What’s a Rat Rod?

That is the first thing people ask when they see my son’s car. Then I try to explain so this is how it started.

Back in World War II the car manufacturers quit building cars so that they could build tanks and airplanes for the war effort. They quit manufacturing cars from 1943 to 1945 then right after they ran short on parts and could not build enough cars for the American public. So all these men came home and couldn’t find a car to drive. They went to the junk yards and grabbed a body and any other part they needed to put a car together. They would take ’32 Ford coupes and sedans, Chevy, Plymouth or whatever was handy and put a motor out of whatever, build their own frame, and make it run. They called them Hot Rods. Nowadays, the kids can’t find real nice bodies so they are pulling anything they can find out of the woods and fields and doing the same thing! But they call them Rat Rods!

My son built his from parts out of my back yard and anything he could beg, borrow or steal for parts. The only thing that is new on the car is the air cleaner. The car is legal to drive on the street and passed the state inspection to get plates for the car. He built this car in 2 ½ weeks in my garage with a little help from his friends and me. The nice thing about it is that he has very little money in this car and is having a blast driving it. There are many Rat Rod Clubs in the USA. Right now it has become very big all over the country. There is even a magazine all about Rat Rods. No matter what you do to the car it won’t hurt it. You can change things around to fit your style and the biggest thing is – no paint! All they do is brush Thompson’s Water Seal over the rust. Comes out perfect!

Glenn Dahl