Anybody taken a rat rod and made it into a real hot rod?? I think it can be done, it would be a challenge.... It's another way to save old cars. I've seen a bunch that could be cool with a traditional eye. Post before and after pictures if you have.
Some are salvageable, but most I see are so far gone it would take completely starting from scratch to save them. In those cases the selling price is usually high enough I don't care to pay it and then throw 75% of it away.
like 1971 said it all depends on $ i've seen some that are really well done and wouldn't take much to turn them into a nice rod and others that are unsafe to drive off a trailer and are a waste of good parts.
Do you have your eye on a certain one, Matt? Like had been mentioned, I think it all depends on the car. Some of them are too far gone to bother with, some are very savable! Malcolm
Good points guys. I don't have any plans to do this, just curious if anyone has. It would be smarter to take something that hasn't been messed much like I did with my roadster.
ELpolacko did a job some time ago on a POS RR and righted a lot of wrongs http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=701156
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=646981&highlight=rat+rod Here is another good example
I bought a 36 five window coupe with original paint and patina rust that was advertised as a rat rod but there were no pics so it didn't get many lookers. After talking with the the owner and I decided it was worth the time to check it out. It was a little rusty ,like most, but the hand of the rat had not touched it yet and it already had 40 brakes so it will definitely live as a traditional rod someday.
Well around here I wouldnt call alot of "rat rods" "rat rods". I would call them projects... But I know about the chopped up pos's that come along... Any old car in flat black or with patina is at risk of being called a RR by people.
My car, because it is satin black, has been called by some (by a non-hamber of course!!) a RR, I quickly say it's a hot rod....
took my 31 tudor sedan to the Atlanta 10,000, the announcer called it a rat rod roadster in the first round and a 31 ford coupe in the second round..........im in therapy now, should be out soon.....
I'm rebuilding one now. It was built back in the late fifties before the term "rat" was applied, but still, by today's standards it's still pretty shoddy workmanship and would be considered a "rat" by most.
El Polacko's effort was a real tour de force, starting with a freshly built POS that was dangerously undriveable and building a chassis for it that was not just functional but highly creative in engineering, build, and materials. He also corrected a LOT of scary workmanship in the body, but I think had to keep the overall bad proportions and stance favored by RR owners...some ratrodders are apparently willing to accept a car that is not aggressively lethal, but they insist on their UGLY!! Someday, there will be traditional ratrodders restoring classique authentic period Ratrods, just like in the 00's, Bro. They will torch out El Polacko's craftsmanship, collect antique coathangers for authentic welding rod, and build an authentic random-arc suspension system from broken Harbor freight tool handles...
I did it. Its my avatar. While its not traditional, its now more hot rod, but being on a late model chassis, and having an independant front end, i call it the Dogrod. To nice to be a rr, and not nice enough to be a trad hot rod.
I did/am doing that with my 28" Coupe....I was STUPID and love the car too much to stop now but there are SOOO many things I would not do again if given the chance. God forbid I am ever forced to sell it...Bath Time...!! But she is a labor of love and I enjoy driving her and the work...Live and learn..
Guys, a lot of '40s and '50s hot rods did not look any better than some of todays rat rods. A LOT of what you folks call Traditional hot rods we would have called customs. Just saying. Ben
There are rats, theme cars, art cars, and wanna be's. Some rats are very nice, safely built cars, just the builder has no desire for paint or chrome. They are built in rebellion against the billet crowd and the perfectionist. Theme cars and art cars can get goofy, using wrenches and rebar and questionable building techniques. The wanna be's, well, some people need both thumbs cut off so they can't hold tools.......
Well thanks man! Finally finished interior. See ya at the sat breakfast Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Most of the rat rods arond here are total junk. The builders have went out of their way to build a real S____ car, and they would take more work to redo than just start out and build one right
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