Art & Inspiration Pics: 1974 Street Rod Nationals

I have been going through my late dad's old slides and negatives and I found some photos he took at the 1974 Street Rod Nationals during a trip to the US that I thought I'd share here. Maybe some of you will recognize some of the cars.

These are scanned from slides using a photo scanner and I have the negatives somewhere. If anyone wants better quality of any of the pictures let me know!

Hope that you enjoy them!

 

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Thanks for posting those. Great pics and things have definitely changed in the last 43 years. Nerf bars were popular, dropped headlight bars hadn't been invented, 32 headlights were a no-no, aluminum headlight stands were the thing for hi-boys and no-one knew how to narrow a diff or drop an axle. And all those cars would not have to worry about speed humps (if they existed back then?)

 

wow thanks for sharing. Your father had a keen eye for sure. Great seeing the different trends back then and I loved looking deeper into the pics at the people . Great stuff.

 

yep thanks re pic very cool , check the every day cars in some backgrounds and the buildings

 

Yep That was the 70's

 

I really enjoyed the pics, that's the era I caught the Hot Rod sickness as a young teenager.
The last days of Hot Rodding, before the horrendous abominations of the eighties.

The twin blown C Cab was a hoot, and I wonder if it survives.

 

This is my dad's 34 built around the same time, probably a few years earlier. He bought the body already channeled and with the rear fenders bobbed, but the rest from the headlights to the nerf bars was all him. There were quite obviously no speed humps in SA back then!! The car was as rough as hell with a basic 327 SBC but he always bragged that it was the only one with a tow hitch and rope for pulling all his friends home. Busy with a rebuild of this car now.

...and that's my mom washing it. A LOT has changed in 43 years!

 

Great Pic's ! Thanks for Posting.

 

Great pix. Where was the event, still in Peoria? Gary

 

I believe it was at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul

 

Very nice photos Graham! Thanks a lot for sharing them.
Did your dad build this in South Africa?

 

Great shot of Jack Pieknik's 1934 Ford Victoria! I have compiled a story on this car here if anyone is interested: http://kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Jack_Pieknik's_1934_Ford

Last I heard it was still for sale...

 

Wow! Great images from the pre-digital era and so evocative of that time period. I recognize a lot of those cars from magazine coverage and subsequent events around the country. I'm pretty sure that Black, flamed '40 Coupe belonged to Gene Sonnen (he probably still owns it). It was surely a stunner and would be right at home at any rod run today.

 

Wow nothing's chopped. I was 5. I love the 70s !


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You are lucky that you still have your Dad's coupe and are doing a rebuild but I guess you probably curse him occasionally for some of the stuff he did back then LOL It seems that your Dad was a fan of the East Coast style of hot rod and that was the style that was popular here in Australia in the 50's and 60's
My mate built a channelled 34 in 62 and it was very similar to your Dad's but was very well built. The rear fenders were same as your Dad's- trailer fenders bobbed and welded to the body.
I didn't see any pics of channelled 34's and I bet your Dad would have taken pics if he had seen any. Was the guy with the hi-boy 32 roadster a friend of your Dad's?
A terrific set of pics, thanks for taking the time to scan and post them and good luck with the rebuild of the coupe.

 

The trippy 70's were cool. Damn it, I'm growing sideburns. Where the hell is my Stroker Mcgurk hat?

 

great stuff.............thanks for posting these shots !!!!

 

But disco still SUCKS!-MIKE

 

Thank you for sharing! I wonder what the deuce and model A coupes sold for.
Nice photos!

 

Wow, Thanks Graham. I went to my first Nats in 78, at Columbus Ohio. So these cars, the stroker caps, bell bottoms and the Fat tires bring back some great memories. It wasn't that we didn't know how to narrow axles, it was the look that we were after. To many Roth monster cars I guess. lol I need to dig threw my old photos,{ the ones in boxes} and post them if anyone else likes the 70s. I've been trying to keep to the 64 and early style. As that is what I like, and this forum is all about. Here are two of my cars in the 70s, notice { the tire size} lol View attachment 3422079 Sorry not traditional, but I think it was a revival time for the Hot Rod. Ron...

 

Thanks for the look back through your dad's eyes .

 

Very good craftsmanship. Where do these people get all that money?

Not to mention all the creativity, energy and time to work on the car........?

 

Thanks for posting, the photos are of an excellent quality.

 

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I did notice a few worn tires...people actually still " got a wheel" or "gassed on it " back then, unlike some of the lame-ass get togethers you see now-a-days.
Not HAMB friendly, but I miss those vans with the murals....there was a time I wanted to be an airbrush artist.

 

Yes he bought it in 1965 when he was 17 for R20,00 (then equivalent of about $10,00, current equivalent of about $1.50) LOL

 

Love these pictures, keep em coming. Graham, do you have more pics, past or present?

 

Ansen Sprints were the 70s "Cragers". Everybody had em it seems, rods or late models. I thought that slammed 34 Vic looked familiar. Nice Kustomrama story about it too. Great pictures, thanks a bunch.