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Hot Rods Best way to get into hot rodding?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Straight30weight, Jan 8, 2018.

  1. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    For tall people, Chopped cars are like street walkers.
    Nice to look at but never good enough to take home and jump in the next morning.
    I just wish I was 5’8”.
     
  2. It really is. It’s the key component.

    So I was talking with a good friend about the whole deal and he does this for a living (I’m just a wannabe). He’s friends with Lee Osborne and has offered to take me to Lee’s place and try a chop on for size. So I do believe this will be my first stop on the hot rod train. If I absolutely hate it, I may have to change gears.

    The whole 6’4 thing has been an issue several times. I did 2 front engine dragsters, neither of which was I able to fit in when done. It’s seems guys back then we’re jockey sized??


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  3. Such a good analogy!


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  4. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,052

    wicarnut
    Member

    Plenty of good looking not chopped Hot Rods IMO. Hang out at car shows, make some new friends with types of cars that interest you, I've had 2 chopped rods and at events/cruises if someone talked to me and wanted to see how he fit in the car, I would let them sit in it, I remember 1 man that sat in my Roadster w/top on, got in and we had to help him get out, pretty funny, he thanked me and wrote off the idea of a chopped A Roadster w/top. Nobody ever mentions the blind spots that show up in chopped cars, something you get used to, but I don't miss that part at all. I see you are a young man at 40 so you can put up with some things us mature guys can't/won't put up with anymore. Good Luck on your quest.
     
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  5. patmanta
    Joined: May 10, 2011
    Posts: 3,872

    patmanta
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Woburn, MA
    1. MASSACHUSETTS HAMB

    I can probably tell you a bunch of stuff NOT to do, LOL! Mainly, my advice is, whatever you decide to build, to pick a direction and follow it through until you're on the road and worry about doing things differently the following winter.

    It sounds like you've got a lot of skill and experience, so it's really just a question of what kind of stuff you want to deal with. Do you want to start with a pile of rusty sheet metal and a stuck flathead? Do all that body work and cleaning? Do you want a good runner/resto to modify? Something in between?

    That said, at 6'4" I think a Tudor would be a good plan and they're usually cheaper and more plentiful than coupes. In the Northeast this year you could get a complete and pretty nice Model A Tudor for less than $4k all day all summer from what I saw on CL.
     
  6. Buy the nicest car you can off the get go, then change it so suit your taste as you go. I started with one that needed alot of work and have hardly any money in it but after 5 years im still building... meanwhile i picked up my 55 this winter and it needed just a good tune up and tlc and shes pretty much ready for spring time to cruise around in.
     
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  7. Start with a model A coupe , don't channel it but put it on a 32 frame , then chop it for attitude but not too much 3 to 4 inches then figure out what is your favorite look , 40s , 50s or the 60s ... Start doing your home work ....

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  8. 39 Aaron NZ
    Joined: Jan 2, 2017
    Posts: 85

    39 Aaron NZ
    Member

    6'4 and 'family' points to model A tudor, chopped high boy.
    Find a photo you love an build it from a stock car, so no one else has hacked at it.
    Write a list of part you want to end up with, e.g. don't bother fitting a flat head if you want a hemi firepower or sbc.
    STICK to that list, don't buy 'ok' wheels just cause there cheep.
    And it depends on your skills, tools and time frame, but buying a rust free body is a HUGE step forward!
    Just how I'd go about it next time.
    Cheers Aaron.
    Ps food for thought
    [​IMG]

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  9. redo32
    Joined: Jul 16, 2008
    Posts: 2,137

    redo32
    Member

    I'm still lobbying for a later, larger car. Got a buddy 6'3" with a '32 3 window with a sbf that means the firewall is moved back. I drove it one weekend ( I'm 5'8") and had a crick in my right foot the whole time. This car is bigger than a Model A. I would go for a '33-4, lots more foot room. Have you read this? https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/i-want-a-california-kid-driver.1045241/ He decided to buy an aftermarket frame and a glass body. There have been a ton of them built high boy style and look wicked.
    Inspiration...
    1934 Ford For Sale-001.jpg

    It's for sale here on the HAMB.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2018
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  10. hotrodmano
    Joined: May 3, 2011
    Posts: 412

    hotrodmano
    Member
    from Norway

    Do you want to buy/build a street rod , a hot rod or a REAL Hot rod as in a traditional hot rod? If you go for the "modern" Street rod car with sissystuff like ifs, italian leather and electric Windows :) and such crap you will get a lot of cry outs here...at least from me ha ha. After all, this is a page for traditional styled cars and Ill defend it with my life...well, not really but you get the Picture;)
    "If I want to go cosy and comfy, I`ll drive a Beamer"
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2018
  11. Donuts & Peelouts
    Joined: Dec 12, 2016
    Posts: 1,193

    Donuts & Peelouts
    Member
    from , CA

    You would have to redo the brackets for your seats after you chop, and get seats that have the flatest butt cushion. Like the picture.
    And you are going to feel the bumps and pot holes more because your going to be on the floor practically . The angles of your legs reaching the petals would be different from normal, so that needs to get worked out too.
    But you can fit.

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    [​IMG]
     
  12. strait8
    Joined: Jun 11, 2014
    Posts: 142

    strait8
    Member
    from Skokie, IL

    Straight30.....start with beer.....research.....beer....add some tools........beer.......invite your friends.....more beer......when u run into problems.....HAMB.....beer.....learn to weld.....beer.....Oh and it might be cheaper to have your legs shortened but not too much or you will be like me 5'-4" and unable to reach the clutch and manual brake pedal. I'm always fabricating seat brackets to move myself forward and up then finding I'm kissing the steering wheel with not enough room for my arms to steer the manual steering.......more beer. Most of all make sure YOU are passionate about your build.
     
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  13. czuch
    Joined: Sep 23, 2008
    Posts: 2,688

    czuch
    Member
    from vail az

    Don't buy one after seeing it through the bottom of a Beam bottle. Don't ask.
     
  14. Poh
    Joined: Apr 17, 2007
    Posts: 266

    Poh
    Member
    from Quincy,Ca.

    I’m with you, I’m 6’4” ,245 lbs, I love my heavy chop, I just slide on down and get comfortable.


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  15. Thank you. Hopefully soon I can get together with a friend of mine and go sit in a chopped coupe.


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  16. That’s really the deal man, I hope to do enough research to not make a lot of mistakes. I’ve done it plenty of times in the past and I’d like to start building cars/trucks/bikes that I’m passionate about. I’d like to set a plan and stick with it as best as I can.

    As for experience/skill, I’m not the best, but I’m not the worst. I have a lot to learn in terms of building a rod, but I have the tools to do so (or at least I think I do!). I used to think I had to do these massive ground up builds, but I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I don’t have to do it that way. I’m leaning towards buying a stocker and building it like a guy in the 50’s would have. I prefer coupes for sure but I think I’d be ok with a Tudor. I need to keep looking for that perfect chop/stance that I’m envisioning.


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  17. I like what you’ve laid out there, seems like a really good game plan


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    39 Aaron NZ likes this.
  18. Traditional for sure. I’m a Chevy guy so I wouldn’t expect to see anything but a sbc between the frame rails, but other than that I’m looking at traditional. The right stance, not laying on the ground, no a/c, or any of that kind of stuff


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  19. I hope you’re right. I’m not looking for comfort, I have no plans of driving cross country. Don’t care about practicality. I’ve stuffed myself in dragsters and drag cars that I had no business being in but I made it work.



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  20. Ha! Everything you’ve said makes sense but the beer makes the most. Oh and I’m a welder by trade (kinda) so I got that one covered.


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  21. Been there....


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  22. I float between 230-275.


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  23. You don’t know how bad I want a 33-34. But the cost is going to keep me from having one for a long time!


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  24. Dick Stevens
    Joined: Aug 7, 2012
    Posts: 3,710

    Dick Stevens
    Member

    SBC is traditional if it is a 265, 283 or 327!
     
  25. Yeah but you know how some of these guys are! If it’s not a nailhead or hemi they’re disappointed


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  26. Dick Stevens
    Joined: Aug 7, 2012
    Posts: 3,710

    Dick Stevens
    Member

    You can't please everyone! Actually Cadillac and Oldsmobile engines were more predominant than hemis were and came before either SBC or hemis!
     
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  27. The truth is if I start with a stock ride it’ll have the Flathead until I choose a new drivetrain


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  28. dan31
    Joined: Jul 3, 2011
    Posts: 1,097

    dan31
    Member

    I'm 6;5" 250 lbs. and fit in my 31 coupe comfortably. It's got a 2" chop and channeled 2 1/2"over a perimeter frame. If your into a heavier chop use a 32 frame unchannelled but I wouldn't go more than 3 1/2"-4". It's also best to not take so much out of the back window ,maybe 1" less than the chop.
     
  29. Any chance I can see a pic of it?


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  30. 39 Aaron NZ
    Joined: Jan 2, 2017
    Posts: 85

    39 Aaron NZ
    Member

    Check out 'HemRod by Pinkees Rod Shop' yes its a 32 but it is mind blowing the detail that's been done to this, also the chop took less from B piller for driver head room.
    Cheers Aaron.
    [​IMG]

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