Thread: Attempt to explain part 2

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Here`s my take on a issue that came up in a post ,some are wondering why the rat rodders seem so angry and defensive?well as i tried to explain before in my thread titled (attempt to explain) which is mysteriously not in the rat rod forum???? the thought process behind our ways, 30 to 40 crowd . Well the way i see it ,the kids who are a little younger than us 15 to 25,who are now getting in the scene ,misunderstand our views on things,when they were little and influenced by us they saw when we were still angry little punk rockers causing trouble, so now they think that thats the way it still is, my little sister proves my point all the time,she`s 23 and angry as hell ,when me or my older sister try to stear her in a better direction in life she comes back at us with ,you guys used to do it, so i think that has alot to do with it. Denny has stated a couple of times that rat rods got labeled in the 80s ,which i think is a little early ,the articals ive read say the guy who claims the name started building muscle cars in the 80s, but did not get into hot rods until the 90s it was around 95 that rats started making a presence which is about the time i remember ,which puts the 15 to 25 guys at a very impressional age ,like denny has stated with us,we were misunderstanding the way you guys were

im in the 30-40 crowd. and even I am mixed up about what a ratrod should be, I remember Boyd coddington had explained what he thinks should be called a rat rod but if you look in magazines they may call just about anything a ratrod, whitch I thing tends to confusse people, and that maybe how the name calling get started. and some get offended by it,

from what I have drawn together a rat rod can be a little on the trashy side if your Poor, and different if your rich.

if I got things wrong then Im going to accept what others may say, but that wont help clear things up .

Originally posted by hotroddaddy
well as i tried to explain before in my thread titled (attempt to explain) which is mysteriously not in the rat rod forum????

Mod note

If the thread was not up on the radar, and nobody tells me it's about "Rat Rods", I do not know to move it to the new subforum.


it's here now

Bill S.

Thanks bill ,i hope you did not think i was angry about it , Fordsfairlane dont feel bad this rat thing seems to confuse alot of people, i think its in the eye of the beholder,but we all agree anything built by boyd ,troy ,or foose is not a rat, i tried to start a thread on what peoples definition of a rat was but nobody replied

No harm, no foul, believe it or not, I can read between the lines.

daddy, if all the visiting self proclaimed rat rodders were as thoughtful and open minded as you I suspect there'd be less tension on threads of that subject. If you look at the "legacy" threads usually the first nasty salvo is fired by some ratter who's taken offense to any statement that doesn't proclaim rat rods as the only true symbolism of rodding. Honest opinion, perhaps disagreement, doesn't fly with them. Your comment about "anger" nails it pretty well. I made a similar comment in the "Death of Ratrods" thread in the first post, without your deeper insight and personal reference. As you've seen there are certain ratters that totally missed the point of it being a trend analysis piece, not a put down. It even references, in a very favorable light, a member who builds cars that generally fit the definition. The latest two new ratters even admitted in their hate posts that they read very little of what was posted, but that didn't keep them from blasting both barrels from their pea shooters.

As for nobody taking on your request to define the term rat rodder, most of the older hands here don't see the point anymore. Look at Hotrodpaint's recent post on "Street rod,......." definitions. There's too much anarchy to get complete agreement on the names, so it's easier to just let folks self define. Saying that, I'll go with what fairlane said, and it's consistent with the member reference I made in "Death.....", if it's trashy looking it's a rat rod, if it appears some attention to detail was lavished on the assembly, it's just a rod, traditional or otherwise. To me it has much less to do with primer, steel wheels, body style, etc. it all comes down to pride in workmanship, whatever level the builder has grown to.

Foose will be rolling out his P32 roadster at the Detroit Autorama the first week of March. He has stated it's intended to be a "tribute" car, something that might have been built by a returned WWII fighter pilot just after the war (thus the P designation, meaning Pursuit which is what that era fighter planes used). The paint will most likely be satin, maybe even camo, it'll probably have "bomber" seats, aircraft style gauges and so on. But it will be done to the highest level of craftsmanship that Foose has become known for. It'll be called a rat rod from here to Sunday..............but there's absolutely nothing about it that'll be ratty I'd bet.

Bob thanks for the nice words ,im glad to see ive reached a level of respect in your eyes ,ive also grown to respect your opinions your insight is well spoken and well thought out

the problem is that when people put there thoughts down you get attacked not just about a persons ratrod but personally attcked not just mildly. i can take s**t but when it starts attacking who you are thats bad. this is just a forum i could leave which im sure i will be told to by other members but im staying. i took everybodys s**t when i first got here theres a few i could give a s**t less about but thats fine to. A RATROD IS WHAT EVER YOU WANT IT TO BE . IT DOESNT TAKE A THREE PAGE THREAD TO EXPLAIN IT IF IT DOES THEN YOU BETTER FIND A DIFFERENT HOBBY

I think Gasser t makes a good point about some of the attacks that take place. Some people accuse rat rodders of thinking their cars are the only true hot rods, and yet take the position themselves that a rat can't be a hot rod at all.

How about this? What if we consider the fact the ALL of us are rebels to some degree, otherwise we would be all be driving stock SUV's. The reason we build these rolling pieces of art is so that we are different from every other guy sitting at the red light next to us. We are ALSO all artists, using steel as our canvas. Just as no 2 pieces are art are the same, no two cars are exactly the same. But that doesn't make one guy less of an artist than the other guy.

I like rats because they make me smile (different from laughing at the guys work) some of them are pretty clever and original. Also, they are refreshing, because rather than seeing the same old same old, you actually get to see some oddball engine or body not normally used. My currently under construction '39 Dodge with an Olds 394 is an example, For years I thought all hotrods had to be either a roadster or coupe. But I've chopped, channelled, and generally turned this Dodge into one that I won't ever see coming at me on the street. It makes me smile when I look at the pure badness of it. And it is well built and safe.

So that is my take on why we should all be a little more tolerant of the other guys who love this 4 wheel hobby as much as we do.

2nd subject: How do you guys post those pictures of your cars here? I am computer stupid, but I do have a digital camera, and am able to post pictures to ads on my ebay auctions. I just can't figure out how to get the pix out of my computer and onto this forum.

If you use the "Post Reply" radio button at the bottom right below the last post you'll be given a box to type in your response. Below that is another box for attachments. Hit the browse button to get to your hard drive files, double click the picture you want to post. There is a size limit so it would be best to make sure your pictures are somewhere around 650x500 give or take and they won't blast the page.

Thanks Bob. By the way, I enjoy your replys. You are obviously well educated and knowlegeable about many things car-wise.

Thank you for your kind words Don, but it's mostly a lot of years (or would that be miles? ) of curiosity and trying things.

Originally posted by fordsfairlane
from what I have drawn together a rat rod can be a little on the trashy side if your Poor, and different if your rich.

That's it in a nutshell!

Originally posted by califgrrrl
That's it in a nutshell!

that applies to everything.

hot rod.........rat rod
penthouse.........out house
pork "n" beans.............steake
working at hardees..........working for GM
riding a scooter...........driving a hog

well you get the pic. it's been times i was poor(i'm not rich now, but i'm not poor either)but when I didnt have the money to do what I wanted to do, i worked twice as hard to make it look good. being poor don't mean you have to have a junkie looking car. if you gonna drive a junkie looking car, then you're gonna have to put up with a certain amount of crap. to me if its well built it want look junkie. if the tail pipe is draging the road thats not art either. thats junkie.

Originally posted by gasser t
the problem is that when people put there thoughts down you get attacked not just about a persons ratrod but personally attcked not just mildly. i can take s**t but when it starts attacking who you are thats bad. this is just a forum i could leave which im sure i will be told to by other members but im staying. i took everybodys s**t when i first got here theres a few i could give a s**t less about but thats fine to. A RATROD IS WHAT EVER YOU WANT IT TO BE . IT DOESNT TAKE A THREE PAGE THREAD TO EXPLAIN IT IF IT DOES THEN YOU BETTER FIND A DIFFERENT HOBBY

Bob,

Your point was just made.