Rat style muscle cars??

[Ghoste]

Just read an article in MCG about a "ratted" Super Bee and they go on about hoping its the next big thing in musclecars.  I don't know about the rest of you but I really have no interst in seeing musclecars that are purposely rusted.  Save the clapped out look for the street rods.

[myk]

Personally I don't want to see that either.  A rare car like a Super Bee deserves to be whole and in good order.  Then again, nothing's sacred these days anyway...

[ws23rt]

I don't see it catching on myself.  I do like the free style of the rat cars and bikes but they are made of many things a lot of which are not automotive.

To take one particular car and rat it out would be just about how far could one go and have it still look like what it was.  (Too restrictive and messy)

However I have been amazed many times by what becomes popular.

[Mike DC]

Show me somebody who pays $60 for name-brand denim jeans that come with rips & tears from the factory.  I will probably show you somebody who is too far removed from poverty and manual labor to end up with ripped jeans the old fashioned way.  That's why they are intrigued by the look.  People who have struggled to avoid wearing ripped jeans won't think it's cool.


Same with muscle cars.  The crowd that spends 4 years and $14k getting rid of the rust problems on their car will never decide it's very cool.  If rusty becomes cool, it will only be among the really wealthy & cutting-edge magazine car set on the coasts & desert states.  The working-class heart of the muscle car hobby in the Red States will never love the rusty look.

[Ghoste]

I hope it dies quickly.  Very quickly.

[tan top]

    still each to their own 

[Lord Warlock]

Think too many people have been watching Gas Monkey Garage on tv,  they like to buy em rusty and fix the drivetrain to modern standards but leave it rusty, even clearcoating over the poor exterior.  Then sell it for way more than they should be able to get.  Must be a TV thing.   I don't want to see musclecars being shown in that condition, maybe the hoarders that have been holding on to rusty hulks prefer the newest fads, and will drag them out of the weeds finally. 

[twodko]

Show me somebody who pays $60 for name-brand denim jeans that come with rips & tears from the factory.  I will probably show you somebody who is too far removed from poverty and manual labor to end up with ripped jeans the old fashioned way.  That's why they are intrigued by the look.  People who have struggled to avoid wearing ripped jeans won't think it's cool.


Same with muscle cars.  The crowd that spends 4 years and $14k getting rid of the rust problems on their car will never decide it's very cool.  If rusty becomes cool, it will only be among the really wealthy & cutting-edge magazine car set on the coasts & desert states.  The working-class heart of the muscle car hobby in the Red States will never love the rusty look.

Roger that.

[polywideblock]

I grew up with "the candy coloured chrome everything street machine"  crowd, have never understood  the rat look  just looks cheap to me

[cudaken]

Hey, if Rust Is In, my 68 Road Runner is done! 

Cuda Ken

[bill440rt]

IIRC the Bee in the article was not made to look ratty, it was just found that way: faded paint, cracked original decals, etc.
From what I gathered he just replaced parts: new exhaust, upgraded suspension parts, etc.
Even the interior was mostly replaced with new stuff so it's pretty nice inside.
Outside was just left alone, not "enhanced".

Regardless, I like my muscle cars shiny anyway. 

[RallyeMike]

I like the rat rods as long as they are not crap rods. I'm a fan of home-built rods and real patina, but not unsafe piles of junk. Some of the welding and cobbling I've been seeing in the name of ratting-out a car out is just plain scary.

As far as it catching on with muscle cars, I say bring it on. They can be ratty for awhile and then the next guy who owns it gets a bargain. At least someone is caring for the car and keeping it on the road instead of allowing it to rust away under a tree. Anything that saves an old car and brings more people into the hobby is a good thing.
 

[Nwcharger]

I built my Daytona clone and left it rough. Mainly because I'm a gearhead and don't really do bodywork. Some day I might clean it up but I kinda like the joe dirt look for now.

[JB400]

I can see where antiquing a muscle car might be cool.  Faded paint and cracked decals add to the patina.  Something of that sort is cool.  When I think of something that is ratted, I think of something just cobbled together from a random pile of parts.  Muscle cars don't need to be done that a way.  Only exception would be a Mad Max type of theme that better have some weaponry on it.

[1974dodgecharger]

I can see where antiquing a muscle car might be cool.  Faded paint and cracked decals add to the patina.  Something of that sort is cool.  When I think of something that is ratted, I think of something just cobbled together from a random pile of parts.  Muscle cars don't need to be done that a way.  Only exception would be a Mad Max type of theme that better have some weaponry on it.

What...lol.  There's guys on our forum who are using stop signs as a front fender which looks cooler than anything on the street new lol.

[remta1]

I thought that we did it the other way round take them from being sad and make them look real pretty again

[six-tee-nine]

I've been into vintage Volkswagens most of my younger life till i bought the Charger.
I saw the "rat" style coming back then. At some point the hype was that big that more rat cars took the trophy's home at the shows over alot of gorgeously restored cars.
Back then I spent every dime I had on the restoration of my car to have it better than showroom quality and these guys only spent money on ridiculous lowered suspensions and they took the honors. Sometimes it got a little frustrating to say the least.

Muscle cars cost more on the otherhand to get started so more people that are interested in them are taking it seroius i guess.
It's easyier to buy a $150 beetle that is too far gone, lower it and drive the guts out of it and junk it when it falls apart.

[J.Bond]

Read the article, and scratched my head, Rat rod, No. Sometimes the writers, blow it with stupid titles. That car represents what I , you and the general public have seen thru the years. That car looks like a good 20 to 30 percent of the old Mopars that I have seen while visiting Florida 20 years ago. Sun baked. In fact, it looks even better than my 66 St Louis car. And it's not the first, we had a clear coated ( the same idea ) 69 A12 car hemi orange at the Tim and Brenda's show this year. The look is, what it is , worn....
And really, he has encapsulated the original paint, wow, how many here can say original paint. It still kills me to see base clear on restored Mopars.

[Big Sugar]

Yeah I would have to agree , the Rat term is wrong if used with a muscle car unless its been frankesteined with major parts from other makes.  And made to look unfinished.  if I found a classic Mopar now with a good body but worn paint and possibly a worn interior I would definatly consider just clearing it and driving it.
  That look is cool and it makes it easier to just get out and drive it ! No worries  bombing down the back country roads kick'n stones and making a good old dust cloud like we all did when we were young.
Im growing tired of the SHOW scene....Id rather just jump in and drive and run it hard.

Ron

[Ghoste]

My 67 is what a friend once termed (and correctly I think) a "beater" musclecar.  True, I can take it anywhere without worrying about cosmetic issues but I DETEST the warts.
I want it to look nice too and make no mistake, cosmtics are also a wear item.  Just because you can visually notice the progression of rust by staring at it don't ever think it's not slowly destroying your car.

[wingcar]

I can see perhaps a Rat "ROD", as some of them I've seen at local car shows are rather interesting.  But, anymore than perhaps a couple of them at any one show is too many in my opinion.   With a Musclecar it's not a Rat Rod, but a work in progress or as others have called them...a "Beater".   The concept just doesn't work with a modern car, adding "Patina" on anything newer than a 1950's or even very early '60s car or truck makes it a "Beater" not a "Rat Rod".   There will always be those that will like the look, but the main stream auto enthusiast and the general public that attend car shows will never fully accept the look or the reason behind it.
I remember the first time I saw the "Joe Dirt" Daytona parked at the Spring Fling in Van Nuys, California.  It had no signage and no one was around....and after looking at it, all I was thinking was "what lazy individual would bring something like that to a car show".  (It even had candy wrappers laying on the dash).  Of course later I learned and saw the Joe Dirt movie, and so the car's look made sense.  But, I feel that the general public will in many cases have the same thoughts I had when I first saw the "Dirt" Daytona.
I would rather see more "Day Two" musclecars on display.  That is how I remember seeing these cars back in the day, with mag wheels, headers, custom paint etc.  Easy to do (and undo) and much more interesting than adding "rust/patina" to a nice car.   
Each to his own, since after all they are the owner and can do what they want with their car....but, they will have to excise me if I just walk on by and don't stop to take any pictures...just not into the whole Rat Rod look......

[Ghoste]

I like the Day Two stuff best myself as well.  Making a car look worn out just seems bizarre to me.  You wouldn't pusposely put worn out brake shoes on it so why would you want it to have a rusty roof?

[Cooter]

While I'm building my rat rod, I refuse to leave the rusted out section there. It will have a nice cab/body.
It just won't be shiney. Now, as for the MCs? Well, I'd have to say rough looki g and actually being a pos are two different things.
Many spend huge money trying to look like they didn't spend any.

[toocheaptosmoke]

I'm a fan of the "beater" look.   I enjoy seeing the restored cars, no doubt you can see all the time and effort put into them.  But, for me anyways, that brand new or better than new type of car just doesn't hit home.   I wasn't around back when these cars were new or could be had for cheap in good condition.  I never dreamed about picking one up new off the showroom floor.  I dreamed about finding stuff forgotten behind a barn, or covered in dust in an old garage.  Those were the type of cars/trucks with a legitamate possibility of finding, even if that chance was slim.  Getting something with faded original paint and "day-two" mods is about the best you could hope to find.  I can understand why this type of car can be popular, not everyone's "dream car" is factory fresh.

[6spd68]

I can't even stand flat paint on muscle cars, so I'm at a definite NO for Rat Muscle...