Customs Bobber Trucks. Are They HAMB Rods?

Closest I can get is one I took this picture of in Santa Barbara, CA around '66-'67. Thought it was odd then. Now, it wouldn't fit in with the ratrodderz or the bobbers either and, it certainly isn't traditional.
But, it was someone's idea of cool . Notice the CHP safety sticker in the lower right windshield.

 

NOT HAMB !!!

 

That is a sweet truck. You need it, matches your shirt, and the air cleaner on you head would be perfect..

The early flat firewall trucks lend themselves to it best.

 

Like other rides, I like some & not others. H A M B worthy ? ...... maybe...anyone who can engineer & build a ride/rod like that ... has to be worthy ... my .02 cents

 

From this to that....I like it.

 

My personal opinion (I know, you don't care) is that they look stupid as hell but I think that they are a part of the era we entertain here. I remember seeing the 32-34 Ford version a lot in magazines back in the day. Thats about the only body style that looks even close to right to me. Later versions verge on the rat rod look.

 

One thing I've learned from the hamb is that if you don't have a 1940 or 32 Ford, your car is an undesirable, junkpile piece of shit. But i feel the same way about all of the fiberglass and brookville stuff, that shit isn't real. It's a kit car damnit! It should be bolted to a VW floor pan. I have zero respect for that. A bobber truck is a real hot rod. And a fiberglass car is a street rod. Enjoy your amenities. Your car is fake.

 

I'm thinking this is one of those "Depends..." topics.
Were there trucks like this? Some old time pictures have been posted, examples shown, etc. Nicely done and finished.
On the other hand, a lot of these at cruise nights nowadays are "r-word" projects (ratrod or Roadkill, take your pick). Not just "unfinished" but deliberately rough.
"A matter of distinction, a real fine line between an orgy of destruction and a wonderful time"

 

RPUs have been “bobbed” for ever

 

Well now, wait a minute. Maybe it is!! Suicide front end, transverse spring rear end, definitely pre-65 body, looks like a Y-block sitting behind that possibly 36 Chevy grille shell. Looks like all the parts check the boxes for HAMB eligibility.

 

Too bad the 1932 Willys STANAVO was deleted. Oh well.

 

Anthony is off his meds again.

 

None prescribed yet.
Could possibly use some though

 

I feel like the spririt of the original post was more asking if 35 and later trucks built in a fenderless style are on topic vehicles here. Maybe Im reading into it wrong. 34 and earlier trucks I would say are widely accepted as on topic here. As for the later ones? I dunno. I think alot border on or are ratrods (another loaded subjective label). Im not even saying thats a bad thing. People should build what they want but that would be off topic here.

I think you can find an example of almost anything being hot rodded in almost any time period that the vehicle existed if you look hard enough.

 

I Love this one that I saw back in 2006

 

Is this a bobber?
It’s cool anyway


and yes, it’s a post 65 creation of a 60 Elky

 

I sorta like bobbed pickups that looked like this back in the day.

 

Lloyd….took big balls to say … but you are right! Today and for at least the last 25 years or more you could build a 32 Ford roadster that could have a magnet stick on everything and not have a single 1932 Henry Ford part on it and be considered fine with many because it was metal. They ARE kits and nothing else even with a 32 vin…
Even tho my first post for bobbers as MC’s; a shortened bed on a early Ford roadster pickup was not a bobber in my book but I’ve lead a sheltered life.

 

Lol if it walks like a duck.... quacks like a duck.... it's a duck! I don't make a habit out of judging somebody else's stuff, if i like it, I'll look a little while longer, if I don't like it, i just walk on by. My thing is that just because somebody doesn't like it, it doesn't mean it's wrong. Variety is the spice of life. But you let a certain car pull into a show and every guy there runs to it with piss running down their legs like a puppy. I can't post pictures because I'll be flamed, but i built a 65 bug a few years back. Chopped the hell out of it, narrowed it, channeled it over a box tube frame, shit ton of body mods. No fenders, big & little tires, straight axle.... pissed off every old guy at every cruise in i went to because everybody flocked to that car. I guess what I'm getting at is that I would rather look at a bobber truck than a kit car street rod?

 

I would also say that these trucks may not have been what was on every corner in the 40s or 50s, they played a big part in the traditional revival that happened over a couple decades ago. I'm 44 and started piecing my first hot rod together at around 22. It was a cool time in hot rodding. Alot of young guys getting into it and you could still pull parts and projects from old yards and farms.
If you open a Rolls and Pleats, CK Deluxe or Garage magazine from that era you'll see those trucks.
I guess my point is that while I certainly dont know where these trucks land in or out of HAMBland, they certainly are a significant part of an era that I think of fondly.

 

The first RPU only needs two things to make it look right, a shiny paint job and a large chested, long haired woman in the right seat.
The last one probably needs a larger cockpit to accommodate the driver's testicles. He had to have extremely large ones to drive that. I would have liked to try it out.

 

I don’t care who stamped the parts, Ive built both.
I’d drive both. Could care less about what someone else thinks.
That’s what makes all this crap cool.
The confident don’t need anyone else’s approval to enjoy the hobby (aside from licensing)

 

DANGER HAMB ROBINSON!!! The HAMB koolaid isn't working on Lloyd and Anthony....

 

Nothing against prewar bobber trucks. Love them. Interesting comments on this thread.

 

They are as wrong as two boys kissing. Ron

 

I fail to see where the newer built trucks are much different than the older posted trucks.

 

Old truck- check
Chopped top- check
Shortened bed- check
Badass engine- check
Big & littles- check
Cool interior- check

Yep, that's a hot rod

 

HAMB friendly really depends on the time frame the vehicle was posted.
10 or so years ago a guy built a Ford truck cab on the custom frame, then built the pickup box out of rear quarters from a car and it was the HAMB rage at the time. It was pretty cool, nothing about it was HAMB era built, but it was widely accepted.
These days, a vehicle that could well have been a HAMB era built vehicle that has the wrong wheels gets booted instantly. I suppose that means that if a truck passes the moderator's eye, its acceptable.

Considering most of the early Willis drag trucks were bobber appearing and were on the strips during the later time frame of the HAMB era, pretty well makes those that appear to be of similar build acceptable, as long as it has the right wheels.