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The term "rat rod" is a lot like the term "muscle car", there is no agreement on what constitutes either and any attempt to define either becomes a personal opinion.

One defintion opf a rat rod is:
Rat rod - a vehicle with non-critical parts removed, primer-like paints, and period correct parts from a conglomeration of different makes and models.

By that definition a lot of the cars in this thread claimed to be hotrods are rat rods. Think "ratty" looking.



I think if you asked 95% of the guys who have built these cars (and by built I mean built not bought) they would not call these cars "Rat Rods". The term rat rod is something magazines and others have created to describe these cars and most traditional rodders dislike the term. While some builders do go for the unfinished look, be it black primer or whatever, most are just saving the money to buy the next part. The majority of the people I see with these rods that like the rat rod term are guys who bought them that way and are trying to ride the trend.