Thread: What's A RatRod

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THANX ONE AND ALL FOR THE RESPONSE. I AM OVERWHELMED AT THE DIFFERENCES IN OPINION.

This appears to be pretty much as I thought. The term RATROD evokes a broad difference in meaning to many people. To some it is a badge of courage. To others it is fighting words. I personally don't care what you call it. I am more interested in what state do I call finished....Mechanically or add cosmetic?

I have had my 65 Mustang since 1998 and spent my dollars on mechanical (making it run right so I could drive it to car shows). The paint is El Cheapo Maaco style production...No clear coat...some chipping. OK.

It is an inline 6 to V8 conversion. I put my dollars into fixing the problems that were inherant in the original vehicle. I am also fixing things that weren't fixed earlier.

DON: The more I go to judged shows around the San Francisco Bay Area, the more I am turned off by them. I like the free car shows where everyone gathers after work with their cars in an area, listens to music, has a hamburger, shoots the breeze and then goes home.

Yes there are some high dollar cars. But there are a bunch of low budget specials. RESTOMOD is not a dirty word there. Nor is UNFINISHED!!!

As for the choice of cars, there are no rules. Choose what catches your interest. As for the definition for RATROD, there are no rules. The response indicates that it means DIFFERENT things to different people.

My Mustang has a 65 289 with a Ford Motorsport T-5, high back seats for comfort, seat on drivers side moved back on rail for leg room, air conditioning,
aftermarket aluminum radiator cooling system, digital dash.....all things to make it drive better.

Am I going to spend $15K on a paint job so I can put a "Do not touch sign on it?" NO WAY!!!! Not when I hear people that tell me they were almost disqualified for being in the wrong parking spot. That pickyunish behavior turns me off.

I personally enjoy more seeing the low budget specials that are unfinished, primered, flat black, swirly paint,rusty, missing door parts. That is what I like about the Billetproof show coming up in September in Antioch....Where a Rust Bucket can have across the top of the cab "Fresh Paint Do Not Touch" painted on and nobody gives it a second thought.

Len Trimlett --- www.smogrfg.com Thanx

(QUOTE) Like I have said before I do not exactly when there talkin ,but I have hotrod mags all the way back to the early sixties that show finished rides,say that some of the pics were readers rides,not big time car builders and listed many many articles on painting your hotrod like a bass boat with lots of metal flake,not metallic like todays paint ,more like giant snow flakes of glitter. (QUOTE)

We had it before the bass boats!!!

As I recall, the first 'flake job was done about '59, on a '48-'53 Buick "Torpedo back", and the materials were available to painters by about '62.....give or take a couple years. It was popular until about the early '70s, when it started to taper off. It has been making a comeback in recent years, especially with the popularity of nostalgic bikes.

So in all reality you guys built unfinshed rides/ratrods....or whatever terminology you want to affix to it.

Shawn,

I don't buy that generalization. That may have happened where you lived. It's not my history, or the history of the towns in central Illinois where I grew up.

I dunno ,just trying to nail down where the idea of all the old cars were unfinished may have came from, they may have all been shiney ,but everyone seems to have the perception that they were all unfinished for some reason?
Me personally ,I think alot of it comes from the fact that it takes skill /time and effort/money to complete a ride,it is alot simplier to leave it unfinished and that opens the door for myths and altered perceptions to become justifications to not finish the ride.............."all the old school rides were unfinished" or some other justification line to help feel better about thier choice not to finish what was started,or for lack of a better term .....slackers ,usually there is more than just the car thats unfinished for these types of builders.

I sure would like to know where everyone gets the idea that all the cars were in primer!!!! Only a small percentage, as Jack said. Same was true where I grew up.. The cars were lacquer and clear with many coats of each and lots of hand rubbing in between.... The crowd I ran with, most had 2 cars, a daily driver for back and forth to school and or work, then the Hot Rod that came out nights and weekends!!!! There were very, very few primered cars, or the ones that were didn't stay that way for long. And no, we DID NOT paint them with brushes, barn brooms, and house paint!!!!! In the town of 500 that I grew up in, there was a gas station, lunch counter, bar. On most any Friday or Saturday night there would be anywhere's from 20 to 50 cars parked there, some from our town, some from the surrounding area, and a bit of match racing going on. Of those cars, there may be one or two with spots of primer where they had done some work and hadn't time to finish the paint yet. But they didn't stay that way long.... Just leaning against a guys fresh Blue Coral wax job was grounds for a butt kickin'!!!!!!!!

For the most part, the examples cited for cars of the 50's and 60's that had rust holes, no floors, no roof, and all the other trash looking stuff in my area accounted for less then 1% of the Hot Rods out there....

As with the rest here, I don't really give a hoot what you build or how you build, just please don't tell me that's how everybody did it---Back in the Day!!!

Dave,

I can point to one vehicle(32 Ford Sedan) with rust, swirls in the orange paint (clear coated) and rats on the dash board, no door panels on the inside. Rats on the dash and the RatFink Sign. It is not primered but painted Obnoxious Orange. He considers it a Rat Rod.

I can show you unfinished 80s minitrucks that are WANTABE ratrods. Their owners take pride in that.

One of the neatest decals I have seen says:

"It's not a F***ING Ratrod, Its Just Not Finished.

The Billetproof Crowd (www.billetproof.com) has a requirement for participation that the vehicle not have any visible billet of any kind....No digital guages, NO IFS on fenderless cars.

While primer may play a part this thread shows it takes a lot more to make a rat rod.

Len Trimlett

oh my goodness i was just throwin stuff out there i was meanin by back in the day that its not something new
no thats not how i think all hot rods are built

i just hate how people post stuff on auto trader thats falling apart but its ...an AMAZING rat project, thats not what a rat is and i think i did alright explaining it

a rat isnt always a hunk of junk

Originally Posted by smogrfg

Dave,

The Billetproof Crowd (www.billetproof.com) has a requirement for participation that the vehicle not have any visible billet of any kind....No digital guages, NO IFS on fenderless cars.

Len Trimlett

Hmmm. Must be why I don't frequent the place. I like billet parts, my Merc has digital gauges, and I haven't built anything that DOESN'T have IFS in the last 10 years!!!! I like to think of Hot Rodding as progressive, as in each car I build is a little bit nicer then the one before it and the move to digital gauges, IFS, and all the other new technology as improvements to the sport!!!! I was around back in the time a lot of these folks are trying to emulate. It wasn't near as good as they would have you believe!!!!!

I just hope the rat rod thing isn't just an excuse for not wanting to expend the time, effort, and dedication to build a really first class ride. I'm not talking Riddler winners, just a very well done car that the attention to detail is obvious and the fit and finish on the entire car reflects the builder's pride in his ride....

I think we have covered everything here. Everyone has their own opinion.
In the end, who really cares about the name of the style of car. Build what you want, if you like it, you like it. I would stay away from purposly using shoddy workmanship. That can only be bad for all of us.
I overheard some guys at a show offering the best wording, when they were talking about my truck. One guy says to the other, "did you look at that rat over there?" the second one says, "yea, it is not really a SHOW car, but did you see all the workmanship in it? A rat is not a restoration, not a traditional hot rod, ( ie period correct) and it is not a show car, (ie wax and polish car).
What it is, is a lot of fun to build and drive.

A rat is not a restoration, not a traditional hot rod, ( ie period correct) and it is not a show car, (ie wax and polish car).
What it is, is a lot of fun to build and drive.

I believe that is well stated.

When the Ratrod movement first started I thought they were pretty refreshing. The first to do it were more professional. Well crafted cars that had a period look.
Then it became an excuse slap together a peace of crap that's not safe for the road. I am not saying that all Ratrods are crap, there are some true work's of art In that jonra. However the NSRA has been fighting for the right to Hotrod for a long time and when you have guys using rusty angle iron welded to the frame for shock mounts and no front brakes it's just a mater of time before some bueracrat wants to ban Hotrods because there unsafe for the road.
The hole reason for the BilletProof is some guys got there feelings hurt when they got turned away from a car show. That's to bad but it happens in the ego driven show car world.
Yes I have lots of Billet and Stainless on my car and it was all made by me. To me that's where it's at. I don't have a problem with a nicely executed Ratrod as a mater of fact I like them . I just think it will give some the excuse to build an unsafe death trap.

I have been watching the responses to the question "What is a rat rod?" and can clearly see that there is no unanamous definition. It evokes strong feelings from all sides.

Again, after participating in the high dollar car show with a Mustang that clearly is not a show car, I find myself turned off by the Biased Award Ceremonies.

I personally am beginning to like the shows where everyone drives up in their hobby car (finished or not) and nobody cares what state they are in. But everyone has a good time listening to the music, having dinner and conversation. Then they head home. No Awards, Just a Good Time.

I am going to try to compile the responses and post a list.

Thanks -- Len Trimlett

Many do not see a hot rod as simply transportation to the events. Some see it as a hobby for personal expression, creativity, or even building "rolling art". Some may even like the attention a gorgeous car brings.

If you look at car show awards as a show of money, that is not really related to the goal of judging them on great craftsmanship. Remember there is no requirement that you pay someone else to do the work. You could do it all yourself, spend about half as much, and still win. It is really about choosing the nicest workmanship to receive recognition for the effort. I don't remember a single show ever being judged on the total of their cash receipts!

Having said that, remember that when human beings are doing the judging, you will often get different outcomes, due to different opinions. However, if you do have a really beautiful build, you may not win every time, but you will win more often.

Originally Posted by smogrfg

I have been watching the responses to the question "What is a rat rod?" and can clearly see that there is no unanamous definition. It evokes strong feelings from all sides.

Again, after participating in the high dollar car show with a Mustang that clearly is not a show car, I find myself turned off by the Biased Award Ceremonies.

I personally am beginning to like the shows where everyone drives up in their hobby car (finished or not) and nobody cares what state they are in. But everyone has a good time listening to the music, having dinner and conversation. Then they head home. No Awards, Just a Good Time.

I am going to try to compile the responses and post a list.

Thanks -- Len Trimlett

Having judged many car shows over the years, I will see that no matter what cars are picked, someone will be screaming about it afterwards.... The judging sheet is objective, not necessarily so for the person filling it out. Unless you are in a show where there are judges who actually know what they are doing, as in an ISCA show or concours competition don't take the results too seriously. The show and shines are a lot of fun, at least with no awards you don't have to sit around and listen to all the whiners when they don't get a trophy...

The best trophy at any show or for that matter any place is " Can I take a picture? "