Rat Rod ? Why ?

Hi there !

My first New Thread on H.A.M.B.

Well, I've been wondering a lot about the new expression "RAT ROD" and
where it comes from. I'm an old motorcycle guy since 25 years back and to
me a "RAT BIKE" always have been a bike with the intention of looking like a
big pile of garbage. They could look real fun and so, but it sure has nothing
to do with traditional built hot rods (or bikes). I'm not thrashing anyone here,
so please don't feel offended. I just don't understand the expression.
Flat paint ? Could that be it ? Please fill me in, because I don't really like the
similarity between those joke-bikes and these wild and great looking
automobiles.

Thanks !

 

Believe me... that term was invented by some lawyer/asshole who hauled in his $100,000 so-called "rod" on a trailer. The one he paid someone else to build... billet crap everywhere. You know the type.

 

Buy the new Hot Rod Magazine. Cover has the title "Retro Craze" on it. Very informative stuff in there. I'm not saying it's gospel - I believe it's still relative to age, who you hung out with, and where you grew up.

 

Hey J.B.,
very interesting stuff.I absolutely don't like the term Rat Rod.I guess this term came from people who questioned the craftmanship on some of these "new" rods lately built by young guys but at the same time were jealous as hell cause the "rat rod" owners really got the fun they were looking for.We have to admit,some of them were really crude.I guess the builders wanted to DRIVE their cars as early as possible and that's why they sometimes looked far from being finished.I like it this way.
I guess you're right,it comes from those rat bikes but for me there's no relationship between these two.Just look what beautiful cars have been build lately.For me there's nothing but the term Hot Rod.
I believe the term actually comes NOT from the people who build and drive "rat rods".It came from all "other" people.And there are also so many new people to this whole thing,they just know them as rat rods.Just my two cents.

 

I hate to say this, but I really think that it's time that Ryan make it a rule that you can't ask this question EVER!!! If you really wanted to know, you would have searched post history and found the 100 similair posts....

 

The year was 1976...I dropped a fresh quarter into the gumball machine at the front of Arnold's drug store in Fraser, MI and out rolled a little plastic capsule containing my mystery purchase! Upon popping it open, I discovered that I had just spent one eighth of my allowance on a very cool rubber rat!

I named him Templeton at first, after the rat in the kid's movie "Charlotte's Web", but I tend to ignore pets' names and just call them by what they are...(I call anybody's pet dog "dog", all cats are "kitty", etc)...so before long, I just dubbed my low maintainence pet "rat".

Being small and lacking claws, teeth or the abililty to produce waste, made Rat an easy little companion to tote around in my pocket, and I did so often. I built a little birdhouse in a community summer arts & crafts program and set it on my dresser for Rat to live in when he wasn't out with me. It was only natural that I'd soon figure that Rat needed a CAR, too, and so I went about building him one.

My modeling skills were crude at best back then, but I still came up with a righteous little ride for my little buddy! Taking a 1/32 scale Jeep CJ body and hacking off the front end allowed me to fit in a gigantically proportioned 1/25 scale 426 Hemi engine and a set of 1/24 scale drag slicks out back with a homebuilt staright axle up front sporting 1/25 scale skinnies gave it a real wild cartoonish rake with giant tires and motor! I even made a set of gnarly "zoomie" headers out of scap sprue and put small equipment decals on the body.

That model took up residence right next to Rat's house on my dresser and became known as Rat's Hot Rod, or "Rat's Rod" for short. He sat perched in that thing for years on end...logging thousands of miles across imaginary cruising spots...never had to be trailered or towed...it may have been crude and nasty, but it was no death rod, dammit!

Eventually, my modeling skills improved and I went on to build better quality rods for Rat to try out, but the goofy, hacked up Jeep was the first Rat Rod...I take full responsibility for the term, and I am truly sorry...

 

Most of it is just opinions....

Here is my spin on it
1) It's a 50s-60s style hotrod in progress.

2) A hotrod that is purpose built to look like a 50s-60s style hotrod in progress.

Mine has been called a ratrod more then once... doesn't bother me a bit (and mine is a 4 door ) I think I have been guilty on a few occasions myself, since it's easier then to say then "I'm doing the car in a 50-60s theme styled hot rod custom."

Now,I dislike the term retro rod... it's either a hotrod or it's not...

 

Holy Crap!! I not likey the term Rat Rod. But, in the new Cruise News magazine, there's a little one page article on this janky homebuilt Flathead powered T and the name of the article is 'Rat Rod?'. I wasn't real happy to have a mag call my car 'Rat Rod' but made my day to be recognized in a mag anyway.

 

Again with this same topic....Jesus do a seach this has been run into the ground...lets talk about what you are building and F%$k what it is called. it is a F$%Kin car....

 

What's the difference.. I've seen alot of ya'll fall over yourselves for the "patina" look.... it's the same damn thing... just a different way of saying it. Sorry, but I ain't calling any car of mine "patina"... might as well paint it pink... at least rat rod has some dignity...

 

Fat Hack.
You're the man ! Ha ha...

Great ! Thanks for the valuable input.
I've been told from many that the H.A.M.B. is a more or less elite group,
slagging off anyone who doesn't already know everything about traditional
hot rodding, have all the skills plus, even more important, are 110% familiar
with all topics and views that has been talked about on the H.A.M.B. earlier.
Not a good thing and not what I think most want it to be, or is it ?

Yes, I did search for the keywords Rat Rod, but didn't come up with anything
among the threads. Maybe you think I would go through the appr. 35.000 old
threads on the H.A.M.B. ?

If this is a very old question, sorry ! I haven't got a clue where it comes from
and I don't like the expression. If someone refers to my interest and call
it "Rat Rodding" I'd like to know why is that ? Sounds strange to you ?

If you know so many threads where this is already thoroughly discussed, why
not link it here, instead of behavin' like a jerk.

And you're wrong. THIS is a F$%Kin car...

 

Hey JB, some of the people here are just about the most ignorant dildos you could ever wanna meet. Dont worry about them. Acting like a jerk is a badge of honor to some of them. I've seen the cars you got and know what you have built in Sweden. I also dig your music.



Rat Rod is a silly American term that has evolved like the ebola virus. It does not even mean what it used to. Rat Rod is used to describe any car now that wasn't built by Posie or D'Agastino. Some magazines however don't use the term.....and thats a relief.

 

Amen brother.

By the way, "rat rod" is a marketing term. Evidence of this is shown by fact that the people who use this term frequently are victims of the media. It's not their fault for being ingnorant, but if they don't take it upon themselves to do a little research to find the true facts, ignorance becomes stupidity.

JB, I applaud you for asking the questions. There is never a stupid question, just stupid answers.

 

There is no such thing. Modified vintage cars are hot rods or customs.

Attention crybabies and people whose livelyhood is attached to sub-category terminology. This is one person's opinion. The world will not stop spinning because of the previous statement. Thank you.

 

Note: To outsiders, Billetproof may be the largest "rat rod " show in the world. You will notice that the term has never been associated with Billetproof by the people involved in Billetproof. That should tell you and the rest of the world something.

 

because rat rodz rule, that's why!

thanks

Paul

 

haha i got the exact reaction i was looking for!!! these are just cars,guys dont take it so serious.i just trying to ruffle your feathers and it worked!!!
Kool kar guy!!!

 

i think you should have a little more patience for guys who;
a. DON'T speak english as a primary language
2. live REALLY far away
III. ask 'dumb' questions, combined with both of the above
d. were'nt BORN with the inherent knowledge so many people here seem to have

 

here's the twist i heard...
flint, being a town based on general motors, has always had a lot of people that are into hotrods...most of which are shop workers and their families.

these "shop rats" would build their cars partially with materials, and parts they could pilfer from work...
obviously, a chevy motor goes into a ford etc...people started calling these motors "rat motors"

and thus a car featuring a gm motor became a rat rod.

i don't know how it made the transition into being used to describe the traditional style cars these days....but that's the story i heard.
either that or the old timer who told me is full of crap...
either way, it sounds plausible

 

when you say - I don't really like the
similarity between those joke-bikes and these wild and great looking
automobiles.
make me wonder if you ever drove one these bike.they were built by the ones who didn't give a shit about anyone or anything other their inner circle,and most of them would outrun any other bike in the club.joke bike?there was nothing funny about em.they were true hot rodders built with found or cheap parts.as for rat rods it's somewhat the same and another thing a rat is not one of these rusted junkers sitting on a $20,000.00 frame with a crate engine in it.thats called a poser,.I guess after thinking about it there nothing to say other than~~~ if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand!!!!~~~

 

My bad-I didn't see where he was based. I don't think I'm being a dildo or jerk and wearing it as a badge of honor. It would seem to me that if you found this place, as I did, you probably went through:
a-a magazine on the subject
b-a friend
c-a Google search.

-from what he posted about hearing how all of us slag on people not in the know, it would seem that no matter what language he spoke, he'd know what people got slagged on the most.

ps.-I always thought a rat was a type of motor (SBC).I was confused when I read an article in OSR about a Rat gasser vette that ran a rat- I thought it was redundant. But I've heard people use the term 'ratty' and put 2 and two together...

pss.-What happened to that Amo in the pick?

 

A SBC is a mouse, a BBC is a rat.

Mutt

 

once again, my bad (as in 'mighty mouse', et al)

 

THAN YOU! amen to that.

 

sometimes it seems more like a sorority than a fraternity amongst men and their "toys". i grew up in a city where almost nothing or anyone was called by the real name. i think most people felt the need to shorten each task up to save time. there were 50 guys all unrelated called red, that saved some one time and caused everyone else confusion. in the 60s lots of cars came out with neat names that set them apart, but no way soon a roadrunner became a skinny chicken. a thunderbird was a t-bird, a firebird was a firechicken. most guys were intent on giving someone the business. some words were [are] malicious some just playful. the first guy to blink lost, kinda like the "dozen" and everyone else had fun at that mans expense. i dont mind someone giving me the business or constructively challenging my ideas, if it makes me a better man than before. just so u know i wont call ur hotrod a rat unless u want it that way. as for me maybe its a weakness, but i just dont want my stuff called a street rod. now i have been thinking about a car called a ROCK-ABILLY ROD...................

 

Instead of replying to this post and whining about repeated threads over and over just ignore it and paste a link here with the related topic. It's that simple.

 

Thanks for the patience from some of you guys.

OK.
I got the message. As said, this was my first thread I started here ever. I'll
NEVER ask anything here again. That subject could also have been brought
up earlier and then I'm a stupid person that just don't know it.
This particular question is something I've been wondering about for some
time, but never found any proper answers to. Then I thought I'd ask the guys
that I thought would know the history. Or maybe mr rebstew187 is right ?
...if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand!!!!

I've been building cars and motorcycles, organised huge hot rod events and
rockin' festivals plus travelled all over the world to check out cool stuff for a
whole lotta years now, so I could live without knowing this simple question.

Best regards

 

Wow that fired everyone up! Id like to know the ages of everyone that replied and if you guys really have cars or your just self made experts that ride schwins and play on the internet . LOL.............
Dave
ps: I have a 32 ford and its a glass car ...oh ya i can take the bashing go for it

 

I'm 30

My Rat Rod...


and my mouse motor SBC 265 PowerPak...

 

you wouldn't understand , you drive a glass car .LOL j/k I didn't want to come off like an ass but unless he was here in the states where we could meet and hang out a bit to show him what the lifestyle is like he wouldn't understand .I've had alot of nice (pretty) cars with wild stripes or flames on them.but it's a pain in the rear to have to worry all the time about your car .I drive my stuff show car or rat, what ever I have it's on the street not on a trailer.its nice to have an old car that if someone sits on the edge of the fender you don't have to jump up and say something(get the hell off my ride).and funny thing is I can run my primed junker next to my friends $$ nice show car at a cruise in and people take pics of mine.I hate to say it but I do get a big kick out of it.