Hoodride/Rat style - Stylish or bad taste?

[tom26]

Whilst strolling around the No-rice meet at fleet services last night, i checked out a number of hoodride style Mk1's and caddy's. Even a few Mk2's in the Hoodride style were present. I personally quite like the wide steels and ATS classics on slightly dirty looking old rides! but, many people i speak to think it's a lazy approach to modding requiring not much effort to achieve the 'look'. Just interested to see what the rest of you think?

[gibby]

This is what I think, but it's just my opinion, the "rat" look is ok on an old split camper, bay, a beetle, fastback etc etc, but the clean, restored ones will still get my attention more but the rat look does seem to work ok but even the air-cooled brigade seem to be getting p1ssed off with people getting rusty old sheds and hiding behind this look or trying to sell them for stupid money.

I personally would not be impressed with a rusty mk1, mk2 etc and again, the clean, subtle or well modded cars would always grab my attention first. Some people probably enjoy the look, some people are probably too lazy to be @rsed to clean them, but as with everything, it takes all sorts and it would be a poorer place if we all liked the same mods, cars etc.

This reminds me of a quick story though, at E38 last year we were walking around the main show ground and there were loads of people looking at and taking photos of a stupid clapped out old mk1 (I think it was rusty and yellow, or orange, can't rememeber) that had stickers over it, big holes in the wings etc etc and gtijoe turned round and said to me "Look at all the people around this and taking pics, yet look at this raddo, nice and clean, probably had a lot of time and effort put into it, yet noones even noticed it!". And to be fair to Joe, he had a point.  

[Martz]

Its funny is'nt it. You spend a fortune for people to notice your car and some pile of cr@p grabs the attention? Not sure how that works tbh?

[martinb]

I personally quite like the look of some of these cars and it does sometimes surprise me the actual amount of effort some people go to to achieve the look. I guess its all down to personal taste and think these cars do have their place along with themed cars (taxi's etc). I think they are usually just a bit of fun but certainly not in the same league as some of the full blown show cars!

Gibby - i think i know exactly the mk1 & Rado you are on about!! The Rado was very tasty (on polished D90s, is that the one?) and the "please do not touch" sign in the mk1 made me chukle! 

[tobz.]

I'm gonna go against the flow slightly hear and admit that I love the rat look. I do however think it only belongs in the aircooled world with the exception of the odd mk1 watercooled.
I agree that the rat look certainly doesn't work on a mk2 and most people would just view it as a tatty old car.
I disagree that the rat look is a lazy approach on an old aircooled though. I think the rat look only works when it really looks like the vehicle has had a long hard life and that's the resultant state. It must be a nightmare to keep a vehicle in such a rusty state but without letting it go over the threshold and it start falling apart/become unsafe to drive. Any repair work must be done carefully so as not to destroy the completely original unrestored look.
I can't stand the manufactured rat look though where people have obviously rubbed a load of paint of to promote rust etc. Proper rat look is something that only comes with time............preferably 40+ years of it.

At shows I can usually be found snapping away and loitering around any genuine rat look splitties etc I come across, they seem to hold far more appeal to me. I certainly love the look of a fully restored van and apprieciate all the work that goes into them but I prefer something that old to look its age.
As much as I love em though I still don't think I could ever own a rat look vehicle, all those little bits of rust would get the better of me and I'd be out there rubbing down and repainting.

At the end of the day, love the look but give me a shiny car/van for long term ownership anyday!!!

P.S. I admit to being one of those people snapping away at that orange rat look mk1 at E38. It had obviously been sat under a tree out of use for a Loooong time, there's no fabricating the look that thing had.

[topher]

The only rat look golf i'm truly a fan of



And you need to know the owner to fully understand why. Otherwise.. yeah, leave it to the aircooled brigade.

[Len]

Like everything else the RAT look originated with Hot Rods in the USA. It has been around a very long time. The air-cooled lot over there copied it then it came across here!
Why do we have to be sheep all the time?

In my opinion it does not belong on any modern car.

[gibby]

Why do we have to be sheep all the time?

Don't get it, who's being a sheep ? 

[martinb]

In my opinion it does not belong on any modern car.

I agree that it would be daft on a mk3/4/5/corrado etc but would not exactly class mk1/2 as modern, i think it can work on these cars.......

I hardly think that it would class as being sheep, everyone builds there own car to their own taste but it always seems to get classed under a certain look whatever you do (brit look, euro look, rat look etc etc) and how often do you see something totally original?

[Daz...]

Why do we have to be sheep all the time?

Don't get it, who's being a sheep ? 

Good question 

There's hardly anything you can do to a mk1/2 golf these days that hasn't already been done. Why are the people that go down the Rat Look route sheep? Surely that would make the people that just lower them and put an exhaust on etc sheep aswell.

I must be a sheep. Baaa