Sensitive, sensitive!...for shame.

...I like Mutt, cause he likes pie...

Personally, I've always liked the term ever since Baskerville named it. I would call my car a hot rod, but I'd also like to build a bare bones rat rod for the fun of it. They look like they're a blast to drive...not that I've actually driven mine yet.

 

Does this mean that a flattie is going to finally pull into my driveway? Ha Ha Ha

 

I recently read an article about a rockabilly band called The Four Slicks. I know some HAMBers are into rockabilly music so I thought I might post a link. But before I did, I did a keyword search to see if The Four Slicks had been mentioned before on this board. Imagine what came back, with the words "The" and "Four" and "Slicks" in the post! Maybe there's a better way of doing it, but I ain't hep.
Also, I know it's considered bad form for a newbie to drag a really old thread back to the top, so I never reply to a post that falls below page three. But the HAMB is a gold mine of information, and it runs ****ing deep. It shouldn't be considered a crime if/when somebody pulls up an old thread--

 

If you put quotes around the words that should be together e.g. "the four slicks," the threads returned should be more accurate.

Bryan

 

It's the ones that are "show me pics of hot edsels" from 4 years ago that get brought back up that ruin it. Bringing back a request for tech, or adding to a thread with GOOD content, not bad.

throwing gas on an old flame thread, like this one, definitely bad.

 

On this and on other boards (where I have 15000+ posts), I usually hesitate to tell noobs to do a "search" first. That is often a frustrating exercise that yeilds nothing.

Search engines are literal and the HAMB search function doesn't always work that well. In the example above, when I searched for "the four slicks" all that came back was this thread. Without the quotes, you get over 500 threads with any of those words. When I search for the term HA/GR, the search engine returned nothing, nada. If you search HAMB drags, you get 500 posts....not all what you might be looking for.You have to have the right word, spelled properly, looking in the right place. Well, if you don't know the right words, you'll never find what you're looking for.

I get a lot of kids hanging around my garage. Lots of questions. There really is such a thing as a stupid question. But I try to make my responses informative and educational. I try to get them to aks better questions. I don't just tell them to go away and come back when they're smarter. And I don't beat them up cuz they may have asked the question the wrong way.

That's what's so great about this place. You guys KNOW a LOT of stuff and have a LOT of hands-on experience. It's not just in the archives, it's in your heads and hearts. Let's teach em to ask the right question.

 

I'm still trying to figure out why people leave Rat Rods / Hot rods / Race Cars / whatever all rusty looking with no paint whatsever. That sure as hell isn't traditional or the way it was "back in the day". I had hot rods "back in the day". Everyone I ever saw was painted. At least primered, but never just rusty looking. At least as far backs as about 1956. Thats about as far back as I go with cars. I like em all though, paint or no.

 

People are stupid...

Kids get it...

True Story:

When I had my shoebox, I used to drive back and forth from Santa Barbara and LA. I enjoyed the drive down the coast on the 101.

This was back in '94-'95 and I think I could count the other rods I saw on the road on one hand. Not just "Our Kind" of rods but rods period.

The car EVOLVED on the 101... I'd drive down to LA and do a bunch of **** to it with friends and then drive back to SB with my "New" rod.

I ran into lots of people on the road and in gas stations. Nobody called it a Rat Rod. The term wasn't invented yet. Most people, even the 'gold-chainers' just thought it was a cool throw-back to simpler times. I don't think I ever heard a negative thing about my car.

But what defines that time for me and pretty much sums up why I still have the p***ion.... I'm driving to LA and p***ing through Calab***as on the 101 in slow traffic. I'm kinda in my own world, driving slow and sane, and looking around. This new Porsche drives by and the yuppy driver doesn't look over so I just check out the car and start to look away but then something in the back seat catches my eye...

I look over quick and see two kids in the tiny-***ed back seat, bouncing up and down, looking at me/my car, and grinning from ear to ear. They give me the thumbs up and I give one back. They dig it and bounce more and start talking excitedly to each other and their dad and mom in the front seat. The Porsche slows so they can get a good look and dad looks over. He smiles but you can tell he ain't digging it the most. His hot wife smiles pretty big though and starts talking to the kids.

Back then I didn't know I was supposed to look tough so I just smile back.

Then they pull a little ahead and I think dad figured it was over but the kids were still craning their heads to to get one last look. So I get into it a little and punch the gas.

The 327 spins up fast and I was next to them in a blink...

I p***ed them a bit so that my rear bumper was about even with his front bumper, and I hit the flame throwers...

Now this was the middle of the day but the flames were still visible a bit and the sound was LOUD.

The shoebox slows as the exhaust lights and I'm looking at a Porsche full of shocked-smiling-pointing and furiously talking faces... Cool.

I do it a couple more times and the whole family... From Yuppyish dad to hot wife to the two toe-headed kids in the back were STOKED.

We exchanged a few more smiles, thumbs ups, and waves and they went on their way...

"Rat-Rod?"
"Rockarifick?"
"etc...?"

I don't ****ing know. I don't ****ing care.

It WAS FUN.

 

Actually, Richard fed me tons of free beer and was fun to BS with a couple weeks ago. I even told him some of the **** I said about him online.

The Pompilicious guys that build those ****ty cars as a badge of honor are the ones that bug me.

 

What happened to the term "Death Rod"?




Here's my advice to any noobs or anyone in any situation when you find the need to LABEL something.



Just call it a HOT ROD. Two words. Easy as pie.....and nobody is pissed off.

 

I call mine "*****". I am usually yelling at it when it gets called that though.

 

I leave the paint on whatever I build alone, until I know I'm done drilling holes and welding. As for how it was back in the day, I don't know. I do know how it was back in my day (I'm only 34), If I could afford to prime it, I could have afforded another hard part. If I'm gonna prime it, then I'm gonna paint it, not wait six months to a year then have to waste more money by re-priming it when I do paint it. I like em all, too. Paint, or no.

 

just another thought... Why would anyone want a "Rat Rod", Boyd built one. If Boyd builds it, I don't want one.

 

That is an awesome story. That insured two more kids were hooked for sure and made daddy's porsche look cute but simple.

 

Wasn't long ago Hot Rod was a bad term. That's why the Minnesota Street Rod ***n isn't the Minnesota Hot Rod ***n. We all wanted a good image with the public & police. Now the Rodding activity is so big and widespread and filled with influential people that a portion of that population can be Hotrodders or even Rat Rodders. When Little John created the first billet piece, it was a good term. Now it's bad. The term "street rod" coveyed to the public a more docile vehicle driven by a responsible person. The term "hot rod" conveys to many of us a car resembling for the most part one that could have been built in an earlier era. The latest term "rat rod" while probably starting out as an innocent description of a sub-breed of hot rod has become emotionally charged as builders push the limits of who can be the rattiest. Is it any different that who can be most modern. or even, who can be most "period correct"? In my 50 year love affair with modified old cars I'v seen the activity explode from a handfull of builder/driver/racers to anybody and everybody jumping on the bandwagon and getting into Rodding in one of its many forms. Find your place in the spectrum of Rodding and enjoy it, cuz sooner than you think you'll old like me and realize there is a finish line.

 

haha. and at least an ugly car can always get fixed.

 

http://ratbike.org/

These are true "rats". How come people dont get mad when they call them rat bikes? The term "rat rod" never really bothered me because I always thought of the motorcycles. They might look rough and poorly engineered, but they are built to last. Some of those dudes ride cross country and stuff.

 

rat rod is so five minutes ago...

 

you are so wise brother Jeem!!!

 

Man I cant stand this touchy feely love in ****.
My cars are well built, well engineered and as close to a traditional car as I can do on my budget (With the exception of my 38, had a 'freshen up' in the 70s by my old man)
To some its just a car and they don't care what they call it. To me its an extension of my own personality (No not a ***** extension)
There are only two things I'm p***ionate about, my service in the Army and my cars.
For you parents out there how would you like some ****er calling your kids monkeys because thats all they think of them or couldn't be bothered to look and see if they were human? You wouldn't like it. (Ok bad simile but you get it)
To call my car a rat is an attack on me, and what I have built. There is no cool or acceptable connotation in the term. It is derogatory at best.
So yeah I get pissed off when the term is used.
Some of you say go easy on the FNGs?? ****em, most of us lurked to learn the ropes before we started to post. Its a respect thing, something that is lacking in society these days.
I consider myself luck to have been bought up in a hot rodding family, I'm a third generation builder so I had a good idea what was what to start with, even if my father is firmly stuck in the 80s scene (The humanity!)
The guy that taught me to build ch***is started in the 50s, I listened, learned from him, then went out and talked about our hobby with others.
I didn't ***ume that what I saw on ****ty pay TV shows was what rodding was all about. Even the at***ude most of them have is ****ed, there is a right way and a wrong way to ask a question. So the "Search" ****on may not be crash hot but whats wrong with starting with,
I did a search but I couldn't find out what I was looking for? I can handle that even if its what would be considered a stupid question. Kinda ties in with the "Rat Rod bad ***" at***ude. Try it on me in person and you will be lucky to walk away.
I will continue to give **** to **** heads that don't have the brain power to learn something before posting stupid questions or remarks here or anywhere else.
Doc.

 

I like that - HaHa!

Yeah Tingler, I like Hot Rod, and I do use DEATHROD for those ****ty, over the top, rubber rat, 'how much usless **** can I bolt to my car' rods. The guys building them probably wouldn't take offense though, that's what they were aiming for anyways.

I have a friend that bought a shiny, 'finished' street rod which was actually fairly tasteful and well done, painted it flat black with the obligatory red wheels. He calls it a "nostalgia rod."

 

a picture says a thousand words.

 

Doc, you seem pretty touchy for a guy that can't stand this touchy feely stuff. Grab a beer and go out in the garage and look at your stuff and appreciate it. Call it what you want. 99% of the world's population don't know, care or understand what hot rods, street rods or rat rods are about. We're being evangelical to each other when it is more important to be somewhat united as car people. When people ask why my Anglia is in primer (for 30 years), I smile and say I like it that way. If someone calls a rod of mine a derogatory name, I don't care, because I built it the way I like it. Sure, acceptance is nice, but down the list for me. Ideally the HAMB would be a celebration of Trad Rods, with less time spent on condemnation of other branches of Rodding. Let's all pick on fly fishermen next!

 

I don't think it is a case of blanket condemnation of other branches. I think we're just saying don't bring them here. There are many on this forum who have a few ounces of VW blood or 4WD or resto, etc. We may be quite p***ionate about those parts of our lives, but we know what to leave at the door when we enter the HAMB.

 

Gee I drive beaters. I've always driven beaters and I'll probably always drive beaters. My dad called 'em jalopies, that's what his generation called 'em jalopies.

They were or are never really there, almost finished I guess but never quite there.

If you wanna call it a rat rod that's fine with me just as long as its not an excuse to build a POS I'm good with that.

I doubt that it was Old Dad that coined the term and I don't think it was written with love. As I recall it was a term if disdain in the beginning. But then again so was beater and I'm sure jalopie was the same, the haves belittleing the have nots.

But who really gives a big rats ***. If you see me in a beater know that that's just Ben if it offends you go park somewhere else because I really don't care if you get it or not. That's my style, my ride is a reflection of myself. Most folks either like me or they don't I have yet to me someone who was undecided, same with my ride you either like it or you don't, that's fine with me.

Now take an aeronauticle *********** at a tumbling piece of pastry there are more important things in life than what you call my ride.

Oh if you find his offensive then this is directed at you otherwise carry on.

 

My parents called my hot rods "stripdowns".

 

Even though I'm a retired guy and been into cars since age 15, apparently I have a lot to learn. Denise did a wonderful post with many pics from the HAMB drags. Tell me, are many of those rods pictured "rat rods" or are they all "traditional rods"? If there are rat rods there ,why didn't they get run off, like they do on this site? Harder to do face to face? At Viva Las Vegas I saw many rods that look and are built just like the ones at the HAMB drags. I've built many rods and know the difference between good and bad construction. There's something else about them that seems to bug a lot of guys. What exactly is it?

 

I used to ride with a motorcycle club and if you had a ratbike your bike was considered a piece of ****. I should know cause I won a trophy for the biggest peice of **** at the show. It was cool to win a trophy but insulting for the reason. I think the term "ratrod" is lame and I would never consider calling any of my cars ratrods. For those of you who like it I thinks it great because it just makes our common car interests get out into the public eye better. That web site looks like it was written by someone who heard about where the term "ratbike" came from......IMHO

 

i just call my cars by the year they were made...i thought everyone did
i call the wifes new suv a turdblazer..new cars **** when they break!! im to dumb to work on it!!!