Description
Author: Scotty Gosson, Softbound, 160 Pages, ISBN: 9781613243328, CT-486P, 2012
- Rodding's Imperfect Stepchildren
A number of years ago, somebody (nobody knows who) coined a term for stripped down, hopped up traditional American iron—homebuilt and homely cars, rough but tough, built with more attention to performance than to style or creature comforts. The term used to describe them was reviled by many of the guys who built and drove those cars, but it caught on fast and never went away. The term is "hot rod."
An editorial in a 1947 issue of the SCTA Racing News insisted, "We're not hot rods" and discouraged the use of the ignoble term. A few months later, Racing News editor Wally Parks helped establish a new magazine actually called hot Rod. A few years after that, Parks founded the National Hot Rod Association. Today, many enthusiasts insist on being called hot rodders and have directed their scorn toward a newer term. That term is "rat rod."
What is a rat rod, anyway? I get different answers from everybody I ask, but most of the answers run along the lines of, "I know one when I see one." A poorly built, rust devoured hulk with a 4-inch windshield, no top, no floor, no paint, and an overturned wire milk crate for a seat seems to fit most people's definition of a rat rod, but I've heard the term used to describe well-built, traditionally styled cars, too. One knowledgeable friend of mine applied the term to the Eastwood & Barakat '32 sedan—the homebuilt-in-a-hurry budget bomber from 1982, honored a few years ago as one of the "75 Most Significant '32 Fords-of All Time." A prominent magazine used the phrase "rat rod proportions" when describing an immaculate, six-years.in-the-making. Model A rOadster pickup. that
was an America's Most Beautiful Roadster contender in 2009. Is there anything "rat" about either of these cars? The answer is no. . . or yes. It depends on whom you ask.
Some rodders hate the term. Tell a guy who worked hard to replicate the authentic look of a prewar thy lakes racer that he drives a rat rod and you might get a finger in your chest and an ear full of choice words to tell you, "We're not rat rods." Other rodders embrace the rat rod label, even promoting it with rodent themed graphics and accessories, not to mention mechanical and style modifications made in an effort to out-rat the next guy.
Like 'em or not, rat rods caught on fast and show no sign of disappearing—which raises some questions. If the goal is to look ratty, is there such a thing as a well-done rat rod? As the aftermarket embraces them, could we see a rat rod built entirely from aftermarket parts?
Will a rat rod ever win America's Most Beautiful Roadster? We'll find out, I guess. For now, I'm going back to my original question: What is a rat rod, anyway? I'm looking forward to learning how Scotty Gosson answers that one.
—Tim Bernsau
Veteran magazine feature editor, most recently with Rod & Custom and Street Rodder magazines.
