Tales of the rat fink (1 Viewer)

[scooter]

At DSR racing's open house before Indy they are going to unveil a new rat fink Funny car. Does anyone know If they are running It at Indy,shure would make sense.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

"Rat Fink is one of the several hot-rod characters created by one of the originators of Kustom Kulture, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. It is said[citation needed] that Roth created Rat Fink one day when trying to think of what Mickey Mouse's father might look like. He drew the original Rat Fink on a napkin, then transferred that image to his mother's refrigerator. After placing Rat Fink on an airbrished monster shirt, the character soon came to symbolize the entire hot-rod/Kustom Kulture scene of the 1950s and '60s. Rat Fink saw a revival in the late 1980s into the 1990s with the grunge/punk movements of the west coast, and continues his fame to this day with the growing neo-Kustom Kulture movement across the globe.

"The term fink was originally underworld slang for an informer, comparable to stool pigeon; ratfink is an intensified version of fink. By the time Roth used this name for a character, the term had started to pass into more general usage. It is also thought to have been a toned-down form of Ratf*cking, a slang term for playing dirty tricks.

"The name "Rat Fink" is sometimes used as a swear word."

 

[Leon]

I swear on my first trip to "INDY" in '64 that Ed Roth had a booth setup outside the main entrance. It was like a "happening" back then, we tried to sleep under the stars but mostly talked to other fans all night. Those were the days.

 

[Hiproger]

Leon, I remember those days well. .................."HIP"

 

[Toejam]

I bought a Whit Bazemore Ratfink shirt from Chi-town last year. While wearing it at both Pomona and G-Ville earlier this year I had 2-3 people at each race ask where I bought the shirts.

 

[scooter]

I met Ed Roth one sunny summer morning in 1979-80 maybe, as a young man I worked at a what was called in those days a "Speed Shop". I had arrived at around 700 am to get caught up on some stuff, The shop was owned by a guy who had raced Top Fuel dragsters in the 60s-70s, and we had an old full size front engine dragster on the roof, and here was The Rat Fink standing in the parking lot taking pictures of it. He was riding/driving a 3 wheel wedge shaped vehicle, as I remember it was yellow,orange and red stripes. I instantly recoginzed him and went over to where he was standing and asked if he wanted to go up on the roof for a closer look. He said no thanks and asked for some info on the shop and the town. We chatted for about 30 min. he said he was just seeing the country, I asked for his autograph and he rode away. Too bad this was before the era of digital cameras and cell phone cameras. I had seen him at the SEMA show in years after that and asked if he remembered that trip and he said remembered it well.

 

[Rich]

Since I definitely remember Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's creation from the 60's, I'd love to see a car with a special Rat Fink paint scheme. In the mid-60's, while I was still in junior high, having a Rat Fink ring was a "must-have". The things were so popular that they were hard to come by because kids bought them up as soon as they reached the store shelves. While visiting my grandparents in another state, though, I happened across a store that had the rings in stock. I immediately went to my great-grandfather and asked him if he would give me a dime so I could buy the ring. His immediate reaction was to ask, "What the hell is a rat fink...and why would you want one???" He then gave me a little lecture about why it wasn't appropriate to call someone a 'rat fink'. However, following the lecture he then gave me the dime and I got my ring.

Funny the things we remember. But I'm glad we do.