i bet you half the people that drive them dont know the origins of true rat....

And you're all here to tell them right? What heroes.

We all like cars and whether we know their exact history or not, Anyone with eyes can see that mk2 is rat style.

If you don't like it fine but if someone wants to style it like a rat rod and label it accordingly then change the record and leave them to it.

The ol' tip run car. Its not a Polo but it is a pile of shit so probably belongs here..

Make bolt on panels rusty

Roof rack

Old bmx

Matt black bonnet

That's it well rat. Infact I don't think that's ever been done. Gonna go attack my mk3 with some sanding discs now

I wanted to rat the bonnet

why true rats dying out now, it takes no imagination or balls to pour paint stripper on a removeable panel.

that statement has irritated me somewhat, how do you "rat" a panel ffs?!

Strip paint. Leave in back garden for a few months. Lacquer. Re-fit. Not rocket science.

I'm sorry if the concept offends you

that's not rat though, that's making a panel go rusty.

We could argue all fucking day. True rat is all about natural patina... no paint stripper in sight. Certainly no clearcoat....

The concept offends nobody, getting confused and not knowing what 'the concept' is pisses people off.

I don't think watercooled vws suit rat.

Air Cooled Patina

Yeah. Watercooleds suck at 'RAT'. Rusty bonnets and matt paint isnt 'RAT', and fake patina is terrible. You cant create in 5 minutes what nature takes 40-50 years to do:

Oh, and that Lupo isnt rat. Its a standard Lupo with red wheels thats driven through a spillage of B&Q matt emulsion. Its not as terrible as that 'Retro' lupo with the chrome bumpers nailed too it though.

Edited 20 February, 201313 yr by malaga red

thats what I'm talking about

Rusty bonnet? nope

silly stickers? nope

Roofrack with shit on it? nope

i bet the owner doesn't even label it rat. Most probably ashamed by the tag by now

Thats where 'RAT' came from. Hot Rods. Proper 'RATS'. Even 'RAT ROD' is only a pretty recent term though. And i made that meme myself

Made you look lol

Ok so what would all you car gods call a shit flakey rusty car made up of old scrap and DIY bits that the onwner dosnot give a shot how it looks as long as it's fast ?

Ed Roth

Old scrap?! Don't think it would be road legal

well thats bringing an entire different factor in.

Rat is essentially a car where the body work isnt maintained, but the running gear and engine etc is extremely good.

Looks like a mess but is fast... thats what rat is.

But the stuff posted in here really is a million miles away from that isnt it??

the stuff in here is done on purpose for starters... not just left un-maintained. and you know... nothing in here is fast with decent running gear.

knowing what rat actually stands for is they key, so if you are going to force it, atleast know what your forcing....

Starting on engine and running gear, not stupid fucking roofracks and paintstripper.

i think the term we are looking for which describes 99% of these bullshit cars is 'shat look'

Started off just being "in progress" ended up being a bit ratty and never finished...was just a bit of fun

makes me think of monster energy drinks

Edit: aimed at citrus's post

Edited 20 February, 201313 yr by matt01

i think the term we are looking for which describes 99% of these bullshit cars is 'shat look'

Lol bless you have you nothing elss to do you have heard of Roth and old ratfink tho ?

Edited 20 February, 201313 yr by Drvdub

What about it?

btw, I'm not aiming it at any of these cars (just the owners for branding them something they aren't)

That breadvan for example, i like some of the ideas behind it, not a fan of the paint/teeth but that's down to opinion. Love the grill and lights. Nothing about it is remotely rat though.

Thanks for looking up to me as a 'god' though man, much appreciated

What about it?

btw, I'm not aiming it at any of these cars (just the owners for branding them something they aren't)

That breadvan for example, i like some of the ideas behind it, not a fan of the paint/teeth but that's down to opinion. Love the grill and lights. Nothing about it is remotely rat though.

Thanks for looking up to me as a 'god' though man, much appreciated

Well if I let a car out of the shop like that then there would be problems I gess it all down to standards but to me thats a rat to you well what ever but I'll Besure! to run any other changes by you first lol o and thanks the thumbs up on the grill is just chicken mesh

Yeah. Watercooleds suck at 'RAT'. Rusty bonnets and matt paint isnt 'RAT', and fake patina is terrible. You cant create in 5 minutes what nature takes 40-50 years to do:

Oh, and that Lupo isnt rat. Its a standard Lupo with red wheels thats driven through a spillage of B&Q matt emulsion. Its not as terrible as that 'Retro' lupo with the chrome bumpers nailed too it though.

Of course it's not rat, I didn't have 40 years to wait for the paint to flake off naturally It was more of an homage to the rat rod style. I like the term 'shat look', I'll concede & go with that haha

not a polo i know but my other pride and joy

Rat means different things to the different areas of the car world.

Coming from the aircooled VW side of things, the biggest element of Rat can't be forced and it can't be achieved in this country either. You need a burning sun to attack your paint, or saltless roads to allow the paint to age. Unfortunately in the UK the dreaded salt has eaten to metal beneath long before the paint gets burned through or aged enough.

To the modern car world it seems paint removal and allowing the metal to rust is key, a simple search of 'Rat Look' on Google images makes this is quite plain to see. And the addition of trinkets or 'anti-bling' seems important too (I hate that f****** B word!!)

For both sides I don't believe going fast is important, but being low, good mechanicals, and good wheels are.

B-shaw called it 'Shat Look', I've called it that for years but not in a derogatory way, more as a term to describe 'Forced Rat' and it applies to all cars, new and old, that have been distressed. I restored and ran a Splitscreen Panelvan in primer, it had rust coming through, but it was never Rat, it was Shat

Rat/Shat Look is a marmite thing, either you get it or you don't, it's just unfortunate that haters gotta hate!!

:)

Started off just being "in progress" ended up being a bit ratty and never finished...

And that's exactly how it looks.

The rat was a car for decades that was sorted in the eyes of the engineer/racer/whatever but didn't get the cosmetic after-treatment to make it look pretty, so it appeared as it appeared by the unfortunate concept of wear and tear. So whatever it looks like, it should be by natural forces wherever the vehicle has taken it's hardship from - but under the skin it is sorted to the tune of the owners preference.

It's been this simple for as long as the telephone has been invented, but these days not everyone can be bothered to build such a car. These days we're governed by insurance, fashion, image, the plastic scene culture of jelly mould cars shat out the back of an ever promoted industry and nothing is real anymore - instead look to realism of the past and paint it on your ride to get scene points this season that don't mean a shit.

See you at the next show, sucker!