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How would you define (explain) the term "rat rod"?

Started by TK73, January 14, 2006, 12:00:27 AM

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TK73

January 14, 2006, 12:00:27 AM
Just curious as to what you guys think a "Rat Rod" is, or should be.
1973 Charger : 440cid - 727 - 8.75/3.55


Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
      a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
      acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!

5.9_Liter_Grand_Cherokee

#1
January 14, 2006, 12:16:18 AM
Isn't that a low budget hot rod?  Black Suede paint, unfinished, kinda rough.  You know looks like your Charger. ;D
Formerly chargerdaytona477

Charger Aficionado

#2
January 14, 2006, 12:19:32 AM
  Wiseguy...        :haha:

TruckDriver

#3
January 14, 2006, 12:51:44 AM
Just look at your car :D :nana:
PETE

My Dad taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" :P

TK73

#4
January 14, 2006, 12:58:25 AM
Well, I would like my car to an "official" Rat Rod.

The reason I ask is because the "Rat Rods" I run across are 1930s to 1950s models.  Can a '60s or 70s car be a real "Rat Rod"?  :shruggy:
1973 Charger : 440cid - 727 - 8.75/3.55


Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
      a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
      acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!

TruckDriver

#5
January 14, 2006, 01:03:06 AM
I think officially, it is more/less for the street rod cars. But I think you can pretty much do it to anything any year. There are 2 old mid 60's Ford Falcons running around here by me spray bombed black and one is white. And they both have flames and stuff too. All done with a rattle can, but they both got pumped up engines in them.
PETE

My Dad taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" :P

5.9_Liter_Grand_Cherokee

#6
January 14, 2006, 01:09:19 AM
Don't quote me, but I think that I have seen a couple mid 70's trucks classed as rat rods.
Formerly chargerdaytona477

TK73

#7
January 14, 2006, 01:13:18 AM
Quote from: chargerless4now on January 14, 2006, 01:09:19 AM
Don't quote me, but I think that I have seen a couple mid 70's trucks classed as rat rods.

quoted...  :icon_smile_big:

Dumb@$$ me just found a good definition:

"Rat rod is a newly developed name for the original hot rod style of the early 1950s. A rat rod is usually a vehicle that has had many of its non-critical parts removed. They are usually finished in primer-like paints and are often period correct. They are very often the conglomeration of parts and pieces of different makes and models.

A typical rat rod is an early 1930s coupe or roadster with the body set low on the frame, fenders removed, whitewall tires, big-little tire combos, exposed engine bay, home-made upholstery, and lots of power.

It has become popular to use the term for a similar treatment on cars from the 1950s and early 1960s as well. These vehicles (known as, Custom cars, Kustoms,Leadsleds or Sleds) were usually not originally high performance vehicles, but usually a large 2-door sedan with a chopped down roofline, lowered suspension, and most of the little trim work removed."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_rod
1973 Charger : 440cid - 727 - 8.75/3.55


Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
      a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
      acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!

TK73

#8
January 14, 2006, 01:16:13 AM
I like this:

"Nowadays people who own hot rods keep them clean and try to make them noticeable. Those who work according to the original idea of cheap, fast and no frills are often called rat rods"

So, can I call mine a "rat rod"?
1973 Charger : 440cid - 727 - 8.75/3.55


Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
      a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
      acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!

Silver R/T

#9
January 14, 2006, 01:19:24 AM
little t bucket with mild 350 in it
http://www.cardomain.com/id/mitmaks

1968 silver/black/red striped R/T
My Charger is hybrid, it runs on gas and on tears of ricers
2001 Ram 2500 CTD
1993 Mazda MX-3 GS SE
1995 Ford Cobra SVT#2722

kab69440

#10
January 14, 2006, 01:35:00 AM
Anything not powered by a big-block Chevrolet ("Rat Motor", around here...) cannot be a "Rat" Rod in my opinion.
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not;  a sense of humor to console him for what he is.      Francis Bacon

WANT TO BUY:
Looking for a CD by  'The Sub-Mersians'  entitled "Raw Love Songs From My Garage To Your Bedroom"

Also, any of the various surf-revival compilation albums this band has contributed to.
Thank you,    Kenny

Jesus drove a Honda. He wasn't proud of it, though...
John 12: 49     "...for I did not speak of my own Accord."

Todd Wilson

#11
January 14, 2006, 01:59:12 AM








moparguy01

#12
January 14, 2006, 03:26:15 AM
Rat rods dont have a friggen 350 chevy in them. holy crap silver. You need to get out and experience the real world more kid.

rat rods are powered by period correct engines, and a REAL rat rod should be a mid 50s car at the absolutely latest. guess what, a 350 wasnt offered in the 50s! a 409 might slide past, but much else i highly doubt it. Most commonly they're powered by early hemis, old buick or cadillac motors, sometimes a vintage flathead ford v8.

then they are gutted of everything not essential to speed, dropped down to the ground with some big meats on the back, and usually either have faded original paint or flat finishes.

Silver R/T

#13
January 14, 2006, 03:33:25 AM
i was thinking of t-buckets...although theyre same to me tbucket/rat rod
http://www.cardomain.com/id/mitmaks

1968 silver/black/red striped R/T
My Charger is hybrid, it runs on gas and on tears of ricers
2001 Ram 2500 CTD
1993 Mazda MX-3 GS SE
1995 Ford Cobra SVT#2722

moparguy01

#14
January 14, 2006, 05:13:19 AM
a t bucket and a rat rod are alot different. thats like saying your charger is like a 91 honda crx. its just not a fair comparison. cause one is cool, the other is bullshit. in the case of tbucket and rat rod, the tbucket is the bullshit

TruckDriver

#15
January 14, 2006, 10:27:14 AM
Now THIS is a Rat Rod :D





Here's a Rat Rod truck




A typical Rat Rod



One of the things I noticed, is that a lot of Rat Rods have Red wheels on them. Not all, but a lot of them.
PETE

My Dad taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" :P

Daytona R/T SE

#16
January 14, 2006, 10:34:45 AM
Check out this site and the magazine...   http://www.olskoolrodz.com/

Be sure to check out the photo gallery...

Ghoste

#17
January 14, 2006, 10:59:15 AM
If you imagine going back to the late 40's or early 50's and imagine yourself as a young guy with no money and a need to go fast and built a car, that should come out as a Rat Rod.  Cheap used car most likely from the 20's or 30's, no money for paint or body, parts pirated from a variety of cars and adapted to work, period correct drivetrains.  Guys who get really into it today will also dress the part and their gals do too.  They will listen to music of the period and generally soak themselves up into the whole culture.
Like many things, as it becomes popular, the poseurs get into and "buy" their Rat Rod or try and lump their 65 GMC pickup into the fold but the true Rat Rodders have a unique thing of their own.

Old Moparz

#18
January 14, 2006, 11:32:54 AM
All these years of driving a ratty old car doesn't qualify it as a "rat-rod" at all. I've had cars with different year parts, from different model cars, & sprayed with primer from rattle cans. I understand the model year designation determines a "hot-rod" from a "street-rod" & now the term "rat-rod". I guess I've just been driveing a POS.
               Bob               



              Going Nowhere In A Hurry

TK73

#19
January 14, 2006, 12:40:17 PM
Quote from: Daytona R/T SE on January 14, 2006, 10:34:45 AM
Check out this site and the magazine...   http://www.olskoolrodz.com/

Be sure to check out the photo gallery...

YEAH, was checking that out at the book store 3 dyas ago... got me to thinking
1973 Charger : 440cid - 727 - 8.75/3.55


Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
      a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
      acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!

TK73

#20
January 14, 2006, 12:41:07 PM
Quote from: Old Moparz on January 14, 2006, 11:32:54 AM

I guess I've just been driveing a POS.


That's what I'm realizing for myself too...
1973 Charger : 440cid - 727 - 8.75/3.55


Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
      a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
      acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!

Ghoste

#21
January 14, 2006, 01:40:32 PM
And I'm not sure if it counts as irony or not, but the guys who are building true rat rods today, actually spend a good amount of money in some cases to duplicate a pos.  An old and cool pos, but a pos nonetheless.

73-charger-383

#22
January 14, 2006, 01:47:50 PM
To me a rat rod is a old car that's built to go fast, not look fast. I've got a couple of old 61 bel air's that have been sitting for 30 years.........now if i get one of them old rust buckets, throw in a hot engine and drive it without fixing the rust/bulletholes.....i think it qualifies as a rat rod.   Something that's on the verge of not being street legal, with all of the creature comforts removed (or not fixed), now that's a rat rod........
just my POV though
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