I have seen a few cars that are shitty looking pieces of turd that some are calling rat look.
I was led to believe(according to all the mags) that a rat is actually a vehicle that is as it was found, ie not restored and it is then lowered and most importantly fitted with a worked motor.
Am I right in thinking that the suspension and motor make the rat or can anyone just get a heap on the road and call it a rat look.
Cheers
Dave
HotRodMatt ·
Here we go again...
E ·
I think the term "rat" had been extended to include any VW that looks like crap. The more traditional are lowered etc, but niw Bling on a crap body is what I consider to be a modern rat, and it seems the worse it looks with rust etc the better it is. Either way, I have no respect for rats.
57kombi ·
Come on , its been really boring latley.
Cheers
Dave
HotRodMatt ·
Rat for the most part meant traditional.
Putting a cool ride together with bits and pieces you have or could be be sourced easily.
Usually doing it yourself. (If you can paint it can have shit hot paint).
A better engine than stock is always preferred but not necessary.
Lately it is becoming more a term for shit lazy arses.
A beater is not necessarily a rat.
A lot of it is in attitude.
bugeyedbabe ·
cna i be a rat, pls pls pls pls pls
Queen_Bug ·
my car is a rat then....it look pretty shit at the moment, but I'm working on it
E ·
what's a beater exactly? never heard that one
bugeyedbabe ·
that what me kids call me as i'm whacking me...:thumb
VWFOOL ·
a beater would be like a well used daily, maybe some dings or wrong coloured panel or sumthing, but i would say to this, who really cares, a rat is wen u see a car and go "whoa look at that rat" u just know.
E ·
Its just a universal truth then eh? A rat is a rat because it thinks it is a rat and therefore is. A rat.
last celtic warrior ·
Rat really still should mean the same thing it always did... A rat is a car built up out of whatever parts you've "ratted" from the parts bin, the dump, other wrecks including other makes.
My old Peugeot wagon is a rat in the truest sense, as the bullbar is made from leftover prebent pipe and C purlin (to replace the smashed nose), the Radiator is from a Ford LTD (freebie), the carby is off an old holden ($1 from the tip shop), air cleaner is Mazda (freebie), headlights are Toyota Corona (came in a box with a buggy body I bought), the distributor is from god knows what and mashined at home to fit (50c from tip shop), towbar is made from part of Dad's truck mufler support and some salvaged boiler tube out of a building I rented with tongue and sockets ripped off a wreck of mine, alternator is off a Volvo (one of my wrecks), horns are unknown origin and sound like a freight train on steroids ($1 from tip shop), roofrack is ex Landcruiser troopy cut and welded to fit Pug roof ($4 from tip shop), and I'm about to replace the Renault front seats with Commodore ones...
Everything works, she goes well and can be (and has been) driven any distance. It has towed massive loads (a 2 tonne, 7 metre long, 3.5 metre high offshore boat mold on a car trailer). It's regularly driven in extreme offroad situations and through the river (about 18 to 24 inches depth) just for a shortcut. On top of that, it's my daily transport.
Now that's a rat... :thumb
mscabrio ·
A Rat is an overgrown mouse ???????
kombibob ·
i class a rat as a old dub that you intend on restoring down the track but cant bare to take of the road yet,so you drop it do some engine work and throw on some cool accessories and enjoy.
Stanley ·
I have to agree with Hot Rod Matt...except for maybe the paint.
akean1 ·
what is a rat ?
what is art ?
what is beautifull ?
what is ugly ?
i recon it all depends who's looking at it. like vwfool said, you just know
robnjo ·
I thought it was as found then dump it, big motor and the shiniest rims.:jesus
57kombi ·
Yes thats what I thought,
But a lot are just getting them on the road and saying they are rats.
Cheers
Dave
dragbug ·
Find an old piece of shit ,Slam it....Maybe a couple of bits thrown on.
Rat,
Fuck the big motor.
Sounds like your bus hey Dave.
Now we wait for the"what is"
Cal look,Resto look,Resto cal look,German look,old school look,new school..
mscabrio ·
"New school " Haven't heard of that one before ????
Is that for the newbies?
Resto64 ·
i'll have "Dave D " for $100 thanks Alex
your answer Paul
"what is a shit stirer"
[Edited on 10/3/2005 by Resto 64]
57kombi ·
Look at the second post I made Paul.
Cheers
Dave
Resto64 ·
he he go and get a check up and geta job(postie Dave)
57kombi ·
Are you going on the kombi cruise.
The meeting place is at Plane Tree Drive, but its the same day as the Clipsal, so I dont think you will get anywhere near the place.?????
Dont think I am going, my mate goes back to England same day.
Cheers
Dave
BettyBoop ·
I heard that originally, the term 'Rat' was bought in from the lil character below - Rat Fink - associated with all hot rods, older cars etc. I'm not sure how tru this is - I've been looking all over the net for anything that can support this, has anyone else ever heard that?
[Edited on 11/3/2005 by BettyBoop]
bugeyedbabe ·
a rat is the thing running around my borther roof...scarying the shit out of me when i least expect to.
bugeyedbabe ·
and what is new school???
winerot ·
in august 04 issue the author describes a rat as an early car
in original, unrestored condition showing signs of ageing with
a few signs of light surface rusting, a few bare surfaces, the odd
dent & scratch, (in short,a car with character & every scratch tells
a tale.
this daul cab was the centre piece for this article,clear gloss, shiny bits, dropped, hot motor.
then in the same story they tell you how they sanded back some
panels to get a rusted affect, a contradiction in my eyes.
boersch ·
in my eyes a rat is something that looks like a 'heap. they have character though so i love em. especially when they're stroked!
ClassicVW(pacific) ·
57kombi wrote:I have seen a few cars that are shitty looking pieces of turd that some are calling rat look.
Cheers
Dave
ok Dave calm down, who has called your bus a shitty looking piece of turd, come on who was it??
As I said a rat should be as found, with a nice worked motor, nice wheels and lowered.
The rest are just turds.
Rikki James in England spent a hell of a lot of money doing his barney 23 window bus as a rat, he repaired all the bodywork ,fitted discs and had the paint matched to suit the faded original paint and then he dropped it , fitted nice wheels and a stroked type 4 turbo motor, that is a rat.
Safe to drive , with power and handling
Cheers
Dave
57 Chook Shed ·
Ahh piss off Dave.
I wanted a cool ride to go to the show in the other day. I`m fuckin skint so I begged and borrowed a few bit`s and pieces, put shit loads of time and effort into re-working the suspension and bodywork to make it look the business, turn heads, make people smile.
For that I won a trophy.
"Rikki James in England spent a hell of a lot of money doing his barney 23 window bus as a rat, he repaired all the bodywork ,fitted discs and had the paint matched to suit the faded original paint and then he dropped it , fitted nice wheels and a stroked type 4 turbo motor, that is a rat"
If I had the money then I`d have stuck a big motor in it and be running Porsche Big Reds all round with polished Fuchs.
But hey, money isn`t everything.
Gra.
[Edited on 13-3-2005 by 57 Chook Shed]
57 Chook Shed ·
RATRATRATRATRATRATRATRATRATRATRATRATRATRATATATTAT
jenz58 ·
mY FAVOURITE RAT FROM THE dovw 2003 :P
jenz58 ·
....
jenz58 ·
It didn't come back last year...
jenz58 ·
...unless it got a coat of paint in one colour...n no longer rat :jesus
57 Chook Shed ·
Cool
jenz58 ·
It is...I luv it :kiss
bugeyedbabe ·
it couldn't come back...some fool put a rust convertor on it, and it dissapppeared.
lol:P
owner was not happy :cussing
jenz58 ·
....oh no....n I luved it so... 🙁....good one!!! lol
bugeyedbabe ·
ya's all have no idea how hard he worked to make it that rusty...turning a blind eye every time it got a dent..
FORCING himself got to get out the panel beating tools...
actually credit to those who rat...i doubt i coudl do it properly...
the bad exterior i could, the bling bling wheel i could, big motor i could...but then i'd want a nice interior...with pretty flowers...and a good stereo...and...the list goes on and on.
frenzix ·
i love taht wagon, it's paited now isn't it?
bugeyedbabe ·
no idea...
did it belong to anyone on here...
robnjo ·
love the rat KG...I think it the KG I like or maybe the hood orderment:P
Spook ·
There seems to be some confusion between a beater, a rat & a sleeper.
A beater is some piece of shit that leaves the drive once a day. Held together with blu tak, tape & silicon, & just legal enough to pass rego.
A rat, well I'm with Celtic Warrior on this one. It will be parts of different cars put together, BUT, it will be as solid as the day it was built & probably stock as a rock. Gets washed now & then but hasn't seen polish in 20 years. Left & right tyres may match. Front & back probably wont.
A proper rat wasn't meant to look like shit, it just fell together that way.
Now, a sleeper. This is a hard one because they will be one of two extremes.
It will either be imaculate, or look like a complete piece of shit, but this is the one with the worked motor. Not a rat. The difference being, if a sleeper looks like a piece of shit, it was done on purpose.
Stealth ·
That Type 3 Wagon is now Black and is Aldo's. You would not recognise it now days, it is very straight and clean with accessories everywere. Should be at the Jamboree next month.
jenz58 ·
Cool...it would look good in any form....Aldo knows style/d look..if that's the right word??