History Expanding on Joey's underrated thread,what else is underrated?

Reading how T Buckets have lost favor for a large majority of hot rodders and are not as popular has they were in years past got me to thinking about other cars.

Cars that at one time were underrated and were not considered hot rod or custom material.

There are many cars & trucks that fall into this category,I will offer my though on one.

What comes to my mind is the 1952-54 Ford's,my first daily driver was a '54 Ford and at that time they were not considered hot rod material,just a grandma/grandpa car.

20 years ago aftermarket parts were scarce if not non-existent but today many company's are offering parts for these orphan cars.

These cars have had a huge gain in popularity in the last ten years and I honestly believe the hard work and persistence on the part of the late Tom Hoskins helped pave the way by starting the '54 Ford Club of America and his bull dog like tenacity with the aftermarket manufactures hounding them to take a second look at this fledgling group of cars.

I also credit the Hamb,Jeff Bergeron's social group and all the guys that own,drive and are presently building 52 - 54 Fords for tee yearhe surge in popularity.

These three year body styles are no longer underrated,as always lets keep it Hamb appropriate.HRP

 

Most non Ford cars from about 1950-1954 were also ignored. I remember when you couldn't give a 53-54 Chevy away, everybody wanted a 55. One magazine article I read years ago called the early 50's cars potato cars, round and lumpy, everybody liked them fresh, but leftovers were avoided. I think the smaller availability in recent years of the more popular 55-58 cars drove people to look again at the earlier models. I always liked the 52-54 Fords and 53-54 Chevys better than the 49-51 models.

 

39-41 non-Fords. Almost any make. The styling on almost all these cars are very clean and smooth. VERY hard to find parts! I particularly like the Studes and Pontiacs....

 

After seeing guys hot rod the "upside down bathtub" Nashes. I'd say nothing is underrated anymore.

 

The car I am asked about the most outside is a 74 grand Prix with a 455. Not my thing, but apparently it is well liked

 

ania

Danial,thank's for your thought's but lets try to keep it within the hamb guidelines,up to '65. HRP

 

Gotcha, somehow I missed that fact, sorry...

 

People are no longer embarrassed to be seen driving Edsels.

 

You're right, I'd drive an Edsel any day. Especially a '59 Ranger....

 

Roadsters, of all kinds, remember back when, a roadster was considered THE hot rod, coupes were for chickens.......just dig out any really old magazine, all you'll see are roadsters.

 

I will add station wagons.

 

4 Door anything and I do not remember Woody's or station wagons being in the car magazines. , A 57 Buick Caballero is one station wagon that trips my trigger. Thinking our Hobby has grown to the point that all old stuff gets done and have seen some unusual rides, Pro Stock group, Nash bathtub, Nash rambler, late 30's Packard, 50's Packard, Restomod group today covers every car ever made, Restored stock bigger than ever, "Traditional" Customs and Hot Rods, More today, than there was back in the day IMO. Been involved all my life, styles, fads, trends come and go, BUT one thing never changes, The PASSION we share for automobiles.

 

I remember when the 1937 Ford was considered a "Ugly Duckling" when resto rods were in favor. HRP

 

Yes,and there are a lot af beautiful wagons here on the Hamb.

I think there has been a small segment of hot rodder's/surfers interested in wagons and woody's for many years in and around California but not so much the rest of the country. HRP

 

I think it has a fair bit to do with the cost of the iconic models these days. Alot of guys can't afford the 55 chevy or 32 ford they want so they go for something a little weird or out there, possibly to stand out from the crowd a bit.

 

I think the major reasons are pointed out. Tastes have changed, I believe due to the lack of available early cars at reasonable prices. We went through the fiberglass body phase with the 34 3 windows back in the 90s and even though there are still a fair amount of fiberglass body cars being built, it did not revolutionize the industry as much as it look like it was going to. The population age of the car hobby has also change bringing in new perspectives on what is cool. The folks that were into the 30s cars are dying off, and generations after do not seem to get into them as much. I can only look at our local World of Wheels show. I took my 32 Ute down to it 4 years ago and it was one of the few from that era with the accept for the rockabilly display. I know I was the few Flathead powered car there. Muscle cars are going through the same thing right now. I see for sale alot of the fringe cars on Craigslist etc. 63/64 Ford Fairlanes for example, heck even the one off 65 Fairlane is a good example of odd body styles coming out of the woodwork.

 

The Blueflame Chevrolet 6 is very underrated.
Introduced in 1929 and stayed in production until 1962, a 33 year run.
This engine made Ford go V8 in 1932, and helped the United States win the war in deuce and a half trucks and other applications.

This was also the engine of choice for Hot Rodding pioneers Wanye Horning, Chet Herbert, and "Dyno" Don Nicholson.

 

It is pre 65..

 

The Crosley is a qurkey little car but I like them. HRP

 

Especially with a flatty. When I was in high school, a friends dad used to build hotshots.

 

I already have a 55 chevy...now I also have an Edsel. It's a fun car!

 

I see a lot of old cars lately that in my younger years I would not even want as scrap metal which I now think look good. I guess its because the old styles are so unusual now that even the old ugly ducklings look classic.
I think its the chrome......

 

.....or because new cars just look so bad......

 

Most likely so...

 

55 Morris Traveler woody. Belongs to a friend of mine. He drug it out of a Missouri barn, wrecked, ratted out, and with no running gear.

Its got a DOHC 4 cyl Toyota engine, Toyota 5 speed, and limited slip Toyota rear end. Its got A/C and cruise. 4 wheel discs. Underhood area is packed slam full but everything is so neat and thought out that you'd think it was factory engineered and built. He's worked in vehicle handling for 30+ years as his real job, and used that knowledge to modify the suspension all around to increase both handling and ride comfort.

Other than the stereo, a full complement of gauges, and a few other minor pieces, everything on the car is junkyard parts from a bunch of different makes, all adapted to fit and engineered to work together. Its been all over the country, and participated in the 2013 Hot Rod power tour. For that trip, it was fitted with Michelin Tweels (whitewall of course) in place of the standard steelies and normal tires.

 

I think there's confusion on what Joey meant by 'underrated'... This isn't about popularity but to me is more about unrecognized potential. Ts were the original 'hot rods', but got pushed aside when the technologically superior model B and V8s came along. A T is the still the easiest/cheapest way to start in this hobby and a properly-built T can offer the same performance as any later-model as long as you're willing to accept it's limitations (creature comforts, or lack thereof... LOL). Most cars mentioned here aren't 'underrated', they simply weren't all that popular 'back in the day' but scarcity of the 'desired' cars has made them viable options.

 

This statement validates the thread,they were underrated,Websters Dictionary ( underestimate the extent, value, or importance of someone or something)

Scarcity and cost of the tried and true favorites elevated the once overlooked cars to become a new blank canvas for the hot rod & custom car builders. HRP

 

I'll disagree... I think Joey was using the 'importance' part of the definition as much as anything when talking about Ts. After all, they do have the 'history' (much more so than most of the cars being discussed) in terms of being 'traditional'. I'm not saying that some interest didn't exist for these cars 'back in the day', but they were mostly considered oddball even then and definitely weren't 'mainstream' except as occasional customs.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying these car don't have a place (I've been a wagon fan for years), just that in the traditional sense they've never been 'underrated'...

 

Steve,lets just agree to disagree,were still friends. HRP

 

Anymore? HRP