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

I dig the filter on this pic!

 

I'm happy with mine too. Damn near no $$$ into it (yet). The lakes pipes cost me more than I paid for the car!












And if you don't like it, you can breathe easy, you never have to worry about being embarrassed to drive it!

 

If it was mine I'd make it a sleeper. If the motor's tired maybe something bigger like a 389 and tri power would be cool. Maybe spinners, skirts and some mellow tone duals. I had 2 57 Chevys a few years ago, a 4 door sedan and a 2 door hardtop. The 2 door was much nicer but the gang always wanted me to drive the 4 door because it was so much easier to load up and when you're behind the wheel they look the same.

 

You know what looks good on a 4 door?


A blue tarp.



^ (swiped that gem from graverobber63)

 

Yeah, what he said!

 

Wow, this a lively little thread isn't it. I won't restate too much of what's already been said, but just to summarize.

Lower, add duals, three or four bar hubcaps, make interior repairs, enjoy.

 

There you go. Some cool pics that should show you what to do with it. I myself don't mind 4 doors. A cool old car is a cool old car no matter how many doors it has.

 

I'd luxo-barge it, make it classy and comfortable. But for the love of Pete, don't flat black it.

 

Well, we have a high opinion of ourself now don't we? Didn't know that Mr. Know-it-all was a member. I guess what happened at your school, that you remember, MUST have been the same at every school around the country. Thereis no need for arrogance, the man asked a simple question, he didn't ask for a history lesson about how everything was way back in the golden year of 1959. Lighten Up! Most of us are here to help each other, not tongue lash someone, or try to make yourself look superior so you sleep better that night.

 

i wish there was a forum just for four doors, then all you guys can hang out and wax each other up. sorry we're elitist, but there's a difference between casual car guys that just work with whatever shitbox they can find, and people that actively search out what they really want. it takes time, money and/or perserverance. work your way up, or move on.

nobody's asking you to dress up like some greaser wanna-be, we just want to see a certain type of car. there's a lot of work involved in doing it right, so if you're not committed to doing it hamb-style, you don't have to hang out here. go try convincing the skateboard guys that your rollerblades are just as cool, see how far that gets you...

p.s. i hear the next big thing is flying cars. i'd start with a pinto.


(englanders, australians, kiwis and continentals are exempt from this discussion. they have a history of working with multi-doored cars)

 

'50's kemps in general are just plain kooler than anything thats come along since.Is your Poncho kooler than a '49 Mercury 2 door?Nope.Is it kooler than a late model Caddy 2 door? Fuck yeah.Be proud,drive it
Paul

 

Hangon I had to chime in again here.
This comment is just ridiculous.
So now building a 4 door car is NOT HAMB style?
Are you kidding?

Show me where in the HAMB rule book it says that the HAMB is reserved for 2 door cars only??

Again I had no intentions of starting a 2 vs 4 door argument in this thread in the first place. I was just looking for advice on building my 4 door car, which I happen to like just fine. I have no intentions of trading up because it's a 4 door.

My philosophy with cars is keep it as long as I'm interested in it and have fun with it while I own it. Thats it.
Theres also no reason to ever drive a car you're not interested in, as there is so many different and cool options to choose from.

 

i told you how i'd do it, in one of the very first responses! the thread has degraded into a pissing contest, 'cause they usually do on this subject...just like rat rods,'what's it worth?', 'what's traditional?', jesse james or florida cars...

 

Four door cars are the exception to the rule. To say that nobody ever built them is ignorant. To say that they aren't as cool/popular as 2 doors is obvious. Would I buy a rough 2 door over a decent 4? Hell yes. Would I shit on someone and tell them that they fail at life if they choose the 4 door? Fuck no.

 

Why is it "whatever shitbox they find" if the guy likes the car? Plus it looks like it is in decent enough shape. If the guy likes his 4 door then that is all that matters.

 

If it were mine...... I'd lower add skirts, chrome tiped duals, knock heavy oxidation down on the existing paint, eliminate a little of the excess trim like Monsterflake said early in the thread and do a nice interior. If you can find a nice 389 or 421 that would be cool (tri-power even cooler), but I'd make it a cruiser with an auto trans, and drive it everywhere, rain or shine.

 

some guy named ryan said this, i assumed everybody read it. i'm not saying every four door is a shitbox, especially this particular car, but i'm fully aware of their place in hot rod/car culture and history. there's plenty of four doors (and wagons, too) in the 'junior stock' thread, check it out...

 

It looks like a pretty solid car.

Here's a coupla versions for you. I prefer the top one, but either one of them would have gotten you laughed at in high school during the 50's and 60's. The "tradition" of that time didn't include much that wasn't a Ford, a Chevy or a two door of some kind.

Fortunately for you, "tradition" now includes everything.

 

I'd rather run with the guy who BUILT and drove the 4 door than the guy who's rich daddy BOUGHT him the 2 door he stores except for shows and perfect weather weekends. But that's just me. Your mileage may vary. This isn't '59. You Wanna be like 1959, go put a stereo, wheels and tires and some stickerz on a 4 year old Honda or Mitsubishi 2 door and nail the girl down the street. Let the "City Father's" new car driving quarterback son chase after the Dentist's daughter prom queen.
Those cars aren't for sale cheap everywhere any more. And it takes a lot more to work on 54 years of rust and wear than the 4 years they had on them back then. Most of them are gone now and the ones that are left are what we deal with today. A 54 year old surviver is a cool car no matter how many doors it has. And the guys that keep 'em on the street are car guys reguardless of number of doors. Do it YOUR way.

 

If you wanna make it a cool cruiser... You first gotta
Clean up the paint and chrome/trim.
Add rear skirts.
Lower it. A lot.
Wide Whites.
Flipper hub caps. Or some trim rings/spider caps.
Dual Glass packs.
Stripe it.
Period correct plates.
Make it reliable and drive it.
Now you have yourself a cool cruiser.

I wouldnt shave anything.
Good luck on the project.

 

It's a 4 door sedan. It CAN'T be a hot rod. It can, however, be cool. Just do it right. Do not lower it by heating the springs. Don't stripe it unless you can make the existing paint shine to match the new paint of the striping. And don't EVER ruin a car by festooning it with skulls and spiders.

Here's something that has crossed my mind lately. We NEED stock, unmolested cars around. They sure outnumbered modified cars in 1959. That's how it was, back in the Day. Bro!
p

 

In 1959, a high school kid would have nosed and decked the car and then left it in primer or painted it if he could afford it. Painted steel wheels or chromed reversed, a good set of tires, dual exhaust and a cam. Not much more than that, unless your folks had deep pockets and then you would talk them out of a Corvette.

 

Four door schmoor door. Just as long as you don't put any stoopid, big-ass 22 inch wheels on it!

 

Heres the deal, i have been Hot Rodding all my life,that being said,i realize that nowadays with the availability of cars ,4drs are more acceptable. When i was a kid in the mid 50 to late 50's my dad gave me a 4dr Pontiac that he hand painted with a brush. To add insult to injury the color was "Brindle Shit Brown". I was glad to get my first car even though i hated it{4drs were not cool then at all}. As soon as i could i saved up enough to buy a 50 olds fastback from a neighbor for 45 bucks . I was so happy to get rid of the 4dr. In my day, 4drs were not cool and you were accused of driving your parents car if you had one. Now the car thats being discussed looks to be a nice original car. And again i say availability today is Wayyyyyyyyy different. So i understand why some roll with the 4drs.

 

I haven't read the whole thread, so I'm sure someone has suggested this, but how about scrounging up some two door doors and doing the conversion on it? It looks like a nice clean car, so it would be worth the effort, in my opinion. Not wanting to add fuel to any fires, but I've never been a four door kind of guy. After that do what you want. my vote would be black primer, lowered on a rake, painted steel wheels with blackwalls.

 

1959 huh? Save up your money from your newspaper route, mow a few extra neighbors' lawns for cash, take that money and buy some wax from Western Auto. Wash that Poncho up really pretty, wax it, park it on the busiest corner in town, and sell it for top dollar. Take your earnings, and buy your brother's two-door off of him for five dollars more than he paid for it...

 

In high school I had a 4 door wood grained Caprice wagon. I didn't get made fun of and had no troubles with the girls......now I'm married so it's always girl trouble!
I guess what I'm trying to say is the car doesn't make you cool, you make the car cool.
By the way there's a tech article in the archives about shaved trunk and door handles that I did on my '56 Pontiac. Might help ya out!
Blue dots look killer in '55-'56 Pontiac tail lights too! So purple they're almost white!
There are some great parts and info sources available for Pontiacs too.....PM me if you're interested.
Don't forget it's your car, make yourself happy with it. If it's meant to please others let them pay for it!

 

Wow, you had a Caprice wagon in 1959?

 

How is it that guys that were THERE in the late '50s are assholes for telling it like it WAS back in the day????

WTF?

One simple word... RESPECT.

2009 is very different than 1959. You can't apply your 2009 point of reference to 1959 and expect EVERYTHING to be kosher. Kids today don't care if they have a 4 door. In 1959, they most certainly would have preferred a 2 door, a convertible, a roadster... anything but a 4 door unless it was a woody and they were close to the beach. Listen to what the guys that were there experienced and learn. Take that knowledge, filter it through 2009 parameters and see what you can do with the knowledge.

I actually had a hard time finding a 4 door wagon. They all got cut up, parted out, junked, etc for 2 doors and later 2 door wagons. I WANTED a 4 door to haul our kid around with, but hey, I'm not a high school kid, and I have no preconceptions that while a wagon is awesome in 2009, in 1959, they were worse than even a normal 4 door. Will that stop me from enjoying it in 2009 and maybe even hopping it up, and making a cool cruiser out of it? Hell no! For a frame of reference, at Back to the 50s with 12,000 cars, there were (talking chevy here since I have a '55) about 100 Tri-five Nomads, countless tri-five 2 door wagons and THREE tri-five 4 door wagons.

And if you haven't read at least one of 40studedude's books, then you are missing out.