Beetle,
The typical rat
After the war, (WWII) the young men returning home built Hot Rods. With very little money, the best way to make it fast was to lighten it.
Frames, beams axles etc were drilled as much as possible to lightrn the load. Seats and interiors were trashed. Aluminum parts from surplus aircraft were used especially the seat frames from aircraft. "Bomber Seats" are used in a majority of Rats. These early rodders used what little money they had on the motors. The rest was a hodgepodge of parts from various other cars/ trucks. The best they got cosmetically was "ruddy brown" primer. Scarecrow's VW is Ruddy Brown (and way to flawless).
So here's the evolution:
Hot Rods were '40's & '50's
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and his famed radical Hot Rod cartoons and infamous "Rat Fink" at the wheel.
The phrase Rat Rod showed up in there sometime. Because of the rod & the rat fink (http:\\www.ratfink.org)
These 'toons were turned into radical (& beautiful) cars in the '60's by customizers like George Barris. (Batmobile, Grampa Munster's "Dragula" & The Munster Mobile to name a few)
In the last few years, imitations of the original hot rods were being created & but with the Rat Rod name.
Now Rat Rodding is a complete sub-culture, with the cars looking like the rods of the 40's the owners, a modern version of the old Greasers and the girls looking like the pinup girls & bomber nose art of the era.
The "Big Show" for these folks is BilletProof in 4 different cities around the US (The name indicating no parts machined from billets of aluminum ala pretyboy show cars
It's amazing check out
http://www.billetproof.com/The VW version... This car is called "Death"
Beetle, notice there is no paint on the car
This is my next project, a little less chopped. So let it be written, So let it be done
Disclaimer: This is a very loose timeline & facts +-, please feel free to correct or fill in details