Why thank you walshy

You also made some valid points there about matt paint, a battle well fought by the looks of it And that hot-rod is mint!

Exactly.

That rod is mint, its not rusted and fucked, and I bet it goes like shit off a well greased shovel.

It would still be classed as a rat-rod though i reckon

a mk4 polo isnt a super car or a hot rod ...rat it up and blend in with the rest of the stickerd up rusty bonnet mk4's lol...... think outside the box for rat

Why thank you walshy

You also made some valid points there about matt paint, a battle well fought by the looks of it And that hot-rod is mint!

Exactly.

That rod is mint, its not rusted and fucked, and I bet it goes like shit off a well greased shovel.

It would still be classed as a rat-rod though i reckon

No no thats not what I'm saying atall, I mean it may well be rat, but someone hasnt INTENTIONALY made it look shit. It looks fairly plain, matt paint etc. yet it goes (i imagine) like fuck. Rather than taking a decent mk.2-3-4 polo, intentionally raping it (I'm talking rust here, not matt paint), so it looks fairly wank, and it doesnt, go like fuck.

Why thank you walshy

You also made some valid points there about matt paint, a battle well fought by the looks of it And that hot-rod is mint!

Exactly.

That rod is mint, its not rusted and fucked, and I bet it goes like shit off a well greased shovel.

It would still be classed as a rat-rod though i reckon

No no thats not what I'm saying atall, I mean it may well be rat, but someone hasnt INTENTIONALY made it look shit. It looks fairly plain, matt paint etc. yet it goes (i imagine) like fuck. Rather than taking a decent mk.2-3-4 polo, intentionally raping it (I'm talking rust here, not matt paint), so it looks fairly wank, and it doesnt, go like fuck.

AHh ok sorry, i get what your saying now And true :)

:)

I seem to be the sole representative of the 'rat-look' here lol.

No there are a lot of people who understand what rat look is a lot more than you do by the sounds of things....

but painting a car matt does seem to be a key feature, combined with a few others that crams it into the rat-look 'box'.

If you were a "sole representative" of rat-look you wouldnt have said that as you would know its all about natural patina, something you cant get out of a tin

Ahh theres always someone here to spoil it. Calm it with your agressive tone would you please, trying to have a debate here not an argument.

I said 'sole representative' because I was just about the only person sticking up for the 'rat look'. Look up the meaning of the word 'representative' and you will find its meaning is nothing like that of the word 'expert'.

Like I have said I dont know a great deal about the 'rat-look', its not somthing that I am into at all, and I have never modded a car in that way. I am merely expressing my opinions on the 'rat look' and what my perceptions of it are.

And personally I dont believe that the 'rat look' is all about natural patina, to me its all about modifications that make a car look neglected etc. Natural patina isnt the most practical thing to work with when you are modifying a car you see, because it takes a while. (if mclovin is reading then yes that was sarcasm ) Obviously we all have out own perceptions of it.

Edited 5 October, 200916 yr by Tommo32

If you where standing in front of my I would probably slap you for saying that

What aspect of my car is rat? honestly? Yet it has satin/matt paint! I also have smoothed my rear wiper and 'polo' badge. But its not Euro either is it.

It seems I'm having trouble getting my point across lol. Thats exactly what I was saying. Just satin paint dosent make a car 'rat' but that dosent mean that satin paint isnt part of the 'rat-look' if you get me?

Its the same with patina I suppose. My mates Chevy 3100 has loads of it, but its not a 'rat' in my opinion. And the reason I say its not a 'rat' is becuase thats just how it is, no one has modified it at all. Which kinda makes me think that all 'rat' is forced, because chopping your springs dosent happen naturally.

hasn't he sanded the door down and left it like that tho? surely that didn't happen naturally? :p

Dunno thats just how it came from the states. Its had a replacement door at some point that was white, and the crappy paint they painted over it with has just bleached off with the sun. Its a shame really becuase it would look a lot better if all the panels matched.

All he has done is coat it with duck oil to stop it rusting.

Put a big engine in it and it would be rat. Weather he calls it that or not. it just would be

Its natural, and thats what its all about!

Chopped springs can happen naturally

On the springs part of it. If its better suspension that you have added then thats fine. Because its not the body work, it improves handling. Which is fine on a rat car because performance is also what its all about!

Yeah I can for sure appreciate that rat is about only caring about the performance and not about the looks. But rat look seems to have moved away from that because of the bling wheels and roofracks etc.

Unfortunatly the 3100 still has the factory straight 6 3.6 litre, he swears blind that it does 55mph, but I've clocked him on the motorway and most of the time its at 45! Which is damn poor for somthing thats meant to have 110bhp.

Unfortunatly the 3100 still has the factory straight 6 3.6 litre, he swears blind that it does 55mph, but I've clocked him on the motorway and most of the time its at 45! Which is damn poor for somthing thats meant to have 110bhp.

110bhp in say a mk2 golf will feel nippy, 110bhp in a 2 ton truck? FAIL! lol... bet its geared down to fuck to just to get it to move

some of the power out puts of yank engines are laughable tbh, how can some thing with an engine so big and having to pull so much weight have less power than a 8v golf

110bhp in say a mk2 golf will feel nippy, 110bhp in a 2 ton truck? FAIL! lol... bet its geared down to fuck to just to get it to move

some of the power out puts of yank engines are laughable tbh, how can some thing with an engine so big and having to pull so much weight have less power than a 8v golf

It is super low geared, but to allow it to haul heavy payloads, as it is a 3/4 ton capacity truck, but the truck its self only weighs around 1800kg.

110bhp is extremely good for a 2 ton truck from the 40's to be fair. If you take say a 1998 land rover discovery 2.5 TDI, it weighs 2.2 tons and still only has 116bhp, so perfectly acceptable even by todays standards.

As for the power outputs of yank engines, you are forgetting that a golf benefits from all the joys of modern technology, overhead cam, fuel injection and such like.

In 1956 you could buy a chrysler with a 354ci V8, that produced 355bhp, just over 1bhp per cubic inch.

Given that a VR6 golf is 170ci (2800cc), and it produces 174bhp (although that is net rather than the yank figure which will be minus the alternator, fan etc) then I think that the yanks were pretty advanced even back in the day.

For example some of the BMX'ers cars look similar to their boards...all stickered up. Some people are clean cut and like their car to be the same etc

BTW i love 6n's!

Last tome i went BMXing i went on my bike!!!!

lmfao WELL SAID , what a idiot..

For example some of the BMX'ers cars look similar to their boards...all stickered up. Some people are clean cut and like their car to be the same etc

BTW i love 6n's!

Last tome i went BMXing i went on my bike!!!!

lmfao WELL SAID , what a idiot..

AN, what AN idiot, tut tut tut see me after class

For example some of the BMX'ers cars look similar to their boards...all stickered up. Some people are clean cut and like their car to be the same etc

BTW i love 6n's!

Last tome i went BMXing i went on my bike!!!!

lmfao WELL SAID , what a idiot..

lol... we all have slip of the keyboard..or slip of the thought process...

Edited 7 October, 200916 yr by DubLass

In 1956 you could buy a chrysler with a 354ci V8, that produced 355bhp, just over 1bhp per cubic inch.

Given that a VR6 golf is 170ci (2800cc), and it produces 174bhp (although that is net rather than the yank figure which will be minus the alternator, fan etc) then I think that the yanks were pretty advanced even back in the day.

Though obviously in VW's defence their engine returns fuel economy and emissions performance in a completely different league - but I get what you mean!

rat look only belongs in the aircooled scene sorry

i agree more with this than anything else that has been said in this thread.

the day i see a proper hotrod polo will be the day i accept 'ratlook' on this forum.

Without wishing to ruffle any feathers, might I offer my mk1 Derby up as a contradiction to your statement.

I rebuilt the rusty car, fully repairing any terminal rot properly by cutting out the crap and replacing with properly welded in and sealed fresh metal repair sections. While it looks like a bag of shite, this is no bodged-up rust bucket. However, I did as much as I could to retain the "barn-find" look. The mould and algae on the bonnet and windows is real, the rust scabs on the roof and panels is all original patina. Aside from repairing the rot, I've added a small few accessories, to my own taste: a modified beetle roofrack, some old suitcases, a "blue-spot" foglamp and a Golf CL chin spoiler. Oh, and the "peep" mirrors. Other than that, all the trim is original and unmodified.

Mechanically though, the car has had a full overhaul. I've basically re-shelled a mk3 Polo into it with EVERYTHING mechanical in it being mk3, from the engine and box to the fuel tank, front & rear suspension, even the handbrake mechanism is mk3 polo. I used the whole mk3 Polo loom. While the 1.3 SPI engine won't surprise many Honda owners, it does provide a nice boost in power over the original 1.1 4 speed. I lowered it on Ebay lowering springs over 14" Renault 21 mini-turbines and 175/50R14 tyres. I've been driving it daily since I finished building it a few weeks ago and it's great fun.

While building it, I did my best to resist the current "scene" trends: you know, the stickers, checker paint, deliberate rust, matt paint, ropes, chains, bike on the roof etc etc. I know the rack and suitcases are a bit "scene" but for a bit of fun at car shows, I think they tastefully accessorise the car. I'm aware that the car is in a vulnerable position to further rust so I make sure it's garaged every night and if I can avoid driving it in bad weather, I will. I don't want to have to re-do all the rust repairs.

I know I'm putting myself up for a lot of criticism here but while I built this car to suit nobody but myself and it's probably not to many people's tastes but my own, I think it shows that the rat-look can be applied to a polo without resorting to too many cliches, contrary to the views above. :)

anyway, the pics:

and the bullet points of the build:

http://www.southernvolksfolks.com/phpBB3/v...p?f=17&t=55

^ Everyone must love that. How can you not?

fair point, i love it..

i think u will find that that is a drift slag car !!! not rat they are battle scars

^ Everyone must love that. How can you not?

fair point, i love it..

i think u will find that that is a drift slag car !!! not rat they are battle scars

but it is rat, its not caring about bodywork, and focusing on the cars go and how it performs, be it sideways none the less

that looks sweet mate and tbf with the lines along which you'd modded/upgraded it how can any one say its not a true rat look car? its had its running gear upgraded, the bare minimum done to the body work just to keep it safe and the rest left to look old and grotty. this is as rat look as any air cooled rat...

i think that most people think that the rat look belongs to the air cooled lot more because so many water cool boys make such a half arsed attempt at it by just chucking nitromores on a mk4 polo ect, rat look cars look there best when it looks natural, no matter how much effort has gone into making them look that way.

dont really like rat tbh, but figured this would interest the rat fans

Thinking its a pile of crap or abandoned or somthing, and the odd person might think a little about what other people see in cars. Thats why I dont like rat look cars with shiney wheels, becuase it kinda spoils the illusion.

the police actually came to my house cos my old mk2 had been reported to them for being abandoned!

This is rat rod, its where rat look came from

How is that a rat rod?

Looks like a standard matt black hot rod to me...

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/08/30...od-dreamin.aspx

Thats a rat rod, but the entire concept is totally different to all these forced rat cars, its got a huge engine, in a car cobled together from bits from everywhere (tractors, combines etc) rather than begining as a complete car, and being rotted etc.