The phrase is a spin-off of "rat bike," which was in reference to custom motorcycles built on the cheap. The late Gray Baskerville, venerated hot rod writer, is said to have been the first to apply ...

We start our rat rod truck adventure in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where our man Jesse Kiser attended the Heavy Rebel Weekender rockabilly music festival and car show, a hardcore Mecca for ...

Anyone who is at least passingly familiar with custom cars has probably at least heard of the concept of a hot rod. A hot rod is, of course, a custom car designed with the express purpose of going as ...

Joe Kozuszek of Belleville admires the interior of an entry in Saturday’s Rat Rod Show in Grafton. Six-year-old Ethan Hosto of Worden gets a closer look at a “rat” on a rat rod at Saturday’s show in ...

The rad rod is, as Sam Hard of Hard Up Garage oh-so-eloquently describes it, “this and that, and this and that.” Builders, the community and the automotive media are quick to put labels on what a rat ...

Tucsonan Artimus Gil has no problem driving a vehicle that looks like it came straight out of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” In fact, it is kind of his thing. Over the last decade, one of Gil’s primary rides ...

In the world of custom builds, rat rods are a special breed. Ugly enough to be unstoppable head turners, these machines are if you like the ultimate sleepers, sending all the wrong messages to the ...

Wikipedia defines a rat rod as "a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts. These parts can include ...

Rat rods aren’t anyone’s idea of typical cars. T.J. Lutkins, 46, of St. Clair Shores, said his 1950 Ford Custom, “affectionately known as a Shoebox by car afficionados,” might even be too ratty for ...

A custom-built 1946 Ford rat rod is set to go up for bidding in an upcoming classic and collector car auction, drawing attention for its stripped-down styling and vintage powertrain. The vehicle, ...

A custom 1946 Ford rat rod with a flathead V-8 and manual transmission will be auctioned during The Annual Big Boy Toy Auction on May 1, 2026, starting at just $5. The stripped-down, red ...