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Past Gas

S1 Ep189: Rat Fink: The Real Story Behind That Weird Hot Rod Art

Past Gas

Donut Media

Leisure, Comedy, History, Automotive

4.97.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2023

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Rat Fink was artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s biggest envelope-pushing creation that drove teenagers to car shows and parents up the wall. But how did a young man with no automotive engineer training, who almost flunked out of high school, make such an impact on American car design? How did he stand out in Southern California during the height of kustom kar madness? And what type of legacy can a few crude creatures really leave behind? Today on Past Gas, the gnarly life and creations of hot rod iconoclast Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.

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Thanks to our sponsors:

  • Find your drive. Forget boring rental cars at https://Turo.com
  • Get Valvoline for your car!
  • This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% your first month at https://BETTERHELP.com/PASTGAS
  • Thank you to Innova for sponsoring Past Gas! Use code 15PASTGAS at check out to get 15% off the 5610 using this link: https://amz.run/6nfO


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Transcript

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0:00.0

Big thank you to our sponsor this week, ANOVA. The ANOVA 5610 is ANOVA's most

0:05.6

advanced handheld OBD2 diagnostic scanner. Use code 15PassGas to check out to get

0:11.5

15% off the 5610 using the link in the description again. That's code 15PAST.

0:18.2

GAS at checkout to get 15% off the 5610 using the link in the description. Thank you ANOVA.

0:30.0

Big thank you to our sponsor this week, Valveline and Motor Oil, Extend Protection,

0:34.4

Full Synthetic High Mileage is Valveline's best performing motor oil ever for engines with more than

0:39.4

75,000 miles. You've got a car with a bunch of miles like I do. You need Valveline in your car.

0:44.3

Get some today. Thank you very much, Valveline. Big thank you to our sponsor this week,

0:52.6

TURRO. TURRO is the world's largest car sharing marketplace. With TURRO, you can book any car you

0:57.4

want wherever you want it from a community of local hosts across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

1:02.9

Find your drive. Forget boring rental cars at TURRO.com. Thank you TURRO.

1:07.7

The newest issue of the 1963 car craft magazine featured one of the most

1:21.5

grotesque advertisements most had ever laid eyes on. A mangy cartoon rat. His blood shot bulging

1:29.4

eyes, his oversized panting mouth, stuffed to the limit with razor sharp teeth and a wet,

1:36.2

lollring tongue, and his hooking form stuffed into a fantasy hot rod. His name is Rat Fink and

1:45.8

he's introducing you and the world to the rage in California. Rat Fink was artist Ed Big Daddy

1:54.1

Rath's latest envelope pushing creation that drove teenagers to car shows and parents up the wall.

2:01.1

Get it, kiddin'. This fiend joined a legion of hot rodding baddies Ed had introduced to the world via

2:06.3

his airbrushed weirdo teas and custom car work, the former of which was making the auto industry

2:12.6

a little bit more of an impact on the car. Ed Rath changed the American culture by harnessing his passion for art and his disdain for the status quo and

2:21.8

channeled it into groundbreaking car and apparel designs. But how did a young man with no automotive engineering training

2:28.7

who almost flunked out of high school make such an impact on American car design? How did he stand out in Southern California during the height of custom car madness?

...

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