Thread: What's A RatRod

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. . . instead they would use Chevy frames with a Ford body or something powerd by anything worth having in the junk yard. They would use beer bottles for overflow tanks and hand paint their cars. I mean they weren't much to look at back then but by time they got done with it was pretty mean

Man, I don't know where you were "back then," but what you describe is so far off base it's scary. For example, it would have been VERY (make that VERY, VERY) unusual to put a Ford body on a Chevy frame. Most hot rods "back in the day" were built on stock or reinforced stock frames. One might put an A-bone on '32 rails, but that's about it. Beer bottles for overflow tanks? There weren't any overflow tanks - just a hose dumping it on the ground. Sure, we used "donor" motors, but anything worth having? Hardly. "Back then," people chose motors just like they do today - power, fit, convenience, coolness. Finally, the statement that they "weren't much to look at" is WAY off base. 99% of the hot rodders took pride in their cars, they took care of them, and made them as presentable as they could.

The junk rod was an exception back then. Now, everyone thinks the rat rod of today is what we did "back then." In most cases, it's just baloney. And you know what they say about baloney . . . no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney. Here's the real difference: today, they make them look junky on purpose. "Back then," that virtually never happened.