow. What a concept..............exactly how you, I, and most other "ancient" ones did it.

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

There was some discussion about the new trends, since there were quite a number of cars showing the "rat influence", but generally it was friendly. I was a little suprised that many of my old acqaintances (of my age) were displaying this "influence" on their cars. It was obvious that it wasn't just younger guys. I was a little shocked to hear some of the same arguments about cost, and such, from guys who had a history of traditional builds, and even one who has partly made his living from the hot rod community, for decades!

I guess my point is that I'm finding a percentage of established older enthusiasts are also building in the "rat genre", so it may not be as divisive as I assumed.

Not to come down on the lad too much, but you'll note it only took 15 minutes after my post for a negative shot to be fired. I know these guys believe what they say about what they perceive they've observed, but that type of claim is patently absurd. If all you observe is what interests you, your obvious opinion is skewed to believe that "everyone" else validates your view. My hope is that in time young folks who take the narrow view will mature to be more aware. I know probably 8-10 people pretty well who own "$100k" cars, and all but one of them couldn't give a rip less if nobody looked at their car. The one exception noted is just an overall jerk in nearly every facet of his life and I'm only aware of him because he's a friend of a friend. (I don't hang with the indoor, winter show, judged crowd so I could imagine there's more of the ego driven car crowd there) The rest of the guys, with one trust fund baby exception, are self made wealth guys. Very comfortable with their achievements in life, and not bragadocious about their success. They don't suffer from the envy that the envious try to project on them. Again, I would hope that as the youngsters mature they learn to grasp that concept.

You're right about the affordability issue. But I'd contend that's always been a factor. To listen to the rat rodder predominant chatter you'd believe there are only two categories of rodders, the poorboy "real" rodders, and those evil rich guys who've ruined everything. Yeah, a slight overstatement on my part..........as Don pointed out some of the RR guys are mellowing, and as a result the older guys are more accepting. Again pretty natural. My point on the cost thing is that it's always been a factor, just relative to each person's situation. We've always had the bucks down folks, they tended to use the less popular, and therefore lower initial cost, starting points. They were the guys with the four door Plymouth sedan, or the clapped out Hupmobile. They would scrounge the best running used engine they could and do a bomb can rebuild. If they had upholstery it was either a worn original or a low cost, mostly flat, vinyl. If they could afford a $5k car, then a $10k car was high dollar. The guy who could afford the $10k car thought a $20k car was high dollar, and his low. The same for the $20k guy and so on. If you remember, about a week or so ago we had a kid on here who thought $15 - 20k cars qualified as "trailer queen" show cars. Pretty tough to take someone like that seriously as far as his knowledge of what the hobby is all about. He's got a lot to learn. That's fine, he would lose a lot of points though if he argues the point from a position of ignorance as we see happen from time to time.

As for the "established" rodders building to the RR fad, not surprising. Some guys really love to build cars, useing them when done is often a short term thing. These guys will build to the current fad because they hope to maximize their sale that will fund the next build. Go where the action is! Today it's with "traditional" cars. In the late '80's, for example, it was pastel, smoothie cars with bold graphics. A decade from now, assuming no major shocks, it will likely be something else.

I think another factor plays into the motivations of the "senior" rodders.....................they're past their prime earning years. Many are retiring to fixed incomes well below what they used to make. They need to learn to do more with less to put it in inadequate terms. Some will sell off and drop out, some will die, some will continue on in a fashion that fits their economic environ. Ain't life grand?