Glossary / General

rat rod

13 Episode Mentions

Too Afraid to Ask

A rat rod is a car that people build or modify to look rough and unfinished, like a DIY muscle car. It’s meant to be cool in a rugged way.

Technical Definition

A rat rod is a custom-built or heavily modified vehicle that intentionally looks rough, unfinished, and unpolished. It often mimics classic muscle cars but with a DIY aesthetic.

Hear It Discussed

"...there is a whole entire genre of people that like rat rods they like horsepower they like Mad Max..."
I Wanna Build A War Rig For Wasteland Weekend! Who's In? Get Out N Drive Podcast 03:03

"So it's going to be a rat rod. It's going to be a rat rod race car in the full Colin Chapman treatment."
Classic Car Road Trips - Aimee and John - Family Adventures & Automotive Love Story To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History 33:39

"Either that was the absolute clapped out, you know, rat rod that they you know, labeled it whatever rat rod or there was the, you know, completely original..."
Aaron Valencia of Lost Angels Career Center Oil and Whiskey with Roadster Shop 15:59