Hot Rods How to Traditionally Hot Rod a Four Door Star Chief?

First understand... a four-door was not a choice in HS in 1959 (I know, I was there...read my first two books)...

Second...there ain't no way you'd "keep up wih the guys in your class", you'd be outclassed simply becuz it's a four door. It ain't got no class.

Third...four doors were simply looked down on, no matter how "badass" you made it.

Fourth...laughing stock...for weeks/months, that's what you'd be IF you even had thots about the homecoming queen...becuz you were a low-life...in a four door.

Fifth...in all probability, you'd be a 'local legend," in your own mind...and in everyone else's, that "local Legend" lore about you would bring guffaws, laffs and general smiles every time someone mentioned that you'd tried to pick up the homecoming queen.

But, that was 1959...that was then, this is now...Clean the car up, paint it, throw on a set of chromes and drive it...plain and simple...

R-

 

No chop, big engine, lower it, smoothie wheels and WW tires.

 

To all the guys saying that a parent's handed down car could not have been rodded back then, I say bullshit. Nowadays if a 16 year old kids gets their mom's handed down honda accord (for example), the kid will still pimp it out if that's all he got. I went to school with a kid who drove his parents old buick century and he threw some cheapo rims and freakin' racing stripes on the thing. Yeah, it's stupid and tasteless but it happens. I'm sure it happened back then as well.

My advice, get some CLR and clean that baby up. That car has beautiful patina. May not look traditional, but it will be a bad ass cruiser slammed on it's nuts with a mean exhaust. Don't shave the rear door handles, that just makes it look like you wish you had a 2-door.



(not my el camino, got the pic from an OT forum)

 

wow, I didn't necessary mean for you to take that literally.
I was also not completely firm on building it as if it was 1959.

My whole point was to have the car handed down to you in high school, and what you would do to make it cool in that situation.

And I'm not quite sure I follow your homecoming queen comments.

So you're saying if you had a four door car you're immediately excluded from banging the homecoming queen? I highly doubt that.

For example, my senior year of high school I drove a 61 Lincoln Continental. It was obviously a four door. And, I banged the homecoming queen. Strange....based on your rules I shouldn't have been able to get laid? Or does your logic ONLY apply to 1959?

(note: I lied about banging the homecoming queen. But I did drive a 61 linc, and did get laid in it alot. I was just trying illustrate a point. But that was in 2001, and therefore not subject to your rules of high school)

 

Hey those 2 door guys are the same ones that said you cant build something cool out of old international truck oops several hundred people and thumbs up later tells me dont listen to em do it your way make it safe have fun !!

 

well, we better read your first two books and stop asking all these stupid questions...

 

Hey Off-Beat, whats the trick with the CLR to get that look?

 

Dilute it 4 to 1 with water and rub it down with a scotchbrite pad. It will remove the rust that's bled through the paint but leave the paint underneath.

 

Turn it into a hiway patrol sleeper or a moonshine runner. that's what I'd do.

 

my father got killed by a old man running into him, head on....because of that, i ended up with his 72' checker marathon wagon he was building. my cousin(who is killer at building cars) is building it for me, he is gonna be painting it a old looking color to give it some age, and freshening up all the other safety items(might not be the 2 door, ass dragging/street/rat/hot/cutom/kustom rod in all the magazines, but its still 37 years old), maybe some wide whites to give it some age as well. body was pretty much the same on those cars for a hundred years or so.

at the end of the day i will have a car that...

1. i can not lower without MAJOR MAJOR work
2. will never have much, if any, value in terms of money
3. i can not get into most car shows because of it being a 1972(which is whole other post...but i have to say that that is the dumbest rule in any rule book ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
4. the car my father was building when he passed away
5. one that he saw the beauty in(one of the few things we did not share)
6. one that is strong/big enough to tow his scoty seiro camper(also to new to get into most car shows. still stupid)
PERFECT. wouldnt want it any other way.

my point is this. who cares what they did in 59'? you have this car now in 2009...not 1959. and all the chain wallets, buddy holiday records, and papst blue ribbon in the world wont make it be 1959.

i say that you should build the car on the cheap! all you need is a WEBER grill, large group of friends, and ALL THE FAMILY that you can fit!! then just go for a ride till its time to have a cook out!

sometimes the coolest cars in the world are the ones that most dont understand. only you, your friends, and your family will understand why its so freaking cool.
PERFECT. wouldnt want it any other way.

my family and i might be the only ones to understand how cool my not so kustom, not so period, very fing drivable, not so old checker is. that is just to bad for all those stupid ass car shows i cant get into, the tiny weanered gold chain jack offs laughing at my "not so perfect street rod", and ever so cool, super cool hipsters laughing at how "not period" my car is, squaking about the 50's, while being born in 1987.
PERFECT. wouldnt want it any other way.

hope you enjoy your car. im done. cool car

 

Obviously, mild custom with cool sounding pipes. Sure it wouldn't have been cool in '59 but it is now. I'll bet it will get plenty of thumbs up from the kids and anyone that doesn't take themselves that seriously. Fifties cars are just plain cool! Have fun .

 

Amen to that!

 

IMO 4 doors instantly become incredibly cool with suicide rear doors.

True story.

99.9 percent of the time.

 

Since nobody is pointing out the obvious........

You're asking about traditionally rodding a 4 door. Which would've (in the traditional era) made you a huge nerd. But today's society is a lot more 4 door accepting.

So then the question becomes.....if you're traditionally rodding a car that wouldn't have been rodded back then.....does a tree make a noise falling if nobody is there to hear it........wait, no, that's not my point.. My point is, you're making your own rules so fuck tradition. You got a cool car. Do what you want with it.

Good luck

 

Do whatever you wanna do to it, nothin wrong with what it looks like now!

I'm doing a 54 at the moment, basically stock but lower, shaving everything and painting it a solid colour. No use trying to make it look like somethin its not.

Heres some ideas for yooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

 

Damn, I've always preferred 4 doors. Always had 2 door cars until now.

 

I'm a 2 door snob, and even back in the 70's when I was a teen, it was a badge of nerdiness to drive a 4 door.
That said, I've seen a bunch of nicely done 4 door cars. That's great for the owner, I give him credit for making something nice out of a grandma car, not easy to do.
What HASN'T been mentioned here is: if this is just a "foot in the door" car for you...practicing your skills, looking to trade up sometime in the future, "really don't like it, but it's what I've got" kind of car.......don't get too deep into this car.
Yeah YOU might like it a bit, and the other 4 door guys try and encourage you to build it...BUT, when you go to sell it, you're going to be sorely disappointed! you'll only get 1/4 of what a 2 door is getting...even though you spent as much money and time on is, as you would have if you did a 2 door! Even if all the 4 door guys think it's cool, the guys who are looking to buy it, DON'T.
That's a fact of life.

 

he does have a point with the value and learning part. thats y i said "do it on the cheap". i think that is the most important part.

u wont get ur money back out of a 4 dr, but u can have just as much fun, if not more, then Mr. gold chain jerk off thats at $60k in his car with tons left to spend on billet do-dads.....i also have a 2 door merc. i can tell u already(just got it), the stress is way higher in that car compared to my checker wagon. i worry about some knuckle head taking me out in the merc, un like my checker. which is really backward, being as i cant replace the "meaning" of the checker. its all about the $$$$$$$$$$$. shame really.

enjoy ur car. dont go crazy on the money. tell the snobs of this hobby to kiss ur ass if they dont like ur car. THAT is the MOST important part, actually.

not that this matters, but i think its a great start to a fun car. enjoy.

 

You stated 1959 and you asked for opinions...I went you one better, I give you facts of high school 1959 since you obviously weren't there...and you tell me to not take you literally...I apolgize, I didn't hear the laughter in the background.

IF the car was handed down, you were still a nobody in car guy's eyes...and that usually equated to a 'nobody' to everyone else...a car, in 1959 usually figured into your high school status. Four-doors were not cool, regardless.

It's simple...the homecoming queen was usually the doctor's daughter, or someone's daughter that had wealth in the town...

You were there...??? It all had to do with status...perhaps if your Dad handed you his 'old' four door Fleetwood Cadillac in your sophomore/junior year, it meant your Daddy had money...and you might've had a chance to bang the homecoming queen...at least you may be on speaking terms with her.

Why the need to lie...??? A point can be made without lies... I never said you (or anyone else) couldn't "get laid"...in 2001...or 1959 just because you had a four door...!!! You're reading words into my answer that simply aren't there. There were girls that didn't care if you had Daddy's Caddy...or the four door '55 Poncho you now have. All they wanted was a good time...not unlike girls today...

IF you consider questions stupid, that's your problem...but nothing is learned unless you read history (you DO read, don't you...???...and you'll agree, 1959 is history...???

Keep in mind, high school days of 1959 were quite different than HS days of 2001...or today.

R-

 

Yeah, today the Homecoming Queen is easy.

 

4 doors weren't cool 79-83 either, my high school years. If you had 4 doors or even worse a station wagon you mind as well give it up.

Homecoming queen? You better be the captain of the football team and have a bad ass ride. Muscle cars were the kings...

 

Give it a lace paint job.

 

Basic fact,its a classic that should be saved,and not ignored because of the number of doors.People would bitch and moan if they saw it in a junkyard being ignored.They give you shit when you save it and want to customize it..you cant win sometimes.fat whites,slammed and redo the interior TJ style and you have a winner,the more old rides we save and keep on the roads the better,2 door or 4 door.

 

4 doors always make good cop car replicas. I own a 4 door 62 Comet, it feels no different than a 2 door when im driving it, (Just dont look behind you). The cool thing about 4 doors they are usually better taken care of and unmolested. Really the only thing that bugs me about more doors is SOME type of "people" that drive them, if I have to explain you wouldnt understand!

 

and you guys that say no would not drive a 4Dr '50 Merc? C'mon, who you kiddin'? That carcould be cool. I'd paint it a nice old two tone color, black steelies with WW's, Kustom grille, leave the door handles, and cruuuuuuuuuuuuise !

 

cmon StudeDude, now we're getting ridiculous. What are you going to start picking people apart because they didn't spell check? Its obvious this was a lighthearted thread to begin with...I wasn't expecting getting assigned any homework and having to read your books (although I checked out your website and they look pretty interesting, I will probably end up reading them).

How about just give an opinion on how to customize a 50's car...which is really what this whole thing is about. There's been a ton of good input so far!

 

I knew I had it somewhere...

Here's a quick scan of a 4-door Olds custom from the late '50s that has always tripped my trigger. Might not be everybody's cup of tea, but I sure like it. Just wanted to share it with you.

Good luck with your project!

 

How dare you try and do something to a 4dr! The nerve, everyone knows they should just be junked......

 

If you do a search, you will find a good thread about making a two door out of a four door. I think it was a 55 Chevy. It looks like a "easy" project to do, if you can find a set of two door doors.

 

Yup, 4-doors and trucks...might as well throw them allll away....