The Illustrated History of the Rat Rod. Steve Thaemert, Jr.
while I revisit the topic here in the magazine. I used to spend a stupid amount of time trying to explain my stance on what a rat rod is and how I have formulated that opinion, but it all comes down to this: a rat rod is simply a blue-collar hot rod.
You can spin off from that any way you want—talk about years, makes, components, paint, whatever—and it still comes down to that. I don’t care who coined the term or when it was first used. This is what it is now. A rat rod is a blue-collar hot rod. Period. That is fact. It’s not debatable. Everything beyond that? Open to interpretation, and that’s what makes the rat rod scene so fun and inviting.
Underneath the rust lies decades’ worth of history.
The fact of the matter is that a rat rod is the working-class answer to high-buck hot rods and street rods and all of the pageantry and ego that seem to go along with them. Rat rods are about heart, history, and having a good time. They’re not about money, ego, and who has the most seamless clone of the car next to it. Rat rodders embrace imperfection, individuality, and the stories behind what they’re building and driving. That’s the beauty of the rat rod scene … you can create something that represents your personality down to every fine detail, and you can do it within your means. No one can tell you it’s right or wrong.
I know there’s a fine line between traditional hot rods and rats, and there’s always going to be debate surrounding the use of newer vehicles and, many times, newer components—but that’s OK. I see a whole lot of cool creations—rat or not—and they don’t have to be labeled in order to be enjoyed. Someone will always be raising the bar and stirring the pot. So be it. Let’s see your interpretation of cool, whatever you want to call it.
These are some of my own thoughts and opinions—take them how you want. The bottom line? In a cool sort of free-spirited way, rat rodding will define itself and always has.
— by Steve Thaemert, 2014
Here are some other definitions from guys at Rat Rod Magazine
To me, rat rods have been around for decades. I think they started back when people of all ages (mostly young) wanted a car and couldn’t afford one, but they could build one out of parts that were cheap and easy to get. Most didn’t have the money to put into customizing and appearance, so their efforts went into building a hopefully reliable car. I think “jalopies” were the first rat rods, so this is not new. The beauty of rat rods is that almost anything goes. Rust or rattle can, chopped or not, channeled or not, mixture of different makes and models. One thing that I don’t think is a rat rod is a car with stuff welded onto it that serves no purpose and sprayed flat black.
—Craig Lankki, Merchandise Director
Blue collar, family-oriented, low-buck rod. Where self-expression can be explored and is encouraged. No rules to follow other than safety. An excellent entry into the car hobby. No belly-button or cookie-cutter cars; American ingenuity at its finest.
—Bryan Dagel, Head Builder
A rat rod is a car that’s built with the sensibilities and basic style of the original pre-war hot rods with an eye toward creativity and personalization. Older cars with modern drivetrains and suspensions are welcome, separating the rat rods from the “traditional” rods, making the rat rods more accessible and achievable to the average guy or gal.
—Rick Loxton, Senior Writer
Rat rods are low-dollar, affordable hot rods. Just like back in the ‘50s, rat rods are the affordable cars pieced together with what you have or can afford to buy. They are loud, fast, obnoxious, and a blast to drive.
—Chad Truss, Staff Photographer
As you can see, even the people behind the magazine share different opinions, all based on the same basic principles but all slightly different at the same time. In 2015, I wrote an article describing what we were looking for to showcase in the magazine as submissions poured in from around the world. That’s a good thing—unless, of course, you can run only eight to ten features in an issue and become severely backlogged with material. People began grumbling that we were rejecting their vehicles, which was really not the case. Could we or would we publish every rat rod out there? Of course not. But the majority of rat rods do meet our criteria for publication. The following excerpt from my article explains what we look for when considering submissions.
The Rat Rod Magazine mission is — and has always been — to showcase rat rod culture and the builders behind the machines.
Plenty of legitimate rat rods are flat black, but paint (or lack thereof) is not the defining characteristic.
We’re often asked how people can get their cars and trucks into the magazine, so I thought it would be a good time to answer in depth.
This magazine is powered by the rat rod community. We don’t have any agendas other than to promote and support this group of builders and enthusiasts. It’s important to us that anyone can get into this magazine, no matter how rich or poor, whether they’re building in a shop or the backyard. If the vehicle represents rat rod culture and the build itself has merit, it has a shot in Rat Rod.
That being said, there are two common reasons a vehicle won’t make it into the magazine:
1. we receive far more submissions than we can possibly publish, and
2. the vehicle or build just isn’t rat rod relevant.
Now, we’re not here to judge. That’s important, because many times, when a vehicle doesn’t make it into the magazine, the owner assumes that we don’t like it. That’s possible, of course, but not likely. We rarely “reject” anything based on our personal tastes. We do look at the build and the vehicle itself. Is it a rat rod? If not technically a rat rod, is it at least something that fits into rat rod culture? Is it built well? Is it safe?
Our obligation not only to the rat rod community but also to the public as a whole is to stay true to what and who we are: and that is a RAT rod publication, first and foremost. We’ll always capture some fringe elements, stories, and perhaps even vehicles that can’t quite be labeled. But, we won’t deviate from the foundation of this magazine, and that is featuring rat rods and the builders behind them.
The best way to show off a rat rod is to hit the road and drive it.
The build itself is important. There are so many different building styles and methods out there, from a simple chassis swap to a full-blown ground-up creation and everything in between. We’ll feature any build style as long as it’s safe and represents the rat rod mentality in some capacity. Pulling panels off a car, manipulating them, and putting them back on does not constitute a build. That is a modification or customization—not a build. Same with throwing a rusty hood on a modern car—not a build, not a rat rod. There’s nothing wrong with doing these things, but clearly that is not what Rat Rod Magazine is about. Does it have to be rusty? No. Can it be painted? Sure. Can it be a 1995 Toyota? No.
There’s always a gray area surrounding rat rods, and we get it—we’re right in the middle of that and are always talking about it. Because a rat rod is essentially a blue-collar hot rod, and that’s what the heart of the rat rod community is building, that’s what you’re going to see in Rat Rod Magazine. I’ve said it myself many times over: the rat rod community defines what a rat rod is by what is being built and driven.
For instance, we’ve seen some killer ‘60s builds, even some utilizing substantial components from the ‘70s or newer, but if the bulk of the vehicle is too new, it’s obviously straying from the heart of rat rodding, hot rodding, and all of the vintage charm that makes up these scenes. Too new, and it becomes a custom, kustom, derelict, modified, street rod, street machine—whatever you want to call it. But there is definitely a point where year matters and the vehicle