1940 Chevy Rat Rod

by John Telfer

Title

1940 Chevy Rat Rod

Artist

John Telfer

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

FAA WATER COLOR MARK WILL NOT APPEAR ON THE FINAL SALE
As a car enthusiasts who loves attending as many Classic Car shows as I can I am always looking for great looking cars and more importantly cars and trucks that you do not see everyday. I have been fortunate enough to photograph the classics from the 1900's to the present along with many Hot Rods and racing cars and some unique cars in between. This past year it seemed that every show I went to there were 2 to 3 RAT RODS, which I had never been able to get a good shot of or I did not think they were worth photographing. But on Easter of 2017 while attending one of the largest Classic Car Shows on Long Island I came across this fantastic looking 1940 Chevy Coupe RAT ROD. I was able to capture all of its great details and the distinct details that make a RAT ROD. I was also lucky enough to speak to the owner which is always something I enjoy doing at Classic Car Shows. He told me his dream was always to build a RAT ROD that would model a HOT ROD and that he could take out and drive around or race anytime he wanted to. He said the frame was the original 1940 Chevy Coupe that he purchased he did not have to do any restoration to the frame. Next is where his ideas kicked in and by chop blocking the hood cover and really giving the car that 40's look with the over sized fenders and a really large low lying grill, and of course his icing on the cake was his model rat hood ornament to let everyone know exactly what he was driving. Truly a very unique and great looking car I was able to find and photograph that day.

For more information on RAT RODS and HOT RODS please feel free to read below;
Originally, rat rods were a counter-reaction to the high-priced "customs" and typical hot rods, many of which were seldom driven and served only a decorative purpose. The rat rod's inception signified a throwback to the hot rods of the earlier days of hot-rod culture—built according to the owner's abilities and with the intention of being driven. Rat rods are meant to loosely imitate, in both form and function, the "traditional" hot rods of the era. Biker, greaser, rockabilly, psychobilly, and punk sub-cultures are often cited as influences that shaped rat rodding.[citation needed]
The typical rat rod is a late-1920s through to late-1950s coupe or roadster, but sometimes a truck or sedan. Many early (pre-World War II) vehicles were not built with fenders, hoods, running boards, and bumpers. The bodies are frequently channeled over the frame and sectioned, or the roofs are chopped, for a lower profile. Later-era post-war vehicles were rarely constructed without fenders and were often customized in the fashion of kustoms, leadsleds, and lowriders; Maltese crosses, skulls, and other accessories were often added. The owner of the vehicle was typically responsible for most, or all, of the work present in the vehicle.
Recently, using the term "rat rod" has been derided as being incorrect when describing any vehicle that appears unfinished or is built simply to be driven.
Rodding scribe Pat Ganahl[who?] took a broad look at the rat rod trend and had this to say:[this quote needs a citation]
I see what are referred to as Rat Rods today comprising three elements: First are the traditional rods and customs. Those are cars built the way rods were built in the '30s, '40s, and early '50s, with a primary emphasis on low-buck and home-built, using period-correct components ranging from flathead to nailhead engines, wide whitewall tires to skinny blackwall bias-plies, and black primer to hand-rubbed paint.

Second are what I personally call Rat Rods, as a positive term... They're artistic, fun, and sensational reinterpretations of late-'40s/early-'50s hot rodding as a culture that includes music, clothing, hairstyles, and tattoos. The cars are low, loud, chopped... with giant rear tires, lots of carburetors, open pipes, and tall gearshifts
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March 3rd, 2018

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