A rat rod, as usually known today, is a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts. These parts can include non-automotive items that have been repurposed, such as a rifle used as a gear shifter, wrenches as door handles, or hand saws as sun visors. Whether or not so appointed, the rat rod uniquely conveys its builder’s imagination.
The term has also been applied to a style of hot rod or custom car that broadly imitates or exaggerates the early hot rods of the mid-twentieth century, unlike the "traditional" hot rod, which is one built at that time or a close re-creation of one of such.
Definition
Originally, rat rods were a counter-reaction to the high-priced "customs" and typical hot rods, many of which were seldom driven and served only a decorative purpose. The rat rod's inception signified a throwback to the hot rods of the earlier days of hot-rod culture—built according to the owner's abilities and with the intention of being driven. Rat rods are meant to loosely imitate, in both form and function, the "traditional" hot rods of the era. Biker, greaser, rockabilly, psychobilly, and punk sub-cultures are often cited as influences that shaped rat rodding.
The typical rat rod is a late-1920s through to late-1950s coupe or roadster, but sometimes a truck or sedan. Many early (pre-World War II) vehicles were not built with fenders, hoods, running boards, and bumpers. The bodies are frequently channeled over the frame and sectioned, or the roofs are chopped, for a lower profile. Later-era post-war vehicles were rarely constructed without fenders and were often customized in the fashion of kustoms, leadsleds, and lowriders; Maltese crosses, skulls, and other accessories were often added. The owner of the vehicle was typically responsible for most, or all, of the work present in the vehicle.
Recently, using the term "rat rod" has been derided as being incorrect when describing any vehicle that appears unfinished or is built simply to be driven.
Rodding scribe Pat Ganahl took a broad look at the rat rod trend and had this to say:
Origins
The December 1972 issue of Rod & Custom Magazine was dedicated to the "beater", a low-budget alternative to the early car models that were slick and customized. Due to the beater's cheap upholstery, primer covering (instead of paint), and lack of chrome or polished metals, it has been considered a progenitor of the rat rod.
The origin of the term "rat rod" is the subject of dispute, but was definitely coined by one specific person in the Shifters So. Cal. car club. In the early 1990s, Anthony Casteneda thought of the word when they were interviewed in a Rod & Custom magazine article. Anthony stated that to him and his car club, their traditional hot rods were lacking certain elements like paint and/or upholstery, and were similar to rat bikes of their time period, thus the name Rat Rods. The Shifters So.Cal. started a trend of younger guys that were in to Rockabilly music, dressed in a 1950s Greaser style, and built period correct pre war hot rods, reminiscent of the 1940s, 50's, and early 60s. This trend started in southern California by Anthony Casteneda, Kevan Sledge, Alex "Axle" Idzardi, Mark "Marky" Idzardi, Jeff Vodden, Victor Jimenez, Jeff "Skinny" Coleman, Jimmy White, and Rob Neilson. Soon after the Rod & Custom Magazine article featured the Shifters, magazines such as Burn Out, Continental Restyling, Hot Rod, Cal, and Hop Up featured the club, and this new phenomenon hit not only southern California, but cities all over the nation. Opinions regarding the term's origins were based in one of the following perspectives: Years later, in 1998, one of many articles was written in Hot Rod Magazine, this was done by automotive journalist Gray Baskerville, about cars that, at that time, continued to be covered by primer; or, the first rat rod was owned by artist, Robert Williams, who had a '32 Ford Roadster that was painted in primer. However, Hot Rod magazine has verified the latter view. Gray's use of the term was in relation to "Rat Bikes," motorcycles that were assembled from spare parts, to be enjoyed and ridden, and not necessarily for the display of the builder's skills. It is believed that the term is likely to have originally been used in a derogatory or pejorative sense, as this remains the case among sections of the hot rod community; however, the term has also been adopted in a positive light by other parts of the sub-culture.