Street Rods

[RalphDogg]

Rat Rods are so lame. Wow, its cool because its rusty and you want to stand out at the car show from all the Mustangs. Fab up a frame/engine and finish it with a half ass rusty cab. Egh, just need to get that out. State your opinion of Rat Rods and post me some pictures if you think you can 1 up me.

[jlovbasz3]

It's just a fad every yuppie wants one just like choppers. I like both not trying to dis anyone but when things become main stream it becomes uncool to me.

[ridgerunner97]

^ Agreed. I don't mind a rusty cab or rusty pickup, but the ultimate to me in the lame category is paint jobs to look rusted. HATE IT. If a car has a cool patina when you find it, a little fading here or there or what not and you want to preserve it, shoot some flat clear on it and keep the look. That can be cool. The super ugly rat rod look pisses me off, the stupid iron crosses, and rubber rats, and red wheels blah blah blah

[Super Scout]

Rat rods, genuine rat rods are sweet. Some truck with the patina I dunno about. that said I always beat to the tune of a different drum, whatever float your boat.

[RalphDogg]

Wiki translation,

A rat rod is a style of hot rod or custom car that, in most cases, imitates (or exaggerates) the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s & early 60s. It is not to be confused with the somewhat closely related "traditional" hot rod, which is an accurate re-creation or period-correct restoration of a hot rod from the same era.

[13below0]

Damn Ralphdog didnt mean to upset you lol. Depends on your definition of it I guess. Some people might think that truck I posted is a rat rod just because its not painted. Its not.... Its fuel injected, has ac, overdrive, all wheel drive, etc. It was never meant to have a title so to say. Its what the owner wanted to do. The entire frame was sandblasted and painted, motor was disassembled and powdercoated etc. That being said it was built with whatever other parts were laying around. So if thats what you would call a rat rod than I guess thats your thoughts. Personally I hate what most people consider rat rods now. They should be called garbage rods or something. Most are very badly done, shitty welds, shitty fab work, pretty much just junk with someones artistic ideas. Now gasser type cars and traditional style hot rods are Fn awesome. I dont see any pics so Im not sure what were supposed to 1 up. hahah. Not to say its all junk but the state of some of those cars and bikes is just terrible.

[ridgerunner97]

^ For sure. That Ford isn't a rat.

[joe_and_jeep]

Rat Rod has become a cop out for shitty work. A true Rat or traditional is all go and no show. Why waste money on a paint job if it don't make your car/truck faster or perform better. So most older/traditional/rats where.built properly but with no concern on looks because looks and chrome didn't win street races. Now it's been blown out of proportion, and people are using the excuse"it's a rat" for their lack of skills. My 47 Dodge is AWD, Supercharged 350, disc brakes,.IFS etc... But I wanted to get it mechanically solid before I worried about the body and i.can't afford good parts and a good paint job so the paint will wait.

[56pu]

Kinda like Jeeps? Dont get me wrong Jeeps are great, hell Ive even owned a couple, but they are like opinions, cause everybody has one.. I like my old beat up 56 dodge truck on a 94 9C1 caprice frame with 4 wheel disc and a LT1/ 4L60 and crappy/lack of paint, but I dont care what it looks like I just want to drive it.. Im just trying to make a point that everybody is into different kinda things. There are some pretty cool rats out there but there are also so very poorly built ones by people that have no sense of what the hell is going on. Just like alot of off road builds Ive seen.. Some people get it and some dont.. Id much rather see a nicely built rat than a mid90s pastel tubbed out no good for nothing prostreet turd, or a hack job of a lift kit body lifted mall hopping rancho sticker wearing 4x4..

Sorry thats just me...
Harmon

[RalphDogg]

Damn Ralphdog didnt mean to upset you lol. Depends on your definition of it I guess. Some people might think that truck I posted is a rat rod just because its not painted. Its not.... Its fuel injected, has ac, overdrive, all wheel drive, etc. It was never meant to have a title so to say. Its what the owner wanted to do. The entire frame was sandblasted and painted, motor was disassembled and powdercoated etc. That being said it was built with whatever other parts were laying around. So if thats what you would call a rat rod than I guess thats your thoughts. Personally I hate what most people consider rat rods now. They should be called garbage rods or something. Most are very badly done, shitty welds, shitty fab work, pretty much just junk with someones artistic ideas. Now gasser type cars and traditional style hot rods are Fn awesome. I dont see any pics so Im not sure what were supposed to 1 up. hahah. Not to say its all junk but the state of some of those cars and bikes is just terrible.

I guess the rat rod is a broad topic and Im just not into any of it.

[joe_and_jeep]

Very broad topic, I don't care for some of these abortions people are slapping together and calling a rat rod. A properly built unpainted Hot Rod with a bigger motor, lack of chrome and fancy parts is what started the whole thing. And saying you don't like that style of hot rod is like saying you like art but don't appreciate the originals like DaVinci or Michelangelo.

[13below0]

Unfortunetly even cars get labeled. You know what most people think rat tods are. For real deal "traditional" hot rods most are probably pretty high dollar builds (for nice cars) some in the 6 figure range.. yikes. For pretty much the baddest of these cars is rollin bones car club http://rollingboneshotrodshop.com/index.html I posted pics of this a while back, but this is still my most favorite car we have ever had the pleasure of working on.


Now this is traditional style.. I forget but the front is stretched like 10" if I remember. The owner is a metal working bad ass. The hood, sides of the hood and rear deck lid are all made by hand. Frame, and motor mounts are all custom 1 off stuff. Some could say thats rat rod style but the finish work clearly shows that its in another league. Im into all kinds of cars, trucks whatever. I try to look at stuff open minded as possible. That being said, thats why we labled the truck a swap rod lol we swapped the body onto a late model frame maybe we can start a new trend hahha

[Deadman 94 xj]

As far as the paint on that Ford, it's an age thing and it shows some history to it. It's also art in the right setting. Some cars can get away with it and some can't. Don't shoot down that truck 13bellow, that thing is sweet. It would almost look stupid with a fresh coat of paint on it IMO. If its being used like a truck, than why bother.

[tanz45]

RatRod...Making Rusty cars/trucks triple their value since 2012 (so it seems)

Agreed with some of the posts, there is a difference between some lame @ss painting a rusty trucks/cars rims red on a clapped out chassis and leaving a "patina" body on a all redone chassis and power plant.

13Below0 truck pics are sweet....

This...Perfect example of red rims and thats it.

[JeepSteeler]

I don't know if you could categorize a vehicle as a rat or not just by looking at it per say. The old rats were build from what guys had access to use after WWII. The floor was made out of part of a road sign because that's the sheetmetal they had laying around (or could swipe). The flathead was used because they had it sitting in another car in the backyard. Goal was to make it quick with what you had on hand or could scrounge up. I suppose if someone today who has the cash to create a hot rod wanted to make a "tribute" car using the same type of materials, then it would be just that, a tribute. He didn't have to use that road sign, but did it to pay tribute to what the early guys used. That's not a real "rat" to me, but not necessarily a bad thing either.

If we think about what a "rat rod" would be today, it wouldn't be 1930's and 40's coupes and such, because that's not what most of us have sitting around, it would be whatever we have laying round in our day and age. So our "rats" would be like 90's or early 2000's era Mustangs and Cameros, T-Birds, stuff like that, built from the local scrapyard and what's on hand.

That's my $.02. I do agree though that once it becomes popular, i don't want one anymore.

[BUZZINHALFDOZZEN]

I'm all for no show and all go. If a guy builds an ugly car and just wants to go fast, good for him. If it was built to look like a rat to fit in with some scene, bad for him

[HeepH8erTy]

I always did like the looks of the ugly booty fab rat rods, but man you just see so many nowadays that have some downright AWFUL fab work.

The next project my dad wants to do after we sell the Vette is build a rat rod. Its a 28 Ford Tudor sedan body that my pap had planned to build before he passed. Wer gonna build the frame, chop and channel the body, cage with racing seats and harnesses, bored, stroked and blown 460, no hood or fenders, huge drag radials in the back, skinnies up front (not as skinny as drag cars), paint it all flat black with chrome wheels and chrome the motor out... build it exactly how my pap wanted to build the car.

I guess that could be considered either a rat rod or a street rod... by todays standards it would be a rat rod because its going to be all go and no show (though it will look bad phuckin ass) but with my dad's super high quality OCD fab work lol... however my pap had one just like it in the 50's that he use to drag race, so would that make it a street rod because its built as a "period correct" 50's hot rod?

[Deadman 94 xj]

I saw one at a car show that had a military canteen as the radiator overflow. That's just one of the things done on that pile to give an idea. It was cool in a funny WTF kinda way.

I didn't get the whole rust paint thing you guys were talking about until I remembered seeing one there that had it. It also had brown leather-wrapped front fenders and grill. It all blended in with the rust. I didn't know it was a "thing" now.

[jackb1]

Not at anybody particular... but I don't get why it makes a difference if something is popular or not to like it or not to like it any longer... if someone like a style before it is popular, then why wouldn't you like it after it's popular too?

Not sure how to say this coherently, but if you like a vehicle just because it is ugly and different/unpopular (like a rat was 10 years ago), but don't like it today because it is popular, then isn't that just the same as people who jump on the bandwagon of liking the vehicle because it's "cool"? Either way, you're basing your own desire for a particular style off of public perception and not your own feelings.

I like 'em. I think I have about 5 other styles of custom vehicles I'd buy first, but I have no hate for any style of custom vehicle. (except for some older guy in the North Hills that has a brown blazer blinged-out with rear fender skirts, a wing, white walls, hub caps and every piece of chrome Pep-boys sells.) I have to draw the line somewhere.

[Deadman 94 xj]

but I have no hate for any style of custom vehicle. (except for some older guy in the North Hills that has a brown blazer blinged-out with rear fender skirts, a wing, white walls, hub caps and every piece of chrome Pep-boys sells.) I have to draw the line somewhere.

Agreed with everything you just said....trends are predictable both ways.

But that right there is funny!

[joe_and_jeep]

I would consider ^ traditional



I would consider ^ abortion that is a waste...



I would consider ^ Rat Rod

[ridgerunner97]

^ Joe you basically laid it out the same way that I do when it comes to classifying them.

[RalphDogg]

I guess I should have made this more of an opinion topic or a poll, but at least its out and rolling.

[joe_and_jeep]

I don't think I've ever posted my truck. 1947 Dodge Truck, 350, .030, Comp Cams 292H, 2.02/1.60 Heads, Steel Crank, Pink Rods (yea I built it in the 90s) Weiand 144 Roots Style Blower and a Demon 850 Carb. The Chassis is S10 Blazer front for the IFS and S10 rear., I couldn't find a 115" wheel base truck so I made it lol... The plans were to use Oldsmovile Bravada AWD t case.

I classify this as "Cool old truck"

[busij44]

I like em'....its on my bucket list to have one some day. Something like this.