I have shared this pic and do believe he was identified but your copy is not bearing any fruit of connecting dots...
I guess in my mind, I pictured all those early 40s/50s hot rodders being so fortunate because they got to start with really nice bodies and sheet metal. Perhaps that wasn't always the case.
LOL. They just called them jalopies back then, and they weren’t intentionally rough. They were just makin do with what they had.
Cool picture, though. Ain't it neat how those big valve covers add so much huskiness and heft to that little roadster? Nothing like a big old overhead valve V-8 engine that nearly completely covers a small early-era firewall. btw... that's an unfinished traditional hot rod roadster... no rr.
I hate to say it but that looks a lot like my first rod except for the motor. That looks in better shape.
You have to remember he was a youngster with no money. The car was probably bought for $5 or less. Looks like patches have been welded on, Doors welded on, and rear fenders raised and welded on. That was the start of a quality build. A lot of that was done with wood or sheet metal screws and nuts and bolts on a lot of back yard builds. Holes were punched on with an ice pick or drilled with a hand powered drill. Electric drills were expensive back then.
Interestingly, someone went to a lot of effort to completely cut out the rear wheel wells and move them up a few inches to accommodate the channel job...rather than just bolting the fenders higher up on the body
Just because the young gent is in the car doesn't mean he owns/built the car. There are other possibilities.
But I'll bet if you asked that fella about his dream for the finished car, it has a nice shiny paint job.
This thread is like having a few buddies over for a b.s session in the garage….except I’ll have beer left over when y’all get tired and go home
Most of us probably bought our first cars with a vision that neither our pocketbooks or skillset could achieve.
Yep, a Deuce Cabriolet, a good channel job, set up for a Chevy engine/4 spd. and it had Chevy rear end with 3.55 gears. The problem was I was seventeen, limited funds, no garage and no tools.
A kid in my High school bought that car from Norm. I guess when he got older and had some movie bucks, Norm had the Packard chopped, probably 8 9nches, maybe more, it was pretty severe. Otherwise it was stock and shiny. I wonder where it went?
My first car 1966, paid $30 for it sold it for $30. Like @Fordors said lack of funds, tools & garage I was 16 years old, but it was a start to a long & satisfying hobby
Why hate to say? I don't feel you should feel this way...I just am bowled over the many facets of the Big Picture...in fact, many of these images of the journey ARE as intriguing as the finish line...bring them on... So many Hotrods are stitched together from beaten rusty hulks...Mine was a discarded kicked around forgotten carcus from a once shiny beginning... You have been affected by those who shun the realities that so many Hotrods were lesser than those built by those that had more skills and luxuries unavailable to so many walking the mile... It's funny many say pics or it didn't happen and when the pics show up the ignorance rears it's ugly head...Why be ignorant of the fact so many Hotrods were repurposed Roundy Rounds or discarded no longer useful daily's...they were... I enjoy this and so many more that show the crude realities of this Jalopydom...again I'm not alone in wishing you would share your journey with all the good stuff...
The Jalopy Journal
