The good ole rat rod vs shiney debate pops up again.
The rat rod term was coined by the late Gray Baskerville when he wrote an article for HOT ROD on the Shifters and then again for the Choppers. At the time there was hot rodding going along from the red paint and billet era into the phase where Chip was still at Boyd's and every car was a swoopy coupe or roadster. These gigabuck cars were extensions of the rodding menu and have to be commended for their creativity and sometimes engineering and detail.
But this form of rodding was way to expensive for guys to get out and have fun. Back in the mid to late eigties Jake got his Model A tub going in 28 days with stuff lying around the garage, drove it to P-Town and brush painted it. It won the Stroker McGurk award as it reminded everyone of the heritage of hot rodding and was built cheaply (but well) to have fun. Robert & Suzanne Williams had similar cars, so the younger generation from the Shifters and Choppers started to build these more affordable cars using original and authentic parts bolted together they looked ratty - hence the term rat rod.
Like all good things - the rat rod term was embraced and raped!!!!!
It was then common practice to see guys building these "rat rods" with no floor, no brakes, more rust the better, no suspension - you name it - a culture began that rebelled against all other cars that were shiney, and cars started to be built that didnt represent the traditional rod movement. The Shifters, Choppers and even our own Scroungers are embarrassed to be classified as rat rodders as to them they are trying to recreate an era in time using old parts and build techniques to create their own vehicles.
Talking to older generation guys both in the USA and here, they too are embarassed that people think a rat rod is what they had back in the day - its all BULL SH&T! Looking at black and white photos in Don Montgomery or Dean Batcheleor books doesnt mean that every car had matte black paint and inches of rust, no floor or firewall and was built to be unsafe!
Those guys wanted to build the best they could with the money, time and talent they had. I really admire the Scroungers club and similar people with similar cars that understand the culture and the place in time that they are trying to build a car to - thats smart and there are some really cool rides being built that dont have fake patina, welded in rust panels, missing floorboards or firewalls and the owners dont have a terrible attitude that goes with it all.
Yes its about having fun with cars, its about building or doing your own thing but its also about understanding history, the culture and what that means to build this cars today safely.
The pic is from this years Hot Rod Blow Out hosted by the Scroungers - guys that understand the heritage of hot rodding and the pioneers of it all. The lead car in this shot is Chris Hornblow's trad and bad A coupe with a 409 & 4 speed - thats a HOT ROD!
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