Not my cup of tea, but I would agree with bigbad except that the whole idea is to not spend money on one.
wikipedia:
A typical rat rod is an early 1930s through 1950s coupe or roadster with the body set low on the frame, fenders removed, whitewall tires, big-little tire combos, exposed engine bay, home-made upholstery, and lots of power. A Rat Rod is considered to differ from a Hot Rod in a number of key terms. A Rat Rod is generally considered to be a home built, low budget, one off custom that is still often driven and has many flaws and/or imperfections. In popular usage a Hot Rod is now considered to be a high end, high budget show car that emulates the early Hot Rods in style but sports flashy paint high end upholstery and generally rarely see much in the way of road time.
