Rat rods are nothing but an automotive phenomenon. Indeed, who could imagine these rusty jalopies, derisively dubbed “rat rods” would become a whole subculture? Born in America in the 70’s (like it could be born elsewhere), rat rodding has become popular all over the world and peeps that build and enjoy these cars have adopted the term in a positive connotation.

If you know nothing about rat rods, here’s a brief look at this weird yet beautiful vehicle style. Basically, a rat rod is a custom car that, in most cases, mimics the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. “That’s why they are all rusted – they are undead!”, you might think. No folks, there is a much deeper philosophy behind rat rods. Most of them are intentionally left unfinished, with primer-only paint jobs at most. This is done to highlight the idea of function over the form.

For this post we selected 30 mind-blowing examples of rat rods. Check out the photos after the jump, and don’t forget to leave a comment!

30 Mind-Blowing Rat Rods

Feel inspired?

Rot rods are fun, and if you feel like building one of your own, here are some suggestions for you.

As you can see rot rods can be left unfinished, but that doesn’t apply to the wheels.  Check out vintage rims at CARiD.com.

1. Fesler Wheels

Some traditional wheel designs can be found in the premium series of forged wheels by Fesler.

2. Boyd Coddington Wheels

Even though Boyd Coddington is no longer with us, his design ideas and passion for hot rodding continue to live in the line of product named after this iconic person.

 

3. Foose Wheels

Chip Foose is the youngest member ever to be inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame.  Custom rims with this legendary name on them would become a spotlight on any rat rod.