The Bubble Top

Note: Rendering above by one of my favorites – Chris Ito!

I’ve taken quite a bit of heat in the past for my stance on 60’s era showrods with bubble tops. While in many instances the bubble top creates a completely wild and futuristic look, the bottom line comes by way of a very focal (get it? ha… I kill me…) drawback – these cars are rarely functional. The blown tops create a magnifying effect in the cockpit resulting in an incredibly uncomfortable environment. As such, many of these cars built today and in the past were left mechanically incomplete. Many don’t even run.

The fact that these “cars” are built with no intention of ever being drivable takes away some of the aura for me, but you can’t deny the gorgeous craftsmanship and creativity that goes into them. New guys like Morarity and Hall as well as old guys like Roth and Starbird have created pieces of art that I actually really enjoy studying. And as much as I complain about drivability, even I can’t argue with the fact that there are some breath taking innovations in these cars. There is no lack of talent among these bubble top guys, that is for sure…

Still, I often find myself cringing when I hear of yet another bubble top coming together. It’s not that I have prejudice against the genre… or maybe I do… It’s just that I cherish the part of traditional hot rodding that is active. Drag racing, reliability runs, cruises, or just going to the grocery store… We’ve always been the set that drove their cars. In some way, I feel like bubble top cars go against this notion.

Regardless and thankfully, there are a ton of other opinions out there on the bubble top. Without such diversity, the world of hot rods and customs wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. And of course, there are guys out there that just don’t take “no” for an answer. Follow along as Clark attempts to build a drivable bubble top out of ’32 Ford roadster…