Hot Rods Does Preformance Really matter anymore

I really don't understand the guys who go through all the trouble to install a SBC/ automatic in their HAMB friendly cars and leave it bone stock. I don't get it. I want my hotrod to actually BE a hotrod with lumpy cam, 3 pedals and loud exhaust and I'm 67 years old! It's gotta be able to get sideways. It NEEDS to bark at least 3 gears of rubber if I want.
And don't even get me started on the guys that run a stock 305 with a 2 barrel. My neighbor removed a rip-snortin 440 mopar with an 833 trans and mopar dana 60 from his 36 chevy tudor...he slid in a stock 305 chevy with puny 2 barrel and a stock 350 turbo....changed it from the straight axle to a mustang front with power steering....
I thought he was going to fall asleep while driving it......yawn!
My engine only has 370 cu. in. but it has Jahns pop-ups, lumpy cam, 2 4 barrel carters, headers and Bubba's ignition. If it isn't fast enough, I'll follow Flamedabone's lead and go with a bigger motor.
My hotrod has to have performance.

 

Has anyone out lived their kids college bills?

 

I think I can if live to be 86.

 

Wow, 5 pages now! Yep, I give a shit that my cam has .629 gross lift. And what it does. When I was a kid, looking good was a long term goal, going fast was #1. Now fast and looking good doing it seems like where I want to be.

 

Yes, and I'm 45.

 

for those who don't care about performance log onto the prius site. i put a stroker blown hemi in my car for one reason. to go as fast as i possible can. there was a time when pride mattered about how fast your car was.

 

Okay....

 

flamed a bone has the right idea, build big torque put it in a light car and gear it so you can drive it. Driven like he stole it I may add.
Now that's hot rodding

 

Yes performance really matters to me. I am 65. A Hot Rod, whether period correct, traditionally styled, or whatever you have, should be modified for improved performance within the design constraints and intended use of the vehicle, and how thick your wallet, or check book are.

I have tried three times to further explain this and ended up with two or three more paragraphs, gave up, deleted it, I guess it's just axiomatic to me. Thanks for asking, just my dot o two.

 

To falcongeorge on "...danced with the devil...", that's very true. I've been in fast cars all my life and even had a fast O/T daily for Mrs. Highlander. Sadly it would cost more than what I spent on the whole car just to get an engine and trans ready to do battle these days. I didn't mention the cost of getting a vintage engine hopped up because we all know what that can run in to. 280 HP for just under $6K? And that's if you got a deal on some of the parts. I spent just under $5K on my last BBC and was pumping over 720 HP out of it. The funny thing is that it's easier to do these days, to build big HP and TQ numbers, but the cost is just south of silly to me. I shamelessly admit that I miss lettin go of the trans brake and watching the converter flash 5500 RPM, that the 2-3 shift of the 400 trans felt more wicked and vile than the 1-2 in most hopped up street cars, that song only a roller cam BBC can sing at 7800 RPM. I just can't get my head around it these days. Racing is a lot of work between race days let alone between rounds. Street racing these days means you lost your car if Johnny Law shows up. Everything changes within all of us. Our budgets, our time, hell our physical condition too. My perspective as it relates to the community here can be compared to a motorcycle choice.

Show of hands, who would like to throw a leg over an early Shovelhead, especially one that represents those earlier days? For the record my choice would be a 71-2 Super Glide, but even a "dresser" would do. It's clearly NOT fast, doesn't burn corners at blistering speeds, even has drum brakes front and rear. Wow, lots of hands raised. No surprise, right?

Ok, another show of hands, who would like to throw a leg over a Yamaha R1? Twice the power, 3 rotor disc brakes, carves out corners like an electric knife through a Thanksgiving turkey. Hmm,not nearly as many hands raised. No surprise either.

Even with it's lackluster performance that old 'Glide has style that almost defies words. Riding it makes you smile from a much deeper place that the Yamaha may only dream of reaching.

A good movie is more than the P E R F O R M A N C E of 1 actor in 1 scene. While there's clearly scenes and lines that go beyond and remain with us (think Lauren Bacall in "To Have And Have Not") it's still the story from start to finish that gets it done. My "movies" that are in production have a great cast of stance, color, brakes, handling, and of course style. If having the total package wrapped in style makes me a poser then so be it. I want to pose in more places than the weekly cruise night or weekend bracket race.

 

I like posing in front of the grocery store.

I think you're on to something...but maybe you could build that 720 hp BBC with 60s stuff, for $5k, if you really tried?

 

Its off topic but I have to answer Highlander. I'll take the R1, CBR etc. did the Harley thing for 30 years and I still love them. One ride on a sport bike and I was hooked. My skills will never approach what that bike can do, its sex on two wheels. I still miss my Harleys but right now I'm having fun and that is what its all about.


Squirrel, that looks like a lot of fun also. Very nice

 

I just read all 132 posts!! I'm a F#$Kin loser!! Pete

 

Since I really do not have what you would call a hotrod I just want them to run good and get me where I am going for now,even when I mash the pedal to test after tuning or doing a repair I run into too much traffic to really open it up. Too many driving while on the phone around here but yes I would like to have one that would smoke the tires easily before I leave this earth.

 

Responsibility what a concept!

My '60 Fairlane in no way is, or will be a hot rod. I hope that someday it will resemble a mild custom. From a traditional point of view I probably should leave the 145 HP 223 where it is. Replacing it with a stock 185 HP 292 would be an improvement.

But, I'm collecting parts to build a warmed up 312. 500 HP? Not needed here. Now a nice mid-range punch; say 300+ lb/ft from around 2500 to 5500 RPMs should make for a fun driving oversized Ford.

Unfortunately due to responsibility I just spent far too much money on a new sewer line for the house. Now if I could have put that cash into the sixty..., oh well.
-Dave

 

I am paying cash as I go. They should graduate with no debt. What they do after that is on them.

 

Squirrel, you're right. I could build a nasty BBC on a budget and make more than respectable power numbers. It might take a year or more of swap meet visits but still very possible. I've noticed a lot of what I used just 20yrs ago is laying on tables these days for nickels on the dollar. It's the rest of it that I'm not willing to do right now nor in the near future. All the years of racing kept me away from other events that I find more fun now. Living in a rural area means most of those events are at least an hour away in normal travel time, some even further, and I already drag a trailer to the elevated pinky finger shows that are essential to my business. I want to drive mine to the events and hang with my fellow hoodlums telling our best lies and jokes. A couple times I did just what you pictured above with my racer, and yeah it was ok. One time when the show was wrapping up I was driving around back to the trailer and of course there was an entourage of folks on the sidelines encouraging participants to light em up. I waited until there was a few hundred feet of room ahead, hit the line lock and just zipped the slicks for a second or 2, only moving forward a 1/2 car length at best. I popped into neutral and hit the trans brake to back it up a bit then back in 1st. Here's the fun and funny part, because there was some loud disappointment over my abbreviated spin. I hit the trans brake and put it on the "chip", and let it go for no longer than it took let off the gas and get back in neutral. Imagine a 14:1 BBC with open headers between store fronts, the concussion that they surely felt. As soon as the 2 step was doing it's thing the crowd scattered. I was laughing my ass off, thinkin be careful what you wish for as they ran for cover. I had lots of room, nobody was in danger and the whole gig took maybe 25 feet at best. Those are 1 time memories that last and I have many others around that car, the majority of which were understandably at the track.

wrayman, I have a lot of respect for sport bikes and I admire the craftsmanship and engineering that some put into them beyond stock. But to me it's the difference between a 2015 Corvette and 1966 427 version. It's a Ferarri Enzo vs a Ferarri 275 GTB. Or even closer to home for us, a "Speedstar" 34 Ford or the Pierson Bros. coupe. Given that we're here due to our interest and reverence toward the past none of the 1st versions in those comparisons apply at all, but I'd bet a good cup of coffee that majority of the membership also has respect and admiration for them as well. None of it is a bad thing, it's just a choice.

 

huh...mine is a street car, I drive it to the grocery store.

 

Same old story. The guys that hopped up Ts and hung drip cans above the carb to get more power thought hot rodding was going to pot when other guys started getting V8 cars. In the 80s the rich kids all had IROC Zs that were perceived to be fast, but I saw a lot of 4 door old Buicks chew them up. Performance can take money, but ingenuity goes a long way too. Building a car for the strip and building a car for Bonneville or circle track are very different things and each perform differently. Performance is measured and some people have the ability to get much more performance out of a machine than others for a specific purpose. The 305 2 barrel thing seems to be a custom, does not bother me if the the HAMB welcomes customs as well. Now I think I'll get my 406 out and go look for some O/T Hondas to show them what the lack of a rev limiter will do.

 

Performance, yes it matters. But I draw the line at real high performance to be used at the track. I grew up in a racing environment, dad being a road racer, my brother and I racing motorcycles at 15 and into my mid 30's. As far as bikes go I'm a total anti social rider, I have no self discipline so my street bike is now a big ass bagger and I do have a Buell as a track bike.
Car wise, I started road racing 9 yrs ago, none HAMB car that has turned into a nasty ass car that eats tires and is not cheap to keep the engine fresh. The other race car is a Port City chassis that I wanted to fit a glass 53 Stude body on but it was too much work to make wide enough to fit over the main cage. But it's relatively cheap to run. The street has some compromises for high performance, gas at the pump here sucks, and 5-O is no game to play with. But there is still fun to be had with a Hot Rod that puts out good power and run on the crap gas we have here on the left coast. I like my cars and trucks to handle well so I can play in the turns.
Like many have said, Hot Rod or Street Rod, there is a big difference. I tend to drive the shit out of everything I own. Unless it's a custom, they get a bit of a break. My mild custom F100 build is set up to handle the curves, so it will see hauling duty and corner carving duty. I just can't stand puttin around and lookin cool.
I might be getting old but the kick in the ass for going fast is still just as fun as when I started racing.

 

As a young H.A.M.B.er (33) I would like to weigh in, and performance matters to me.

The first thing I wanted to do to my 53 Chevrolet was to make it faster/more powerful, but in a late 50's early 60's style.

The car is in want I call stage 4

The car had a stock 261 Blueflame 6 when I got it.

I added Fentons frist

Then a vintage Edelbrock 2 x 1 bbl

Next a engine rebuild .060 Isky cam

Last year a 3 speed floor shift Vett. transmission and 57 Chevrolet rear.

Next up a posi unit.

All this was done with the help of my Father.

 

Tradition hot rod engines come at a price. I could buy 3 or 4 SBC crate motors for the price of a single A hot rod engine. Here's a 79 year old stock flathead for $5000 or twice the price of a couple of crate motors.
http://www.hemmings.com/parts/item/7397.html?refer=news
As the used to say, "speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"

 

Highlander, I agree with what you are saying. I've always been a bit odd, I like everything. I see something I like in most builds what ever style or representation. I would take an old Vette over a new one in a heart beat but because of my budget and talent neither would be a reality. My Austin has a respectable motor and because of its weight its a blast to drive. It was cheap like my all my other rides but its fun and when it stops being fun I will probably stop "being" myself. My wife says the Suzuki (cheap too for what it does) is my second childhood stage and she is probably right but if I was wealthy the Ferrari or the 427 Vette would fill the bill nicely.

 

I cant really say, I own a ducati...

 

Wal-Mart?? Really? you know where all that shit comes from, right??

 

Rocky, a different view point,I love big HP and straight drive transmissions but the reason behind my use of a automatic transmission is because of physical limitations,I almost lost my left leg in a motor cycle wreck back in the early 70's and my clutch leg just doesn't work like it use to,I am sure I ain't the only one.

It's ether automatic or watch from the sideline,,that ain't gonna happen. HRP

 

Oh fuck, really? My mom has been telling me I am irresponsible for 50+ years, now I have to hear it on a hot rod forum?? What on gods green earth is "responsible" about building hot rods?
That's just beyond the pale...

 

I have slushboxes in all of mine...I got tired of breaking stuff with a 4 speed that first summer...and they don't seem to go any slower because of it. My Chevy II has a full manual valve body and a switch pitch converter, so I get to play with the "clutch" with an electrical switch, and I have to pay attention to what gear I'm in all the time.

But my wife has a miata with a 5 speed, if I want to row gears. Too bad it doesn't go fast, except around corners.

 

I have never owned a trailer. As far as the Well,13/1 bb chevy between store fronts, as you know, I don't have to imagine, and sometime soon I'll be making that concussion all over again with an FE.
Heres a story for you, I was riding shotgun with a buddy of mine in a 10 second car (12.5/1. 278@050 roller, dominator and 4" flowmaster "shootouts", concussive sums it up nicely) a few years ago, there was a woman walking her cocker spaniel, and as we got close, the dog stopped walking, then lay down on the ground and urinated. poor thing thought the 4 horsemen were riding down on him.
And yes, I realize any "responsible" hot rodder will recoil from horror at this anecdote, its all good...

 

If you saw my coverage of the Vintiques show in Yakima this weekend there are plenty of built to the nuts engines that crank out mega horsepower.
This is OT for here but smacks right with what I and a couple of others were saying on the thread about the new low buck engine. Big old box of a truck running 12.9 with a big block Mopar that sounded beyond nasty. The street rod drags at Renegade Raceway on Friday night of the Vintiques show brings out some strong running rigs

Not pretty but it goes.


One thing is that now a lot of engines you can pull out of a donor rig make more horsepower and torque than a lot of those 327's with a rack of 97's were ever capable of without a lot of work and added expense or the hassle of constantly dealing with multiple carbs. They aren't as pretty but you can make a 300 mile road trip and then cut a good time at the track and make the trip home without hauling the ride on a trailer both ways.