What do you guys think of words or phrases on cars. When my great uncle Bob Fereneczi was around in the 50s he said that his friend had a 51 ford that said “So Fine” on the drivers side front fender. I like that stuff a lot. What do you guys think Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
To each their own, personally I tend to think phrases are more often seen on Custom's rather than hot rods. HRP
These days, I think it's overdone - even on drag cars. Sometimes when it's done it ends up making an otherwise really neat car a caricature rather than a representation. That said, it's like HRP said, "To each their own." And, lastly, my favorite was a 60s drag car I used to see at the track (in the 90s) that said, "This car is driven by a blind man" and the owner/sponsor was a window blind company. I always got a kick out of that one.
You fellas need to realize back in the day - guys often pre - I’d say 1960 put the class you graduated in was the thing at the time. Customs more had a Name to it.... Golden Chariot - Love Bandit, Skirt Chaser etc or a Girls name etc As far as graduation Years etc Class of 55 or Class of 59 etc etc etc - was more common. Just a sign of the times.
years ago a guy I knew bought a slightly off topic (big block) car that had "Mr. Big" lettered on the quarter panel. First thing he did, was get rid of that lettering!
Not a fan of names on Hot Rods. Customs are OK but then I am not a customs guy. I even took the Coleman off of the coupe. If I sell it I will let the new owner decide. I still have it to go with the car.
I can't answer for what people thought back in the day but even then it was overdone but that's just what was done then. Nowadays there seems to be a lot of emulating how some people "think" things were done. When I was a teenager a local guy had a 56 Chevy drag car that ran pretty good. My memory has faded so I don't recall the exact spelling but it was something like "Hard Coming", could have been "Hard Cum'n" though. Took me a few years to understand the real meaning.
I always got a kick out of 'em, as in from 1953-1965 in San Jose, Ca., there was a HUGE 'cruise scene' that went down First St., up Second, out Santa Clara St., 'loosely organized'. Cars with 'legends', or names? Lots of notice by the local fuzz, who HATED the cruising cars. I recall a few getting rousted by the 'severity' and 'promiscuity' of some names, it became amusing to watch. Some 'names' were descriptive of the car (or owner) so it was 'entertaining'. Some of the '59 Impalas were: "Orphan Annie"; (Ann Holstrom was 'disowned' by her Dr. Dad, for having lavish parties at their home in his absence; he paid for her apartment elsewhere, and made her car payment, plus an allowance!) Another low '59 Impala, "BROAD JUMPER" reflected owner Skip's 'admiration' of the opposite sex... My '36 Five window had its name above the rear window. My Mom actually unknowingly suggested it, when I was working on it in the back yard..."You @#&%^$#! piece of...!!" The 'F' word came out. Lots. LOL Mom said, "If you don't stop using that word, I'm gonna write it on that car!" "What word, Mom?" "That...'Obscenity'!" That was the word. My painter bud dubbed it for me. His Mom saw it as I was leaving..."That's NOT a kid I want you hanging around with," she stated. I got pulled over for that one, a couple of times. Tiny's Drive In was on a main corner between the 'Main' and Mel's Palm Bowl, a 'mainstream' of traffic rolled past, so the coffee shop provided us with a 'ringside seat'. The hot rods were always getting pulled over; no fenders, excessive noise, windshield too low, vehicle front too low, etc. My channeled '30 Cabriolet was 'wild' looking to the heat, so I comically wrote a cute 'quick phrase' on the cowl side: WHO, ME? (Clever, huh?) But the '34 Vicky, C-DUCER, got threatened with impound if he didn't 'get that offa there'. Same with me, in my white '56 Ford: CHEVY EATER. Motorcycle cop R.D. Miller said that it was 'inciting speed contests'. I said, "C'mon, Miller...No chevy can beat this Ford, and they know it!" I was 2 inches from handcuffs and impound. Off came 'Chevy Eater', (next week it was redone in white shoe polish, on the driver side 1/4 window behind me, I could roll it down in a hurry) 39 different TIN INDIAN#__ 's convinced folks these guys liked their Pontiacs! I still like to see some clever 'amends' scrawled across individualized sheet metal. It's a form of 'sharing'.
Cob, I guess it was a regional thing, the only thing I remember is the graduation tassel with the year a guy graduated hanging from the rear view mirror. HRP
I grew up going to a lot of car shows with my Dad in the 80s and 90s when custom cars were really having a big come back and almost all the Mercs and Shoebox Fords had names on the deck lid. I always thought it was really cool. Some I remember, Blue Velvet, Night Stalker, Low Rider, LiL’ Darlin, Poetry in Motion, Bad Boy. Etc... Definitely a Kustom thing and cool in my book.
Back in the early 60s a friend of mine built a 55 Chevy Nomad that was a record holder in it's class. His family owned a a floor covering shop so he named the car CarpetBagger. Whenever anyone mentioned that name you knew exactly what car they were talking about. Name recognition is what brought the fans to the drag strip to cheer their favorite car on and the car had quite a following. Here are a couple of pictures the red version is the first incarnation and from what I know the car is still around.
I like names on trunk of a custom and names on a race car they make the car stand out and over time the cars become kind of a legend as a lot of the names still are recognizable to this day. I don't mind hot rods with names either, but I would limit putting the name only on the dash somewhere on a rod.
The older kid down the street painted wierdos on a couple of cars and one locals had a '55 Chevy with "Blue Angel" on the trunk lid.
Used to see drag cars with names on them all the time, not so much anymore, that real estate gets sold for advertising money now. Don't care for it much on street cars unless it's pretty small and not much.
My old car getting lettered by the One Arm Bandit. I dunno I never though id have anything written on a car but it felt right with that one.
Not for me, but it brings back some memories. Neighbor had a OT street/strip car named Night Stalker. He didn't like it so he started taking it off. It was harder than he thought, so for a few days it said "Nig Stalker". He didn't drive it much that week. Another guy had a '37 Chevy gasser style named "Johnny Be Good". It was painted on his front wheel covers. They were spindle mounted, so no matter how fast he passed you, you could still read it. .bjb
Saw a picture around here somewhere of a Hot Rod with MOVE OVER painted backwards on the radiator. Thought that was pretty cool.
If a drag car suits a name it’s definitely cool. On a custom it is sometimes cool. Almost as importantly is the artistic talent that went into the application of the name on the car. Sometimes they look really professional other times really amateur. There is a few local cars here that have really stupid looking names on them - spat out of a vinyl decal cutter and plastered on the side of the car. LAME .They look way better when someone extremely talented and tasteful hand paints them on!
On the back of a mopar drag car, an early 60s wagon he had " Elephants have trunks race cars have tail gates ". I've always thought it was cool.
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