new anti rat rod rules in the classifieds...

ah, thank you! Of course it probably would have been easier to find if I had been looking in Cars for Sale and not Parts for Sale...

 

Yeah, sorry. We're working on getting it in all the classified sections.

 

Back before we had "rat rods" we had "beaters".... All I wanted was a nice restored Model A Ford with shiny paint...This was in '73. I was reading R&C and Jim "jake" Jacobs was my Idol. He was a real Model A guy and drove his! His subsequent life is part of Hot Rod History. He had "beater" A-Bones too....before they got finished out and painted. My Model A fit the "beater" description. I think Gray Baskerville coined that term but I'm probably wrong.

The "rat" rod movement had its start as a kickoff from the "rat" bike movement. Nuff Said. Some, maybe most of the rats I've seen have poor engineering , no adherence to the Scrub line rules and they do attract attention. No, they're not traditional rods.

Today, in retrospect, I'll settle for a properly engineered Model A hot rod. But I'll settle for Flat Black paint instead of the shiny stuff.

 

This sucks. I cant even post a wanted ad for one

 

Here's a sign I came up with that we could put in our windows:

 

I'm a lifetime member of NSRA since 1972 #540, I'm also one of 25 who have been to every Street Rod Nationals and I'm in my late 60's so Ive been there and done that ( maby not everything but most of it ) I personally think the TERM RAT ROD takes away from what a Street Rod is, "a safe well engineered pre 1949 car or truck" I have seen some of these so called RAT RODS that I would not even sit in, they are that unsafe at least in appearance. Back in the late 70's & early 80's NSRA and it's membership as well as a lot of venders spent a lot of time and INK to get away from the word HOT ROD, It was at that time a distasteful site in senior citizens eyes as well as the members of police departments, and now some people want to show off there RAT RODS to the public, can you guess what some of the seniors and police dept's think when they see the traditional Rat Rod driving down the street, My God who let that on the street.

This is in no way intended to re-flect on NSRA, this is my feelings only, I own 4 street rods that are on the road, one in the building process and one AACA Grand National Senior restored car, so yes Ive been there, I built my first rod in 1954. John Moffett, Michigan

 

Gotta admit, before I came here I called most A Models and such that had a weathered look or patina "rat rods".

Now I know what I actually like would be considered "weathered traditional rods". Like a traditional A Model or early Ford that still retains the original or old paint and has alot of patina. The reason I said that rat rods scare the bejesus out of me is that most of the ones I see look extremely unsafe and are just cobbled together out of a bunch of mismatched parts will little or no design. I was behind the most hidious one ever the other day and feared something would fall off.

Good call on the anti-rat rod rule here. But I actually feel sorry for some of the newbies who don't know any better (as I used to not) and then get blasted by some members who always seem ready to pounce. It is entertaining though.

 

Ugh... After the last issue of Hot Rod it's only gonna get worse...

Thanks for trying though

 

Well I for one think the new ruling is not "trying" .. it is "DOING".
Trying is such a wimpy word.

 

I'm guilty of the RR thing, I will say it first , but I build lots of other cool stuff to . It don't matter to me what you call the cars we drive , but just like I tell my boy who likes rice burners, as long as your learning something and being safe about it I don't care !!!! I want the car hobby to survive tuff times and I believe this is just another step ,like pro street cars were in the 80's . Change is not a bad thing if it is done safely !!! Just my 2 cents !!!

 

I own cars that are Off Topic for the HAMB as well.

Its not about that...

You can enjoy your Rat Rod as much as I enjoy my O/T vehicles.


All we ask is to keep the things you Post on the HAMB Relevant and On Topic.



I recently traded off 2 O/T cars for one that is even more O/T.

You wont read about it here...

In fact, I read up on an other site where I thought it might be accepted.
But after reading a couple of threads there I learned that they would be OK with my choice of suspension, but not with my choice of engine.

So you wont read about it there either...

They have their niche of cars they like to concentrate on, just like we do on the HAMB.

So you take a little time, get the feel for the site, try to find out what is On Topic and that is not, and Post accordingly.



Doesnt seem like a lot to ask...

 

The ironic thing is that this website that we all love so much is called jalopyjournal !!! not "periodcorrecthotrods.com"

 

Yeah, when everything else fails, we can always still try semantics...

 

On Ebay, I see $45,000 street rods called rat rods...merely a sales gimmick in that regard, IMO. Rat rods may have their place, along with tuners, mud trucks, British sports cars, etc... but this site is not the place for any of them. I don't go braggin' about a Dodge on FTE neither. Nice to see something done finally.

 

Jalopys are not traditional dude so take that somewhere else...wait! LMAO!

Just kidding.

 

Glad to see things kept on topic- but what's with the SIX PAGES of Cord STREET RODS that's been or the first page for a while? I didn't want to say on that thread as many (including self) do enjoy it- but still seems pretty much as O/T as this one.

 

There are a lot of OT ? car threads on the HAMB.
But the RR phrase is a denigration of those cool rods
that are lacking shiney paint but are otherwise just
cool rods. Cords don't do that. JM2CW

 

LOL!!!

 

i agree no rat rods on the hamb that term is as played out as old school i cant stand it to much media bullshit remember when these car shows were not on t.v. and the only way to see them was go to a car show or hell build one media blown up bullshit yall agree i remember when a rat rod was building a car little by little while you still drive it to work every day

 

Glad to see you back, Jim.


Cord Street Rods are Off Topic.

But there are a very limited number of them around.

So that thread will have a limited impact...


That Thread is one of those Gray Area's I was taliking about.

 

I took another look at the Cord Thread.

To see if we can appease your sense of fair play, by Closing it.


Although its littered with Off Topic Street Rod builds, there are enough Trad and Vintage pics in there to to let it stay.
( like the Phantom Corsair, etc )

So as long as it doesnt get any worse, it can stay open...

 

I get it, but even after I mentioned this I saw that the originator is now making a call for ALL Cords- stockers and anything Cord related. Would the Cord owners have the same interest in a hot rod post?

Again I get it- my dad has an Auburn Phaeton we are hot rodding (NOT Street Rodding). Will have a '30's Indy car influence and look more like a lowered factory experimental (will NEVER consider it a "traditional" hot rod). But those pastel, billeted out STREET RODS just seem to be getting too comfortable.

 

I agree.

And they do not belong on the HAMB.
Just like Rat Rods do not belong on the HAMB.

 

Excuse me for butting in, and I know I'm still a probationary FNG, but I would like to offer a point of interest if I may. I was by no means around for the days that most old timers were hopping up old model A's and T's, me being the young and tender age of 56; however, the contacts I still have with people that were tell me that "jalopys" (their term, not mine) sometimes had Mexican blanket seat covers, patched metal floors with all manner of tin from street signs to galvanized metal, brakes and suspensions of dubious distinction and other things that we see with "Rat Rod's" today. Ain't arguing just saying, it's all in the eyes and taste of the beholder but I will agree that the term "Rat Rod" has been ripped out, stomped on, abused, misused and generally mis-appropriated to the point where it brings the bile up in most every traditional rodders throat that hears the word uttered. As moderators you guys get to decide and that's all good as far as I'm concerned since this site does not cost me anything and I have zero percent of work into the output. Just maybe we need to all get a little less intense about that word that we will not henceforth utter.

 

Dont like or agree with some of the crap called Rat Rods, but I really would like someone maybe here to beable to buy some of the stuff that is saveable and bring it back. Show respect for the old iron put some damn paint on it.

 

I not keen on letting "the thin end of the wedge" taking a hold here.
There are plenty of other sites accepting to Rat Rods. Let them vent over there and leave this site pure...

 

Hello, as you can see by my post count I am still very much a FNG. I have already made a mistake on this HAMB by posting a thread in the wrong section, only to have some "real nice guy" jump on me before I had a chance to apologize for my mistake and ask the mods if correction was possible. (I really am sorry about it as I have been posting on other forums for years and should know better.) But when I checked the classifieds where my post should have gone, I noticed this rule.
I would like to ask, as an FNG.....can you clarify if any of my current projects would be relevant here? Because I think I have spent my years wrenching and loving cars incorrectly calling certain cars Hot Rods when it appears according to you that I was wrong. I dont want to upset anyone or ruffle anything, but what is a "Traditional Hot Rod"? I know the 75' Scout I'm building for the wife is off topic, and I'm thinking now that my first car, my 67' Camaro is out as well. But the 57' Caddy Im doing, I just bought it this past summer, while sitting and never road worthy in the past ten years the previous owner rattle canned it flat black, hacked its springs and made a ton of other things less safe. I have been making it safer each time I have turned a wrench on it since I bought it.
But because the upholstery needs to be redone, will I get deleted if I reupholster it with a Mexican Serape blanket? This was done alot back in the day, some call it old school, would this not be traditional? I am going to paint it an original color, but that part of this build is not happening at the moment, so if I dont strip its flat black paint will threads on it get deleted. I know just reading a written word it is easy to take something the wrong way or get butt hurt. It is obvious by how quick someone jumps on another over a simple mistake or misunderstanding. But HONESTLY, as I said earlier I am not trying to upset anyone or sound condesending, I just want to know if I am in the right place, because I dont know what you think a "Traditional Hot Rod" is.

FYIW: I hold craftsmanship and quality builds in high reguard because my little boy is a passenger on our roads as well.

 

Caddy sounds pretty cool to me.
I love mexican blankets...

 

What we ask is to post things that are Relevant and On Topic.


If you need more Info, read this again.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44274