Being that I am old and from Pennsylvania I can vouch for that goofy shit because I built cars in those days. Yea, a lot of it came about because of the laws. Pennsylvania required a hood, bumpers and fenders. Headers were illegal as were loud mufflers. Some of us just did not follow the laws and paid lots of money in tickets when stopped. My hot rod back then became legal because I went through the painstaking procedure to get a Reconstructed title. So after it was ok'd by the Pa. State Police everything on the car became original equipment and therefor would pass State inspection. That was a bitch back then to be a hot rodder, it wasn't easy to have a legal car. I am a yankee that built one of those "Funny Lookin' hot rods". That 34 was pretty typical of east coast hot rods. Chopped - channeled - sectioned was the way they did it. That is what made this sport what it is, the variations of styles. East coast hi boys were built by the guys that didn't have the talent or equipment to chop and channel it. For the most part, a lot the cars were different than the west coast cars. Oh, and I still have my east coast hot rod from 1958 with all of it's goofy shit! My model A hot rod back then. Another"goofy shit" item on east coast hot rods was the whitewall tires ! Then and now.
According to this, Bob wasn't a kid, but a professional body man http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Bob_DiBiasse's_1934_Ford
Too many people claim to be traditionalists but then want to talk shit on a lot of the cars that were built in the period they claim to be emulating.
Based on his LinkedIn profile, Bob was 24 or 25 when the car was built...I think that qualifies as a 'kid'.
I think it's a nice ride. much more room between the seat & steering wheel than imagined but the trade off might be straight legged seating. it's got great period appeal.
Thats what I'm talking about ! I love throwback posts like this. Everyone did a little bit of something else....and some did more then most. Gotta' love it ! Amen !!##
That looks like my goofy 34 5 window I picked up. It's sooooo damn goofy! It's so low you can't get a boot under the rockers, or drive average roads. the seats are thin and flat on the floor so around the block is too much for almost everyone. To get the grille lined up with the cowl its 4" under the pavement, the chin is busted from hitting the ground. the spring behind extra drop up front has the ubolts hitting the axle. The steering box is bolted to the firewall, so if you can get it to turn there's no guarantee you'll be able to get it straight again. It's channeled about 2 feet! Well not really but I'd say about 6" too much. The headlights are all kinds of wrong. Looks cool, goofy as they come
This car is still around. Bobs brother dick is actually the one who built it. Bob still Owns it. Dick had a 53 vette with a chrysler or an olds I don't Remeber that was on the cover of rod and restyling
When I see it, I immediately envision it carving through the curves down a country road in the east, with fall leaves blowing and pipes roaring with each shift.
Having grown up in the 50's on the East Coast, this car is a perfect example of putting fear in the hearts of people seeing and hearing it coming down the street back then. Which is whole purpose of building a hot rod as I am still trying to do today.
You should post more often Michael, being from "then" I'd bet you have a wealth of info and memories to share with us.
Wow man. That's cool ! Whatrya' gonna' do with that one.....(besides fix-a-little)...? You definitely keep your hands full. That's obviously a talent ! Nice !
I can't believe the luck of two items....owner still here, and car still owned. Wishful always......hopes to see the car today. I can't stay away from its low lid, and level stance. It just looks good to me. Can someone go knock on his door.....nicely ? Sure plenty of guys at the ready to maybe help wash the dust off....if it has any. Obviously a romantic notion.......the one thing that springs to mind is....hey kid, get off my g'damn lawn !! I'd probably get my ass and bucket shot full of holes in retreat. Maybe a post card is better....
Fix -a-little ? All that goofy shit needs to go I'm thinking. In my opinion its not drivable and not raceable. Its not even a good trailer queen- 1 because its not at that level and 2 it doesn't load on or off a trailer very well. Maybe ill stick it on a shelf in my bedroom and let it collect dust or build a fucking practical hot rod. Maybe ill trade it for a new challenger RT.
I love it...would have givin' my right nut to have it back in '60. You want to see some "Goofy Shit" take a good look at what happened in the 80's and 90's with the Street Rod Scene!!! Pastel colors with graphics and loaded with Billet, now that's enough to make me laugh, and worse yet some old farts like me are still driving them around, I laugh to myself every time I see one at a show. But my other half always reminds me "remember, maybe he thinks your car looks like shit". Ryan, good post, you opened a real can of worms, but there will be lots of good interesting comments to read all day today.
Personally I don't think you could possibly be more off in this statement. It seems to have a contesting context to it, of which most despise either consciously or subconciously. I'm wide open with my disposition on it, and mostly would say that those who bark the loudest on the subject shouldn't take this shit so seriously, and in fact themsleves as well. This thought process has run rampant through TJJ for as long as I've been here with no middle ground observed. At times it made me disappear for a while, others it chapped my ass a bit but oh well. My 1st reply stands. Most every hot rod out there has to stand the critiques it's sure to get, and those who decide to publish theirs should be open enough to engage in respectful and positive discussion with both the pros and cons of their observations. Traditional? Don't even try to define it. Forget about dating it, wipe your asses with 1964 calanders too. I'll let some of you in on a big secret, it never stopped. It started when the 1st internal combustions engines met side by side, it's suffered fad after fad, yet the "thing" that should unite rather than divide has never left. Some can get as KING KONG as they wish and pound their chest about following tradition. Funny, I never thought the "best of" were ever followers. Just sayin, FWIW. I guess I also better spill what I don't like about it. 2 things for me, the 1st being the wheelbase. It ended up about 2-3" too long and doesn't center very well in the wheel house. 2nd, again my observation, I don't like the wheels being the same width with the rears reversed. That always looked goofy to me, but as an 8yr old helper to my dear departed Dad, I remember him widening his own wheels with a home built clamp to wrap the steel nice and round. Those old circle track guys did some shit to admire more often than not.
I love that car! There are a few things that I would do differently if I was building one today HOWEVER if the opportunity would present itself I would surely trade my cars for one real hot rod built by a kid back in the day.
A lot of people today try to emulate the hot rod styles of the early 60's and when you stop to think about what influenced guys like DiBiasse? There weren't numerous publications catering to the hot rods nor was there a internet so he probably studied the little pages and any hot rods around his home town making mental notes,just like we do. Goofy,I really don't think so..just a car built in a time when guys were using what was readily available and not necessarily interested in trying to be a trend setter. HRP
Isn't it kind of elitist to base your critiques of fifty year old builds on your limited knowledge of all the perfect cars that were pro built and got lots of ink on the west coast? These are after all Hot Rods, with actual owner built and engineered components...fifty years ago most folks couldn't even weld...and for the most part didn't have pals who had the benefit of 60 or 70 years of evolution to get their chops perfect. The guys who were fortunate enough to have the experts build their cars were few and far between, so to me cars like this are pretty cool.