If so, your opinion on rat rods—and by extension, diesel rat rods—may be informed by whether you are already invested in traditional hot rod building (pre-1949 hot rods) and the long history of ...

The phrase is a spin-off of "rat bike," which was in reference to custom motorcycles built on the cheap. The late Gray Baskerville, venerated hot rod writer, is said to have been the first to apply ...