Are rat rods going to be a fad?

So I am getting to the point in finishing up my '33 and my mind is starting to turn about what the next project is going to be. I love the scene of the rat rod and like the no paint, no worries idea, just drive em like ya found them concept. My father owns a rat '34 PU and he is building a Model A roadster now that looks like it just rolled out of the barn, should be pretty cool when done. So my question is, is the rat scene going to be something of the past in a couple years like the splash graphics, pastel cars, digital dashes of the 90's? I have always been a traditional school guy and like the basis concepts, so I just thought I would throw this out there and get some feedback. Lata, Matt

 

In Geological terms, Humans are probably going to be a Fad....

ALL cars just might be considered a fad of the past, a hundred years from now.
Just enjoy your HOBBY and don't worry about what you can't control.

 

YES! ABSOLUTELY!! They are a fad. Hurry up, paint your car, dust off the billet, break out the tweed, hook up the digital gauges and go run the power tour. Check out Boyd,Foose and Troy's website. The cars they are building right now are the next big thing.

 

Sorry. I'm in a "mood" today. It's ok though, cuz being moody and depressed is trendy.

 

<font color="red"> </font> I think the term / label / stupid ass name should never be mentioned on the board ever again.

 

Yes, but who cares.

 

Mass, Missed the point completely, did I mention that I am traditional, never owned anything billet, tweed, digital, or been on the power tour, take a look at my pics of the '33 and tell me I follow Boyd, Foose, or anything one of the guys, they are not for me, never have, never will. I create the style, I don't follow. I don;t need some pretty boy in Cali telling me how to look cool. Lata, Matt

 

I hope so, then I can go out &amp; buy a bunch of half done cars for cheap,

just like I did when the "Mod" kids in the 80's sold all their Scooters.

 

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<font color="red"> </font> I think the term / label / stupid ass name should never be mentioned on the board ever again.

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DITTO

 

Some things just deserve to die,all that pink shit,big rims,some things are eternal,rat rods have always been around and as long as there are guys who like to drive and build thier own cars there will be rat rods,it's too bad the gold chainers have to ruin an eternal joy,but they'll suck up the next big thing that comes along and the rat rods will still be there for the real rodders.

 

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Mass, Missed the point completely, did I mention that I am traditional, never owned anything billet, tweed, digital, or been on the power tour, take a look at my pics of the '33 and tell me I follow Boyd, Foose, or anything one of the guys, they are not for me, never have, never will. I create the style, I don't follow. I don;t need some pretty boy in Cali telling me how to look cool. Lata, Matt

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I'm not catching your drift, man. Your first post sounds like you're all worried that if you build a rat rod (your term, not mine), the fad will be gone. Then you reply to Mass Butcher sayin' you don't care (which you shouldn't, unless you're overly worried about resale value).

If you build a car that you like, as long as it's safe (in consideration of my family being on the road at the same time as your "rat" rod), who cares if it fits the fad du jour or not?

 

Personally, I love the "As-found, in the ditch or barn, some what questionable" < Styles> of cars and trucks, always have, always will.
I'll never build or buy a car that does'nt "turn-me-on", so FADS don't mean a thing to me , nor should they to you.

So in other words,.............
Nope, Rat-Rods are NOT going to fade away!

AHotRod

 

Some moron street rodder asked me today why I smoked the tires on my 27 as as I was leaving the local hangout last Friday. He wonders if I was angry about something. I've been smokin' the hides for the past 40 years out of pure joy and that will never go out of style! Same with my "traditional cars".

 

Too many folks are putting the "rat-rods" in the same basket as the traditional hot-rod. They are not necessarily the same....

And IMOHO I think that traditional hot-rods will never go out of style - they are the jumping off point of the entire hobby. Everything else is a variation or a stylized version of something that can already be found on a traditional hot-rod.

Rat-rods however, they my fall out of popular favor someday and will be the minority. I personally like the (so-called) rat-rods (I HATE that term though). It's just another flavor of build. I like the fact that it opens the possibilities up and it allows for a car to built on a next-to-nothing budget. As long as they are built well - not just thrown together mindlessly that is.

O'course this horse is dead.......

 

While I'm new to hot rods and am learning alot. I would have to say my car fits into the class of "Rat-Rod" for lack of a better term. While my car is not the purest dream of a traditional rod, I plan on continuing modifications to my car toward the traditional style.

I was pulling into the local car show (much gold chain and restoration, but a few nice traditional cars too) and I hear some of the guys from their lawn chairs say "Check out that Rat-Rod." I want to jump up and tell them it's a work-in-progress traditional car. The bottom line is we as people like to fit things into nice little catagories. I say fuckit I like my car no matter what catagory anyone wants to put it in. I building it my way, call it what ever you want.

As for "rat-rod" as a fad, if you take it the way I am then the rat-rod is just a work-in-progress and somebody elses catagory.

My 2 cents.
Cheers,
Tim

 

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is the rat scene going to be something of the past in a couple years

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Some can only wish...

 

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Yes, but who cares.



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That about says it all.

 

Build it the way you want it. If you dont follow it wont be a Fad...

 

I'm gonna go try and break the rearend in my hot rod doin' burnouts.....I might need something to do tomorrow on my day off.

 

I think JoJo nailed this one. Everybody has to put a title on everthing and it just complicates things. Just because some magazine or person calls a particular thing some stupid name, the uninitiated have to use the term for every possible occasion. It ends up being the old " I crank, You suck" situation -MIKE

 

I see a LOT of local guy's who have always been into high tech crap wanting to 'join' the traditional thing..

We laugh with each other about it, only because these are the same guy's that went ape shit with tweed, boyd wheels and re-sale red when all that stuff was "in".
Most don't have a clue what a real hot rod is, they just wanna be a part of the latest thing..

I hope the whole fad (for lack of a better word) does die out.
Then the traditional parts, etc, will be left for those of us that truely love that bare bones, old style of cars..
at least thats what i hope..

The way i look at it is, i'm going to stay with what i'm doing, fad or not.
And if thats what YOU like, do the same because it dosn't matter AT ALL what everyone else is doing..
Thats whats important..

Rat....

 

Yes deffinately . Look at the over done mega rods of the 90's , the boring teal &amp; pastel rods of the 80's , the fad t's &amp; beer keg gas tanks of the 70's . . .

everything comes in &amp; out of fashion . Some of those things had small amounts of good taste &amp; a little style involved ( the chopped 49 51 merc seems to have struck around for some reason . . . ) but some things were just tacky to begin with .

The whole " building a car to look like you found it at the bottom of a lake " thing was played out and turned into a fashion statement almost as quickly as it started . The cars you see that are being built like that right now are gross parodys of themselves , the lowest , the shortest headers , the most no floor having , the most rusty unfinished welds . . . it was ugly to begin with and is now silly beyond its whole " unfinished barn-fresh " idea of building a car like that in the first place .

Take a look at all the cars that were described as " rat rods " in the first wave of that term and notice that they are mostly all ( slightly more ) finished , ( a little better ) painted , and look like real street driven homebuilt hotrods , instead of ugly rusty bailing wire heaps that look like they would shake apart over 60 MPH .


I think it will be looked back at as an ugly mark in the history of what we do , just like lavender painted bumpers &amp; side trim are to the rest of us . Ultimately , no long lasting resonance , nothing anyone will really look back at with any fondness .

 

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I hope so, then I can go out &amp; buy a bunch of half done cars for cheap,

just like I did when the "Mod" kids in the 80's sold all their Scooters.

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No shit!! I did the exact thing and made a ton of $$ reselling their scoots..

 

I agree with ya Mike.... but one thing you forgot....Customs almost vanished due to lack of interest. Luckily, a few of the hard core guys kept the eternal flame of customizing alive.

I try to build what I like. I don't generally get caught up in trends. I try and look down the road a few years and see if I will still like it or regret it. Wheels and tires are an easy change. ZZ Top stripes and Heartbeat stripes are kinda hard to erase.

 

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I agree with ya Mike.... but one thing you forgot....Customs almost vanished due to lack of interest. Luckily, a few of the hard core guys kept the eternal flame of customizing alive.

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I look at your car in your avitar , and it is timeless to me . It isn't dated or tacky or fugly looking . . . your type of build techniques and styling will never be looked at as anything but clean / functional / elegent . The same goes with a well done custom , or a mean looking well assembled hotrod . I think people will always keep the flame burning for that type of car .

I remember reading about the first WCC Paso Robles run ( 30 something cars ? ) or the first KKOA Kustom spectacular ( maybe the same amount of cars there too .. ) I didn't forget , I just don't think that kind of passion will be reserved for those type of clapped out rods .

I was too little to actually remember when MY kind of car was forgotten about and brought back to life , But it is in print and boy I am glad those few cranky old bastards didn't let it go easily . I just don't want to be here when this is cool again . . . .

 

I think ya all make very good points and as a young man in this hobby/passion I value it. Thanks, Matt

 

The term "rat rods" is be a fad, but traditional rods and kustoms will always be around.

 

im taking a break on building any "ratrod" junkrods for a while.

its too FUCKIN expensive nowadays,,its crazy..been to the swapmeet latley or looked at ebay?

yeah,its nuts, every Tom, Dick and Harry have raised the prices through the roof.

 

flat paint sux!!!! rust sux!!!!! you know it is a fad when some one takes a fiber glass 32 and bonds some rot holes in it and scuffs the nice shinny gelcoat and paints it flat black

 

Who the fuck cares?