I am looking for some artistic inspiration here (aswell as education) I would like to see pictures of lowriders as the once were, and (going off the general vibe here) should be... I did a search and came up dry...If this is a daily topic please point me in the right direction.If not i'd like a schooling in what a real lowrider should be/ use to be exc exc It all boils down to me wanting some cool pics to dig on.This is all I got till november folks!... I dont have a licence...Just a car...Its like having an electric fence surrounding the only dennys in the middle of an ethiopian tribe... Anyway thanks in advance
I know there has been a bunch of threads on here, but they are kinda hard to find.....maybe someone should post a how to find threads tutorial. Anyways some have produced some kool pics but not as many as you would if you did outside research. My advice would be to go to carshows with swapmeets and buy old Lowrider mgazines. Lowrider was up and running in the seventies and tanked towards the early 80's (I think) But those mags chronicled all the good shit. It then came back like in the late 80's. My teen years were in the early 90's so All I did was bury my nose in Custom Rodder and Lowrider. At one point Lowrider ran a series of articles on the history of lowriders, focusing on the oldest clubs. Every month they would show some bad ass old pics. I have every isuue from like 91' to about 95'. I think Lifestyles old pics were some of the coolest in my book. Also you could talk to some of the older Lowrider clubs in your area cuz they usually have an assload of cool pics of cars and the cruising scene. Don't forget to Watch "Boulevard Nights", Old school hydros,Flake,Bellbottoms galore...even a couple primered up bombs.
Ha Ha that's a good question dude, Because I've always thought lowriders before the 70' were just Kustoms......But that's my opinion.
Look here........ http://public.fotki.com/BigPoppa/kriss_stuff/car_stuff/lrm_covers/lowrider_pasados/
Close to right. Before that Magazine came out with the same name a Lowrider was the guy driving the car, not the car.
Lowriders date all the way back to the 1940's, the most popular were 39 chevys back in the days of the zoot suit.
I guess I should have specified...Any lowrider type that fits the HAMB criteria...Or would I bee off in thinking any car that fits this board could be a true lowrider? Where is the line drawn between customs and lowriders?
Like a couple of us have suggested, there wasn't a line until Lowrider Magazine drew it. This was taken on Bellflower Blvd in Bellflower about a decade ago.
That's a good question, my custom 40 ford has some lowrider elements in it's design, down here on the border lines get kinda blurred as cultures mix and trends come and go. I'd say if it has chrome or gold wire wheels it's probably a lowrider, if it has hydraulic lifts it's a lowrider if it has velour interior it's a lowrider.
I would think gold wires, velour, wrestler murals and disco balls wouldn't apply here. But that's just my opinion, and I'm very opinionated!
lowriders are much more than disco balls and fluffy interiors. i wouldn't even consider that caddy with wrestler murals a lowrider. here's a good thread from another forum, all old school lowriders from the 60s-80s. http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=118342 lowriders have their place in the custom world, as far as them belonging on this board, that's not for me to decide.
hey Machobuck: the HAMB doesn't HAVE a criteria for lowriders, per se, as long as they adhere to the spirit of whats goin here (this would exclude the current modern lowrider style). 1LowLeSabre's link pretty much has it all (bookmarked it myself). heres a few more that fit in here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/idea_mac/album/576460762318282320#page1 also, LBCC has an unreal, great site devoted to the style you're looking for (and more) but unfortunately, the site is down right now. hopefully it'll be up soon...i loved that site. laters.
If anyone looks at the First "lowrider magazine" issues from the 70's, they always had some pretty cool articles. There was articles about how they dressed in the 40's etc. I remember one article that said the ultimate car any pachuco could have was a chopped 40 ford coupe, it talked about how they would heat the springs to make them lower and put sand bags in the trunk in the 40's, and shave the trim. It wasn't always that "chevrolets" were the only choice for lowriders, but 37-39 chevy's were also favorites. They would also have a section called "low riders pasados" where people would send in old pictures of there parents and family, friends etc from the 40's-50's all posing by their custom lowered cars. If you look at chicano culture in the 60's and 70's, there was a lot going on. Many people really embraced the history and culture. My name is actually an aztec name, because my pops was at UCLA in 1969-73? The movie "zuit suit" also came out in the 70's. I think the lowrider movement in the 70's wasn't about being "traditional" like "traditional rodding" is today, but more just recognizing the past and creating something new with a 70's flair, and thats when the whole low rider movement gained popularity and international recognition. I dont know when the actual term "lowrider" was coined, thats probably up for debate, but pachucos had been riding in lowered customized cars since at least the 40's. Ill try and scan some pics of my grandparents and uncles etc...
The main Los Boulevardos site is still up including the photo galleries: http://www.losboulevardos.com/gallery.html Hopefully the board will return soon.
Here is a link that was previously posted on the HAMB. It's a well written article that I found very educational. http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2006/05/bajito_y_suavec.html
http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=118342&st=720 http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=204362&st=0
Ok FNG here. I have to think that the early lowrider rides depended perhaps on where you were from. My dad was from south east Los Angeles (Watts). This is him in '54 on leave from Korea with his Merc. Guess this was low for the time. He's gone now, but I recall he said it had shaved handles and was nosed & decked, much like a traditional mild custom. Nothing radical. No chop. I think there may be a pic of the interior done in white as I recall. His friends had Chevys and Fords also. Now my step dad was from Watts too and he said he had a Ford with a Carson top and recalls friends using the Barris shop for basic paint which was nearby in Bell I believe (late 40's/early 50's). So yes there seems there was overlap in the custom and 'chicano' car scenes during that era. Maybe this was different on the east side? -- Mike
so if I put hydros on my otherwise trad custom..its a lo lo....where do bags fall in then..I see hydros as an alternative to bags...adjustable suspension...haha
I think it is all in perception..... I don't really care what people consider "real lowriders". I guess if a car rides low .....it's a lowrider......I recently drove my truck thru Espanola, NM the other day, and many consider Espanola to have considerable amount of lowriders per capita. Any given weekend you would see lowriders cruising thru bumper to bumper up until recently. But, while I was parked at a street light a couple pulled up next to me and I heard the fella mention that was a nice lowrider truck..... I don't consider my truck to be a lowrider but more of a custom.......but, if he interprets my truck as being a lowrider.......what the hell??? I don't care...... Like mentioned earlier....what you grew up and saw as a youth is what you are going to base it all on.......if you have no clue at all, ask somebody that's been around.....like DrJ....hehehe
www.Chevybombs.com is another great website for good lowrider pictures and history. Some of the guys on that board have been lowriding as a family for decades, and great pics too. I'm collecting parts to build my '46 Chev as a "bomb" style lowrider right now.
SPEAKING OF LOWRIDER did anybody catch this??? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120038601181&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:2
Thanks, I think so too. Don't see too many color pics from the early 50's. That one kind of captures the era with the car and threads. Lucky that he had picked up a 35mm camera in Japan and shot slide film. The slides still look amazing. That car was long gone before I came around unfortunately.
The Jalopy Journal
