What is "rat rod"?

[oppositelock]

A couple of years later I ended up with Charlie again. The owner's delinquent son was speeding through Tacoma and killed him. I was in college and had my first Manta by then so I bought Charlie back for parts. Alright, a 9.0:1 engine for my Manta!
You guys would have killed me! There were so many good parts in that car that just went to the wrecking yard after I stripped off what I wanted...

That's the only GT I've ever owned, BTW. I'm more of a Manta/Ascona guy.

You can see what's left of the Model A next to Charlie.

[GT-Freak]

This is the Minichamp car below. The paint looks less metallic than in the pics. If you do a Google search, you can find model/hobby shops that still have a few in stock.

http://www.iol.ie/~donohoer/0Opel_GT.htm

oppositelock: Salvage front end, welding, frame straightener... Charlie could be on the road. But considering the price of cars in better condition, Charlie is a good parts car. I like driving Mantas better than GTs, esp. as a daily driver. And you can carry more stuff than a suitcase and your dog. Sounds like the Model A is a lot of fun. Title allows him to build a kit car and not meet all the new legal stuff, no emissions.

[madhatterpdc]

Originally posted by GT-Freak Daytona Coupe on a Mustang donor. That sounds like a lot of work. Starting with clay and working toward a fiberglass body?

There are Cobra roadster and coupe kits that use a Fox-body Mustang as a donor. Some are not as bad as it sounds, most kits includes a new tube frame, body and suspension among other things. Basically the only thing Mustang is the steering rack, and some nerds (brakes and drivetrain CAN be used but have millions of upgrade options)... but I digress.

[wrench459]

Originally Posted by manta73wi Primer or flat paint jobs (maybe even painted with a brush) are the norm, and the upholstery may just be one of those old wool "New Mexico" type blankets thrown over the old torn seat. You would never find anything fiberglass, billet, or with power assist on a rat rod. The rat rod is all about fun and being able to drive your ride without worrying about rain or a paint scratch to dampen the sheer joy of running something you put together.

IMOA that's the true definition of a rat rod.
A rat is UGLY period..but fun Don't think about mouse engines or rat engines,or even elephant's here.

[blancojp]

A rat rod is anything you wanted it to be. You start by gathering old parts until you have enough to build a car with. Paint, interior and other flash items are ignored so you end up with a unique car that you can drive the crap out of.

In this day and age, the true definition has been lost since people are getting old vehicles and spending tons of money just to make it look like a rod. In a Opel this is very hard to do since you can't actually put other body parts together to make a statement. But as an example, you can get a Model A, cut out the rumble seat, replace the front with a T engine cover, add a truck rear and old POP lights. You find the largest engine you can fit, wire it like you just don't care and voila!, you now have a rat rod.

Of course you will not paint the outside, just leave blobs of primer everywhere and the interior must be done using the same scenario. People actually pay big money for these vehicles and they are just spare parts jammed together to form something.

[sugg578]

There are differnet type of rat rod's or rat bikes. The one Im mostly use to hearing is a rat ped (a over powered ****ty moped) it paint and stuff looks bad and the wireing is every where and it has some type of modding done to the motor.

[LeftLaneGuy]

ANYWAY....

Back to the original question:

The REAL reason you'll see this in a description of parts on ebay is because MOST 'rat-rodders' use found objects, and also adapt odd things to thier particular use. Mostly for aesthetic reasons. Bits and pieces from other cars, farm implements, bikes, etc... Puttin 'rat-rod' in your desription brings it up on a search...

A stock opel gt mirror is actually quite the cool little mirror. It's all about making yours a little different from the crowd.

Hope this helps.

[Sparky73]

A rat rod to me is a 50's or so era car that has a large motor, lowered and has had the roof, pilars and windows 'chopped'.

As far as rat rods go, I've always liked Jesse James' 1954 Chevrolet.

[West Coast GT]

I've always thought of the Rat-Rod as a counter-culture approach to automobile styling. It's the "I don't care that it looks like crap, just as long as it goes like hell" attitude.

I wonder if the term is derived from the old hot rods and those true enthusiasts who live in the desert; those old grizzled non-conformist individuals who live to drive hard, even to the point of sleeping out on the old lakebeds next to their car just to get an early start on the racing. They won't spend any money on their car's appearance, only the engine. What we would call a desert rat.

For some reason the rat-rod should include red rims. Perhaps that's indicative of money going into racing rims instead of paint or damaged body parts.

I came across one of these individuals at a car show. He entered an old beat-up badly oxidized generation two convertible Corvette. Though it looked like it had been driven hard and put away wet, it looked like a machine not to mess with. With fat tires on back, lots of engine with definite modifications, lack of hood, serious roll bar and torn out interior there left no doubt the only reason for its existence was to go like hell. The owner looked as tough as the car; scuffed leather vest, boots with holes, skinny, grey stubble on a wrinkled brown leather face. He sat on the back of his car chain smoking and drinking coffee, not caring what folks thought of the car, oblivious of this butt-ugly vehicle sitting amongst restored classic beauties.

He looked grumpy like he had slept in the car. Maybe the ground was too hard. He didn't say hello. I took the long way around to the refreshment stand.

[blancojp]

Ok guys!

This is a rat rod which was sold for $45K last year. The car was built using parts from anything that was available laying around the shop.

Was quite impressive and sure made some noise....

[West Coast GT]

See, a Rat-Rod selling for $45 grand just seems all wrong to me. The one pictured in the post above looks too polished and deliberate.

But this one in the attached photo is a good example. It needs a few more interesting items; such as a hand grenade gear shift knob, and a few birds stuck in the radiator. It could also use wide tires and red racing rims.

I'd love to see this with some of that faux wood panel vinyl (available from J.C. Whitney's) pasted on the sides of the bucket. And if it was peeling that would just be the icing on the cake.

[jeff denton]

The deliberate ones are the rage now. Hot Rod Mag shows them all the time. Funny how much effort it takes to restore/build a new car, and then rather than show it off with tons of billet, pearl, chrome and other such bling, it is purposely finished in a weathered, tattered, "rode hard" look.
I guess it's for those of us who are tired of, maybe jealous of the "Roadster of the Year Award" type cars. Just too far out for the average broke Joe. The rat rods are back to basic, homebuilt, low buck junkers that any one of us could own. That is my definition.
Hey, look at it this way: now anyone can get a photo of his car in Hot Rod. But I suggest any persons posing with the car be clothed in accordance with their rules. They have to be politically correct nowadays, don't ya know. Not that I'm into that...
Yes, forty five grand for a rat rod is kind of oxymoronic, if you get my drift. I don't even know if that's a real word. Otto?

[blancojp]

Originally Posted by West Coast GT See, a Rat-Rod selling for $45 grand just seems all wrong to me. The one pictured in the post above looks too polished and deliberate. But this one in the attached photo is a good example. It needs a few more interesting items; such as a hand grenade gear shift knob, and a few birds stuck in the radiator. It could also use wide tires and red racing rims. I'd love to see this with some of that faux wood panel vinyl (available from J.C. Whitney's) pasted on the sides of the bucket. And if it was peeling that would just be the icing on the cake.

The rat rod I posted was built on a chevy S-10 chassis. It had a '32 body which was made (badly) into an unfinished convertible, plexiglass windshield, '23 "t" firewall and part of the tub, painted white wall tires, motorcycle torpedo front lights, '29 model A radiator with chrome shield found at a swap meet.
The interior is just a carpet, a mercury steering column and a '65 mustang steering wheel. The paint was a single coat of clear after the body was sanded and a few decals from a P-51 were added just to be cool I guess.

The parts above are just a skim of the list, the vehicle has lots more from different manufacturers.