OLD SCHOOL/NEW SCHOOL-THE INFINITE CLASSROOM

[Jeff Norwell]

I've been thinking about the progression of our hobby.Although I was'nt present at the actual birth,but I have followed the hobby for years through the visual recordings of magazines and periodicals in my collection.like most,mine is huge and extensive....I guess were all packrats.
I started to look at the trends in the 50's and noticed today that although some of us follow the basic principles.there are alot of differences.
When was the last time you saw a early style car with pleated innerfenderwells?In alot of of the "little pages" style mags.this was really prevalent.I never have seen this kind of thing return ..for obvious reasons.
Most of the older trad cars had the primer look..due to lack of cash...The older fellas in my club would prime there cars black,red oxide or (whatever was available) monthly.Today some us still use primer as a badge of honour,but today we take it a step further by flattening the paint.
I guess what I am trying to say is that we are eternally spinning and reinventing the wheel.I feel it is all good for the progression of the hobby.
Take a look at early customs....most were abortions on wheels...but a few hit the mark....furthering the beauty of the designer's original idea.Today we build our cars (hopefully) to last. I dont think that was in mind of yesteryear.Only a handful of creations exist today..example(the Barris Aztec)...totally restored as well.
Some old racecars and hotrods have been saved and restored.....maybe overrestored....I dont know if this is good or bad..alot of them originally were not meant to be crisp and killer..just function..solely for the purpose of speed.....I guess what I am trying to say is today is that although we take our roots in the past......we progress with better ideas and move forward.
Any thoughts?

.....aww fuck..maybe I'm just babbl'in. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[D Picasso]

yep, you're babblin'.

actually, as regards the over-restoration of old race cars, I took another close look at the So-Cal and Pierson Bros. coupes in TRJ and once again was satisfied the cars received the right treatment. there's a lot of hero worship in this endeavor, and those cars show it. and that's A-OK as far as I'm concerned.

[Jeff Norwell]

Agreed.If I had the bucks, I would pursue as well.......just dont know if it is a correct representation of what it orig was........but it shore is purty.
yes,I am babbl'in..just got off a 24hr duty call.

[Fast Elvis]

That's the beauty of this hobby/lifesytyle/culture..it's a very dynamic or as you said Brush,"spining and reinventing" always changing but in many ways traditions stand firm and bring us back to our roots. In the end like our forfathers of the Hot Rod and Kustom movement , we today continue to drive down that road of building cars the way we want them and over time the end results is a ride that looks classic but with a little modern attitute!, No different then when flatheads were replaced by the almighty smallblock or better yet early hemi's. Another chapter ends and a new one begins but each time the roots go deeper and stronger but always linked to the orginal tree of Rodding!!......Now I must be babbl'in....cheers F.E.

[safariknut]

Boy Brush you really got my mind going now!Some of the stuff that was done in the early days thankfully died there.How about those old,"gook wagons"?Visions of jewelled mudflaps,fake Buick portholes,lighted fender guides,chrome eyebrows over headlights,fuzzy mirror muffs,"dingle balls"(especially red and white ones)nailed around every window,"Y-pipe"dual exhausts,sun visors,radio antennas sprouting from everywhere."whip"antennas in cars that didn't even have a radio,reflectors around your license plates,extra fender-mounted rear view mirrors,Port-A-Walls,winking phony cats in the rear parcel shelf,and "hooker trees"(those smelly deodorant things).Don't even get me started on "show cars"!
Angel hair,upholstered trunks with gas,oil,and water cans,beach sand dumped unceremoniously around a car,trick stanchions that always manged to come crashing down narrowly missing(and sometimes not)the car parked next to you,cars that obviously never ran(bolts missing,no ignotion wires,etc.)and yes;UPHOLSTERED WHEELWELLS!
I'll admit there were some pretty nice cars rolling around then but there were far more not-so-nice(I'm being gentle here)vehicles.
If one thing has changed for the better,it is that the percentage of nicer vehicles has increased dramatically over the years.A lot of that has to do with the proliferation of makers of aftermarket parts.
Has that stifled creativity?On the contrary I think it has expanded it greatly.I think a lot of people are pushing the envelope today.
Does this make me disdain the old days and the old ways.Not really but I try to put it in perspective.It is far easier to put a car together today even on a budget.Granted the,"desirable"vehicles(Model A's,32's,and the like)are getting really pricey but where does it say you have to start with one of those?What it all boils down to is if you do a lot of the work yourself(as then)it can happen.Weren't the so-called,"pioneers"always trying something different?
Sorry this rant got carried away.I could go on but it's kind of pointless.Talk to you soon.BTW are you coming to Detroit at the end of the month?
Ray