People are spending 10's of thousands for piles of crap like that. The best and least expensive way to have a rat rod is build one yourself. If you want to buy one you'll pay 10 or 20 times what it cost to owner to build.

 

IMO, they are only good for salvaging the few good parts on them.

 

Hey...it looks like the one on top might have front brakes.

And yeah, the "Rat-Market" is somehow over priced...even though most of them are built out of scrap/unused parts that are not really worth anything anyway, and the work that goes into building most of these "Rats" that sell on ebay isn't really decent.

 

as long as it runs and drives under its own power.

I think this is the operative word here.........I have my doubts about the one in the 1st picture. I wouldn't give squat for it.........#2 is a little better. I figure that neither is roadworthy.

 

i think rat rods are owners to lazy to finish the project, :evil:

 

As the responses above have pointed out, the rat rod craze has inflated the prices on these sorts of cars well beyond their replacement value. Also, many are not road worthy (read safe) at all. They are brought to car shows on a trailer, unloaded on some back lot, and then driven a couple of blocks to the show site. In many cases they are simply "pretend" cars that were never meant to be driven on a regular basis under normal conditions.

As to a price tag...if I were to guess I'd say that the owner of car #1 would be asking 15-20K and the owner of #2 would be asking 20-30K. From my limited experience, I'd say buying a rat rod like those pictured is the least best way to get into hot rodding. Too much money for too little value.

If you want to get into the hobby on the cheap and you don't have the skills or experience to build your own at this point, I'd say your best bet is to bide you time and dig around for a "fire sale". This is a rodder who has started on a project but can't quite bring it to completion. Or they have a completed car but for one reason or another they have grown tired of their project and they want to move on or they have run into some financial difficulty and they need to part with their car in a hurry. Prices on these sorts of rods can vary from a couple grand or less on up to 14-15K.

Unlike some, I'm a big fan of the rat rod craze. Just like I was a big fan of Ed Roth cars and the Barris cars, and the TV Tommy Ivo cars when I grew up. I knew and understood these cars were "show" cars..."caricatures" of what hot rodding was about. But they weren't themselves actual hot rods. Actual hot rods were built to be driven...and driven hard. By true historical definition, this is very heart and soul of hot rodding. Guys who modified existing cars for speed, power, and looks for the purpose of getting themselves from point a to point b in something that was unique, individualized, and fun.

So it depends a bit on what your desires are. If you want to simply do the car show circuit and have a lot of people ooooh and aaaaah over your vehicle then buy one of these undrivable rats and tow it around. But if you want the real thrill of hot rodding...build or buy a totally street worthy rod and drive it every day of the week. I guarantee, YOU'LL be the one doing the oooohs and aaaahs.

 

It"s all in the eye of the owner!!

It really depends on who ownes a rat and whats done with it. Don't rain on anyones elses parade..It really isn't any body's business how the cars or built as long as they are safe to drive. You CAN'T say all rats are unsafe because you would be wrong. So I say to each his own! Have fun driving your rat Dude. You guy's with your nose stuck up in the air know where you can stick it!!


Tazz

Rat Rods Rule!!

 

Building a Rat-Rod is not all that difficult or expensive. The expense is in the safety, not the body mods and paint.

My 52 Ford pick up came in pieces with cab, fenders, hood, bed, and a rotted out frame. I paid $500 and that included towing to the house. The guy was glad to get rid of it.

Then get a decent frame for it. This is where you put most of your money. Brakes and steering are the important places. Replace it even if it looks ok.

Finally, get a good engine for it. It doesn't have to be a big cubed, all chromed racing engine. Once the engine is in, mount the body. Now you've got a Rat-Rod and it cost you less than $2000. The only differences between a Rat-Rod and a Show Rod is the detailed body work, flashy interior, and the $600 a gallon paint job.

 

.......It really isn't any body's business how the cars or built as long as they are safe to drive. You CAN'T say all rats are unsafe because you would be wrong........

I agree. Most "Rat Rods" are safe but there definitely are some that are death traps... of course there are some nice looking street rods that are death traps too.

 

lakota,

Sure, its all very simple in theory. Just buy this and that and stick it on, but
in practice, isn't it completely different? Isn't there always a tiny part that
you will need and won't have, or some minor detail that prevents you from
building it. For instance, when you have any good engine, how are you
gonna hook it up to the existing drive train? I have an old 40s international
pickup in my back yard, and its all in pieces and been sitting there for so
many years that only the bare metal is left. Its all rusty but its only surface
rust, so its still usable. I really don't want anything fancy, I have an
unexplainable attraction to cars that look like and are pieces of junk

By the way, 2 k is too much for me, I'm just a poor highschool kid. I was
thinking in the range of a few hundred Or am I getting my hopes up?
I saw a picture of a junky ratrod in Rodder's Journal and underneath it
said that someone had built it for $999.

 

Son let me tel you a little story. I knew a man who retired and moved to Fla. He loved to fish but could not afford a boat .So whenever he wanted to fish he went to the local marina with his tackle box his lunch and a 6 pack on ice in his cooler. Never took more than an hour before some one was inviting him to go out on their boat . After a short time he had guys calling him up and inviting him fishing. More than one way to skin a cat. Go to nearest rod shop and ask if you can be the unpaid janitor tool cleaner gofer etc. Go to car shows and talk to the older guys yes many will be A holes but keep trying .If you lived near me you would be welcome in my garage any time Dont be in a rush take your time read books about hotroding so you dont sound like a dunce when you talk to guys.Here is an opening line for you . At car show pick a vehicle that loojs good to you walk up to owner and ask permission to look it over and take a few pics when you are done tell him how much you like it and say wish my dad was interested in cars. You will make new friends and learn a lot.Here are pics of my 2 rods .PS I take my 11 year old grandson to shows and by the time we leave he knows at least 10 new people

 

".... I was thinking in the range of a few hundred Or am I getting my hopes up?....."

To put it bluntly your hopes are entirely unrealistic (sorry). One of the points almost everyone has stressed has been safety and it's something that that can't be overstressed. At best a "few" hundred bucks would harly cover brake parts and a decent set of USED tires.

As a high school kid you have a lot of time, a good place to start is researching and reading everything you can lay your hands on dealing with building a car, then start collecting parts.

Good luck

 

Hell, with the kids nowadays, anything they can paint flat black they call a rat rod. You should be able to pick up a running Neon or something along those lines for a few hundred, get a few rattlecans of flat black, and in an afternoon have a rat rod. Add a few pinstripes to really set it off. You can get the fancy scrolled pinstriping that the older rodders have on a decal sheet now at any AutoZone, Advanced, etc. Either that or go to your local paint store, get a striping brush, some model paint and stripe it yourself. After that sand it partially off so it looks old and worn. That will really give it the retro look. Throw a Mexican blanket across the seat, and add an 8-ball to the shifter. Don't worry about the rust because that is what makes it look cool. If it is a more-door, have the back doors welded shut. Don't worry about grinding the welds though because that is what makes it look cool. You may want to put a metal flake roof on it though. If money is tight, just get a few rattlecans of model paint. That's the beauty of a modern ratrod. You can save that Neon from ever making it to the junkyard. Those are the rods of the future to todays youth.

 

SCULLS, Kevin................Don't forget the SCULLS................

 

well it finally got to hp TV, they are building a rat rod, but they get all there parts free , i guess rat rods are taking over,will put a lot of painters out of work :evil:

 

well it finally got to hp TV, they are building a rat rod, but they get all there parts free , i guess rat rods are taking over,will put a lot of painters out of work :evil:

Ha.. yeah I saw that. But the only thing 'rat' on that ride appears to be the body and where they picked that up at I bet it would have been VERY expensive. Everything else is going to be brand new isn't it? They had a brand new frame powder coated to look like rust???

The thought the spirit of the rat is to build it with what you have or can find at swaps or from your buddies. But I agree, the very first item should be functionality and safety.

-Stephen

 

SCULLS, Kevin................Don't forget the SCULLS

Ponch...my bad!!!!!!! I totally forgot the sculls. I was looking on "evilbay" and typed in "rat rod". Some cool stuff. A guy even had a '56 Ford dumptruck sitting in the weeds buried to the axles that he said would make a neat ratrod. Now that would just be too cool. Rat out a dump truck, open the tailgate, slide out some ramps, and drive off a ratted out Neon. God, I'm just giddy with exitement!!!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

i saw you said you want to do it for a few hundred dollars. That might be a bit impossible unless you get all of your parts for free. Even junkyard parts cost money.

You also have to factor in these small things called tools. People can build these cars/trucks for cheap due to the fact that they have the right tools to fabricate things.

To fabricate parts you will need these tools (ATLEAST):

1. Welder (couple hundred bucks for a good one used)
2. Angle grinders
3. drill press or decent drill
4. cutting tools
5. grinding wheel

that there will cost you around 500-800 bucks and that is buying things used or at Harbor Freight.

I do however know a guy who built a nice little rat rod for 1100 dollars with his own tools, and the help of his friends.

ben

 

The price for the prise

Hey Gabriel, have you ever read any of the Period culture rags, like OlSkoolRodz or CarKultureDelux to mention a couple of the traditional rags.
Take a visit to http://www.olskoolrodz.com or http://www.killbillit.com

These are traditionalist groups that you are searching for. As far as your quest for a low buck rod, as stated in the post before this one, you can not trust many of those who build these low buck looking rides for actually following the rules in making something safe. :nono:

First off, they all need to ba able to pass the local safety inspections and in some states the emission regs, just to be licensed for the open road. Then you have to really inspect these buggies for craftsmanship, especially in the welds of the frames and all the do-dads that have been tossed into the soup.

And as stated before, you are better off building your own rod. Mainly so you actually learn the ins and outs of doing this build correct the first time. Yeah they all look really col and such, but, if it is just thrown together, it doesn't mean it is actually safe to drive as an everyday ride or even over the road and be able to handle all the ventures of a trip across the country. ain:

Most of these builds are just simply impractical and a real waste of good money. Sure they look like they would be fun, but you can only have so much fun before it becomes a hassle to get in and out of and being stuck in a real tough torrential down pour of freezing cold rain and sleet. I myself prefer a hot rod/ rat rod with a roof over my head, mostly for my wife and or girlfriend and kids. This way everyone can enjoy the ride.

And here is the worst of the whole mess in this style of rod, since this fad is blowing the ceiling off everywhere, the price of these old parts are out of site. I noticed you did not relinquish your location, it actually makes it hard for anyone close to you, to be able to offer you some sort of assistance in your quest. Include your location on all of your forums. Now comes the big question, how much money do you have to start this build or even the actual ability to buy something if it is available? :thumbup:

If you have a wad, like $10K sitting around, you can buy your self a pretty good start. I live out west in the mountains and have access to many heaps, but they all cost money, and depending on your location, the price of shipping will bite you as well. There are places all over the east with yards still full of good pickings, just need to hang with the correct groupings of people. There are a few on this forum who actually belong to other forums that will offer you assistance in your quest. There are many here with a great deal of knowledge in the automotive world. This is by far the best school you will ever find, the OSR forum is right next to this forum with the two of the best pools for knowledge at your service. :mwink:

It will be up to you on how you want to tackle this quest and the skooling you will need to endure and be like a sponge......we all will help you in understanding the building of a safe ride.....and should not matter what style you want to build, as long as it is road worthy safe to drive.
Remember one thing about driving in todays world, your insurance company will be the deciding factor of your build. As long as it meets all standards and it looks safe, then you can get insurance for it and be safe. imp:

Lord Maximo

 

My dad passed by, saw the first car, and said it would probably cut your head off if you was in a wreck.

Actually, you would probably be happier if it did, because there is enough jagged, rusted metal, in that body, that you would be torn all to hell if it didn't kill you. But, that car is probably never driven more than 3 miles anyway.

Like pretty much everyone else has said, make sure your car is atleast "decently safe" and solid. Not a rolling jagged death trap with a set of worn out drums in the back being all to stop you.

 

Actually, you would probably be happier if it did, because there is enough jagged, rusted metal, in that body, that you would be torn all to hell if it didn't kill you. But, that car is probably never driven more than 3 miles anyway.

Most accidents happen closer to home than 3 miles.

__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

 

I wonder how much trouble it is to get insurance on one of these ratty looking rat rods? Also what is the cost? Mine was not a rat rod , but my insurance folks looked it over really good.

 

Good point Henry local dmv and your ins co will be deciding factors on what will or will not fly. My ins co was quite thorough when i unsured my 47, Took pics got a professional appraisal partly Ithink because of its apraised value and the fact that I got max coverage on theft collision etc. The 39 is a much lower buck vehicle in fact Im only going to get liability so I hope I fly under their radar.

 

I wonder how much trouble it is to get insurance on one of these ratty looking rat rods? Also what is the cost? Mine was not a rat rod , but my insurance folks looked it over really good.

I think a lot of insurance co's would probably walk away. If they did would it be liability only? Insurance man: What year, make, model is it? Owner: well.....its part 33,37,41... Ford, Chevy, Pontiac, International Harvester... pickup, coupe, roadster, tractor. Insurance man...Ooooookaaaay, I don't think I can help you.
How many appraisers are out there that could put a value on one?
I would love to see the underwriters when the pics come across their desk.

 

I don't think you could get even just liability insurance on the one pictured in a previous post...you know the one where if a tire goes flat the frame will hit the road. That would be a death trap with a blow out at 60 MPH....liability would be great as you could take no telling how many with you in that rig. I just feel like this rat rod stuff is going to cause hot rodders and streetrodders to be seen in a bad light and it will also cause out insurance etc. to increase. I do not see how they get some of those rat rods licensed for the street.