Are Rat Rods The Dadaists Of The New Century?

As Monterey Car Week approaches most of our thoughts are about cars, maybe even ones we want to buy, sell or build.

This article shows us what Wallace Wyss was thinking about the week before Car Week in 2018. This is quite different than the shiny perfection we usually associate with Monterey Car Week.

Mike Gulett, Editor

by Wallace Wyss –

Way back in time, in the ‘20s I think it was there was this movement in art called the Dadaists and basically they made fun of the other fine artists, holding fake exhibitions that would lead you to a bathroom and so forth.

Wikipedia says,

Dada or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centers in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire; New York Dada began circa 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris.

So I am contending that the rat rod builders and fans are in effect the Dadaists of the old car hobby. They are in the custom car world but an outlaw faction that shows how much they detest all the fads that come and go.

Why? Because collectively the rat rodders for the most part eschew:

– fancy paint

– chrome

– upholstery

They do like engines. Now here’s where I, self appointed free floating concours judge in a class that doesn’t exist, will lay down a purist rule to a group that basically rebels against rules. I say a 1937 Ford rat rod should have nothing on it not available in that year or say, if I wanted to be generous, I’d expand it from a specific year of the chassis to its era. That means Rajo axles, Edelbrock heads, Ardun OHC conversions and so forth.

Now why no paint? Well the rat rods of my youth in Michigan were unpainted because when they got the car up and running, there was no money left for paint. So it’s a homage to home builders. But also I am sure they feel that once you give in to paint, it never stops. It has to be shiny, so spend thousands taking out every dimple in the body. It has to be lustrous. Those who judge paintwork will never be happy so ya know what I say? I say take a hike Jake, no paint. How do ya’ like them apples?

Same with chrome. I mean a little chrome here and there is nice, but it’s mostly for highlighting the shape of a car and a lot of rat rods have dispensed with the frilly accent marks of chrome.

Same with upholstery. You do button tufting and someone will say “that came along later” and you can never make the critics happy. So how about no upholstery? The ultimate ones use WWII bomber seats, with just a temporary cushion put in place. Or some even use some kind of pillow and Mexican blankets. You know where they discovered the bomber seats, some rat rodders came back from WWII. They weren’t scared to ride in these thin shell buckets, after all some of them rode them all the way into Berlin in B24’s.

Now wheels is where I get a little waffleley. I like the strength exuded by some modern mags so I might go for those if the rest of the car is still properly trashed looking. But still I applaud those who go to some great effort to use a period (or at least ‘50s) wheel cover, all as rusty as the body.

My favorite rat rod show is the Bo Huff Rockabilly Car Show, which has been held in Riverside and Ontario, in the Inland Empire. The ladies, at least the Latina ones, go to great lengths to replicate the hair styles of their moms back then and the clothing as well.

Oh, there’s guys that roll in driving lowered (slammed) Chevys and Olds, all painted up, but I don’t think those are rat roddish enough. They’ve sold out, gone the paint and chrome route. Next thing y’know, they’ll want upholstery.

You want it to look like it was pieced together out of junkyard parts and that, if it hits a railroad track at speed, it will totally disintegrate into a million component parts.

I think rat rods, in order to be photographed well, have to be shot against a desolate Western background, the bleaker, the better. (Like the setting of the classic movie The Last Picture Show). It has to be the kind of territory that you drive through pedal to the metal because you don’t want to be stuck out there at night.

Now as far as engines, I can give a little bit there, too, if you aren’t going full on retro, I find a Chevy 327 with a four Weber manifold interesting, or anything supercharged. I’d like one of the superchargers like in Mad Max that stops and starts while you’re driving, (do they always do that?).

Now the cool thing about rat rods is that you don’t have to update them as trends change. Remember when hot rodders went from fat whitewalls to skinnies? Or Olds Fiesta hubcaps to bullet-pointed lug nuts on chrome wheels? You don’t have to do anything to keep up with the Joneses if you are a rat rodder. You are oblivious to all trends.

On the ones that were commercial vehicles once, that strikes a special note of nostalgia if you can still see the faded lettering from whatever that business was, so long, long ago.

In sum, a rat rod has to be disreputable enough that a fine lady would refuse to drive in it. Or her father would chase the driver away with a 12-gauge.

But I love them….

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

THE AUTHOR Wallace Wyss is a fine artist depicting many of Europe’s greats. You can reach him at malibucarart@gmail.com

 
 
 
 
 
 

Additional photos by Mike Gulett

Faux Rat Rod

A Faux Rat Rod has had paint applied to look like rust, or worn paint, from a short distance but up close it is clearly a cleaver technique to make it appear as rust.

The 1948 Buick Super, above, was created by Jonathan Ward who calls it a derelict.