All the Hot Rod Rat Information You Need is Here
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 1950s SHADES Red Visor NOS Auto Accessory In Box NEAT  US $61.00
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 HOT ROD 2004 JUNE BIG CRATES SWEETEST 55 CHEVY US $7.99
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 1937 Ford cowl vent lid vintage hot rat rod US $15.00
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 1965 MOTOR TREND MAGAZINE AUG RAT ROD HOT ROD KUSTOM US $3.00
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 1969 Mercury Comet wheel cover US $40.00
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 Pilot Dash Indicator Light BLUE 1 PC NEW 12V HOT rod US $4.99
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1950s SHADES Red Visor NOS Auto Accessory In Box NEAT US $61.00
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HOT ROD 2004 JUNE BIG CRATES SWEETEST 55 CHEVY US $7.99
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1937 Ford cowl vent lid vintage hot rat rod US $15.00
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1965 MOTOR TREND MAGAZINE AUG RAT ROD HOT ROD KUSTOM US $3.00
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1969 Mercury Comet wheel cover US $40.00
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Pilot Dash Indicator Light BLUE 1 PC NEW 12V HOT rod US $4.99
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 NEW 1958 64 Chevrolet CAR Trunk Weatherstrip 20 pc US $19.95
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 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 FORD TRUNK LIFT HOT RAT STREET ROD US $149.95
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 Hot Rod Harlots JC Whitney NHRA Rat Rod Movie Poster US $9.25
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 REAR VIEW PEEP MIRRORS PAIR STRAIGHT ARM RAT ROD US $36.99
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 1949 50 Chevy CAR LED Red tail light lense Bezel 4pc US $109.99
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 1941 1948 Chevy Fleetline Styleline vent wing cranks 2 US $14.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Fleetline Styleline window cranks PAIR US $14.95
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 1941 1942 1946 1947 1948 Chevy Fleetmaster door handles US $14.95
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 1941 1947 1948 Chevy Coupe door handles window cranks US $29.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Coupe door handles cranks escutcheons US $41.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Fleetline Coupe door window vent cranks US $42.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Styleline door handles window cranks US $42.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Stylemaster door handles window cranks US $54.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Styleline door handles window cranks US $54.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Fleetline door handles window cranks US $62.95
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 1941 42 1947 1948 Chevy door handles window vent cranks US $69.95
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 1941 1948 Chevy Fleetline door handles window cranks US $99.95
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 1932 FORD DASH INSERT RAT ROD HOT ROD NEW 20 OFF US $50.40
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 15 MOONS HOT ROD RAT HUB CAPS WHEEL COVERS RIMS TRIM US $79.99
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 SBC CENTER BOLT RUBBER VALVE COVER GASKETS 283 THRU 350 US $12.00
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 Electronic Siren and Air Horn Rat Rod Car RV Boat Truck US $32.99
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 16 HOT ROD RAT RACING DISC HUBCAPS WHEEL COVERS RIMS US $84.99
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 vintage 1950s GM old Chevy car gas door guard rat rod US $.99
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 STEEL FUEL DOOR KIT TEAR DROP FLAT STREET ROD HOT ROD US $110.00
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 1949 50 Chevy CAR Red Blue dot tail lights Bezels G 8p US $99.99
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 1963 STUDEBAKER AVANTI MAGAZINE AD RAT ROD HOT ROD US $2.25
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 1962 Lincoln Tail Lights Hot Rod Rat Rod Custom US $50.00
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 1954 Chevrolet Truck LEFT DOOR US $100.54
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 American Racing Magnesium Wheels1960s Dragester Gasser US $1,400.00
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 CAR KULTURE DE LUXE April 2007 US $.99
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 1937 1938 1939 CHEVY BELLHOUSING US $39.95
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 1949 50 Chevy CAR Deluxe Red tail lights Bezels 4p US $69.95
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 NEW SBC CHEVY V8 VALVE COVER GASKET 283 305 307 327 350 US $14.00
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 1936 Ford Glass Headlight lenses Hot Rod Rat Rod US $20.00
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 MODEL A RADIATOR HOT ROD RAT ROD ETC US $50.00
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 MOON Shifter KNOB Gasser RAT Hot ROD Shift DRAG Racing US $39.99
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 SBF V8 289 302 351 SMALL BLOCK FORD VALVE COVER GASKETS US $14.00
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 Rat Rod Satin Black Paint Kit w 2K Black Epoxy Primer US $186.99
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 Hot Pink Zebra Hard Case Cover for Blackberry 9650 Bold US $9.99
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 NEW SILVER T STYLE WING NUT VALVE COVER BOLTS SET OF 8 US $15.00
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 MOON Pacific Rod Street HOT Rat GASSER Shirt XL Kustom US $20.99
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 SBC 283 305 307 327 350 400 DOUBLE ROW TIMING CHAIN SET US $55.00
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 Surboard Rearview Mirror Woody Hot Rod Rat Rod 50s US $69.00
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 quadrajet 4 barrel carb rat hot rod gasser big block US $20.45
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 VINTAGE 1950s Santay Suicide Necker Knob RAT ROD Cool US $67.00
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 HOT RAT ROD DVD FLATHEAD STREET GASSER 31 32 33 34 FORD US $12.99
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 1940 FORD FLATHEAD HOT RAT ROD USA SCTA BONNEVILLE 40 US $9.99
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP WHITE COFFEE MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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 Genuine BBC 427 Chevy ZL 1 Pistons NEW COPO 9560 TRW US $648.27
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 Ford Unity Parts Spotlight Rat Rod Hot Rod Custom US $9.99
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP RED COFFEE MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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 CHROME TURNOUTS W MUFFLERS HOT RAT ROD T BUCKET 23 T US $89.95
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP OIL CAN PISTON MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP POWER PISTON MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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 LED FLASHER 12V HOT RAT ROD FORD 1932 FLATHEAD STREET US $11.00
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP ROADSTER MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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 Genuine BBC 454 Open LS 7 Chevy Pistons NEW COPO TRW US $648.54
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP ROBT WILLIAMS MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP J SHINE BIKE MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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 SO CAL SPEED SHOP J SHINE TIKI MUG 1932 FORD FLATHEAD US $6.95
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The Recognition Of The Hot Rod In Automotive Art
Once upon a time, only a few years ago, if you went to an art exhibition like the Saturday night AFAS show preceding the Pebble Beach Concours, all you saw depicted was classic cars, mostly prewar cars like Duesenbergs, Bentleys, etc.
Then depictions of muscle cars started creeping in, on cat's feet so to speak, but this was inevitable because some of the greatest car artists of our time are former ad illustrators like Art Fitzpatrick who painted the immortal Pontiac Grand Prix and GTO illustrations. At age 20, he was already working with Howard "Dutch" Darrin, designing the 1940 Packard four-door.
Tom Fritz , of Ventura, CA, was one of the first American fine artists to "break the mold" and depict the cars he grew up with;not LeTourneau et Marchand Bugattis but good ol' hot rods he saw on the streets of San Fernando, an LA suburb. Tom's vivid childhood recollections of the motorcycle and automotive cultures prevalent in Southern California during the 60's and 70's are reflected in his work.Among his clients are Harley Davidson and his paintings hang in many corporate collections and museums including the NHRA Museum.
And then, just like out on the lawn of Pebble Beach, hot rods appeared. Oh, the painters, many of them, were familiar with hot rods, heck many either owned or lusted after the '32 Ford "Deuce" roadster in their youth but never wanted to admit it in polite company at events like Pebble Beach where the talk was all of Hispano-Suizas, Erdmann and Rossi 540Ks, James Young Phantoms and the like.
But now the secret is out. We all be hot rodders. Because fundamentally a car is a car and if it's mechanical we love it.
The depictions of hot rodding that have appeared in fine art so far are steeped in history—say paintings of hot rods being run at the dry lake beds where hot rodders raced them even before WWII. More modern setting depictions are rarer though recently there has been a blossoming of "cruise-ins", impromptu car shows, at places like drive-in restaurants nationwide.
And then there's the problem of the commercial cliché—if you show a hot rod in a drive-in restaurant (like the kind where the waitresses rolled out on roller skates to take your order) then you risk painting something that commercial retro-theme restaurants are still currently exploiting.
And once you've opened Pandora's box, how far do you go, because there's a deep dark secret about hot rods. Now neat and clean hot rods are one thing, but deep down if you research the genre, you find out there's another vein of hot rodding called the "rat rodding." Because back in the day hot rodders had enough money to buy Smitty mufflers or Rajo axles but didn't have enough money to paint the car so they ran them in flat primer. There's a whole subtext/genre of hot rodders who have no intention of ever finishing their cars to normal "finished car" standards. To them, it is an outlaw statement on four wheels to leave it unfinished.
Call it being "in your face."
One of the first books to show this side of the car world was the artful softbound Hot Rod by Barry Gifford with David Perry taking the pictures of rough cars built by some rough looking ("wife beater" t-shirts and lots of tattoos) dudes. Perry also wrote the movie Wild at Heart. This book captures the era when driving a hot rod made you a "bad dude" --almost as bad as riding a Harley.
There was a real life example of hot rod meets fine art that I saw a couple years ago at the AFAS tent at Pebble at their party. It was when Chip Foose, a young designer who has worked for the Detroit automakers but who now is famous for his hot rod designs, drove up to their tent in a Ford roadster –the car full of aeroplane parts like exhausts from a WWII fighter!
The artists poured of the tent to see his hot rod and there was plenty of admiration expressed—indicating that, deep down in many an American-born artist famous for depicting classic cars is a hot rodder who knew the names Bill Cushenberry, Dean Jeffries and Gene Winfield long before he ever heard of Sergio Pininfarina or Giorgetto GIugiaro….
About the Author
www.arteauto.com
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