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History Taking it Back to as it Once Was...

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Jive-Bomber, Jan 24, 2017.

  1. Jive-Bomber
    Joined: Aug 21, 2001
    Posts: 3,754

    Jive-Bomber
    MODERATOR

    Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

    Taking it Back to as it Once Was...

    [​IMG]

    Continue reading the Original Blog Post
     
    LOU WELLS, Stogy, biggeorge and 2 others like this.
  2. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,176

    manyolcars

    It wouldnt take much. Mostly wheels
     
  3. missysdad1
    Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Posts: 3,305

    missysdad1
    Member

    I think the trend towards returning classic hot rods with a history to their previous state will continue and grow as we further our appreciation of the roots of hot rodding. This car would be a great one to include in that group.
     
    36 ROKIT, Hotdoggin DaddyO and Nobey like this.
  4. typo41
    Joined: Jul 8, 2011
    Posts: 2,571

    typo41
    Member Emeritus

    Now we want it as it was.
    But back in the 90's it was just an old hot rod that needed to be 'modernized" to fit the times.
    Resto mod was just starting and Guards Red was the hot color.
    But to this crowd, give me some of that old rock and roll,,,,,,,
     
    volvobrynk likes this.

  5. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,390

    Squablow
    Member

    Swap out the ugly assed wheels and dye the top insert white. Looks like it was red back in the day anyway, albeit a different shade (old mag covers didn't always represent the truest colors, so it's hard to say). Not sure what the engine or interior looks like but it wouldn't take a whole hell of a lot to get the outside turned around.

    If I wanted to find this car and restore it back to it's original build, it's probably better to find it in this condition with unfortunate updates but very well kept, than it would be to find it untouched, but badly deteriorated from poor storage. Sadly, the untouched, deteriorated version would probably be much more highly regarded than this street rod makeover version, as-is.
     
  6. Malcolm
    Joined: Feb 9, 2006
    Posts: 8,032

    Malcolm
    Member
    from Nebraska

    One of many cars that was better in it's original build appearance. I think most of us on the HAMB would agree that the original version is timeless and will always look good. That 90's look, not so much!
     
    Hotdoggin DaddyO and Danekejt like this.
  7. Rolleiflex
    Joined: Oct 25, 2007
    Posts: 1,243

    Rolleiflex
    Member

    Despite the unfortunate "updates"; I see a car that has been lovingly cared for and enjoyed. Unlike all too many once great cars this one is an easy fix for the purposes of us HAMBers.
     
    Hotdoggin DaddyO and kiwijeff like this.
  8. Gr8laker
    Joined: Sep 15, 2011
    Posts: 70

    Gr8laker
    Member
    from Michigan

    Hot Rods are like movies. The sequel is rarely better than the original.
     
  9. adam401
    Joined: Dec 27, 2007
    Posts: 2,856

    adam401
    Member

    I'd rather swap wheels and top insert than weld the bottom 6 inches back on it and have to sandblast 75% of it. That's a nicely kept car. The chicken coupe and long term storage finds are awesome but so much more work obviously
     
  10. denis4x4
    Joined: Apr 23, 2005
    Posts: 4,198

    denis4x4
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Colorado

    The owner was a member of the Prowlers car club in San Diego and if I remember correctly, it sold for well under 50K at B-J. This is a thread that will polarize a lot of HAMB'ers. In my view, the very essence of hot rodding is constantly changing and improving the car. The Zipper in my avatar is 19 years old and is currently equipped with a Weber 32/36 carb that replaced a pair of English Strombergs that replaced a Mooneyes EFI and so on. Will the HAMB be a source of info on this car 10 years from now for a new owner? Who knows. While there are certain cars that have a pedigree fostered by publications in the fifties and sixties, not every hot rod needs to be brought back to "HAMB standards".
     
  11. adam401
    Joined: Dec 27, 2007
    Posts: 2,856

    adam401
    Member

    Make sure to stash the wheels though so when our grandkids want traditional 1990a hot rods they'll have the correct stuff to re re re hot rod it to period correct haha. I'm not even kidding if I found a pink and turqois bullet nose stude on boyds for cheap I'd tuck it away and preserve it. That was a time period too
     
    Mikel50 and Kan Kustom like this.
  12. Jim Hassad
    Joined: Aug 9, 2015
    Posts: 59

    Jim Hassad
    Member

    I am of the same opinion as denis4x4 in that "hot rodding" is always about change and improvement. The current "restoration" movement of vintage hot rods tends to overdue the true spirit of the original builders. I am one of those who have modified to some extent an "original" car, but it also personalized it for me, yet I have always given credit to the original builder (my father) for all the ideas and craftsmanship he produced. God bless this country that we are able to have these conversations. BTW, Ed Stewart was a good friend of my fathers and our roadster's T body was donated to my father by him. The chromed shifter lever for the '39 tranny has "SSS" etched on it for Stewart's Speed Shop! P1000644.JPG rdstr 1.JPG
     
  13. Jim Hassad..You are one of the lucky ones.BUT.....95% of the HAMBERS now-a-days don't know who Ed Stewart is,,so many young smart asses here now.
     
    Hotdoggin DaddyO likes this.
  14. pgan
    Joined: Apr 7, 2009
    Posts: 238

    pgan
    Member Emeritus

    That particular old hot rod has a lot more history than most. A young Joaquin Arnett of the Bean Bandits chopped the top in the Stewart's back yard in '48. The lead photo is Lil' Axle winning the first Prowler's Rod-Ability Run as shown in Hot Rod mag Feb. '52. Bob then ran it 127+ mph with a flathead at the lakes and B-Ville when it was orange with a white top. Next long-time Prowlers historian Andy Bekich got it when in high school, dropped in a DeSoto Hemi, painted it a candy-like Ruby Maroon, and got it on the cover of a memorable "little" Car Craft, Apr. '59. After storing it 20 years, he "updated" it in the early '80s, drove it another 20-some years, then sold it at the '09 auction. I got plenty of stories and photos from both Stewart and Bekich when I included this car in my book Lost Hot Rods II.
    Pat Ganahl
     
  15. Thanks Pat...a little history is great especially when it comes from you!!!!!!!!!
    an 83 yr old Hamber,Bob
     
    KKrod, Hotdoggin DaddyO and kiwijeff like this.
  16. flamingokid
    Joined: Jan 5, 2005
    Posts: 2,200

    flamingokid
    Member

    I'd change the wheels and leave the rest of it alone.I think that any other changes would come slowly and after much consideration.
     
  17. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    Of course the best/worst example is what happened to Grabowski's Kookie Kar after he sold it.
     
    wbrw32 likes this.
  18. Corn Fed
    Joined: May 16, 2002
    Posts: 3,278

    Corn Fed
    Member

    It may have been changed from how it looked in the 50's. But at least it didnt get totally 90's smoothy with hidden hinges and other body mods. It could easily be put back.
     
    Squablow likes this.
  19. If you squint your eyes, you can almost see it in all of its circa 1959 glory! :D ...

    Bob Stewart Deuce Vicky.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2017
  20. change is good and inevitable. making or adding to the history of a car is a good thing. my dad kept making changes to the hot rod, i made changes to it when he passed it down to me and we have since took it back to what his next change/upgrade may have been.......of course with a few minor upgrades sprinkled in.
    it could always be changed back or moved forward.
     
    Kan Kustom likes this.
  21. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I'm one of the guilty for constantly changing my ride. One reason it never got totally finished.
    Still it wouldn't be hard to bring back the spirit of the original build while leaving some of the updates that came along the way. If it still has the Desoto Hemi that isn't a bad thing. Wheels are made to be unbolted and a wheel swap is probably a 30 minute deal after coming up with the right wheel tire combo. Hell have two or three sets of wheels and tires to fit the mood or the event or the length of the road trip. Many of us have walked though a Billetproof event and seen a highboy roadster with bias tires, steelies and caps that a couple of weeks earlier had a set of designer billets and radials at a Goodguys event.
    All the same that's a great looking car with a great stance and I hope who ever bought it at the auction didn't make wholesale changes in the wrong direction with it.
     
    Roadster pu 1929 likes this.
  22. PRB
    Joined: Sep 15, 2011
    Posts: 147

    PRB
    Member
    from Az

    Great Rod and fine story. Going back is still an 'update' so to hell with it you've satisfied everybody here.
    I like the original early look anyway...those modern spokes look like crap.
    Lol...'Bean Bandits' is a great handle for a club...nowadays you'd hurt someone's feelings lol.
     
  23. A Boner
    Joined: Dec 25, 2004
    Posts: 7,419

    A Boner
    Member

    ^ Probably shitcan the spare tire too!
     
  24. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    How come the car looks like it's from Canada in a south park episode?
     
    tfeverfred and Squablow like this.
  25. Hendee
    Joined: Sep 12, 2009
    Posts: 158

    Hendee
    Member

    It would be great to know what has transpired with this one between 2009 and now. As most have said, it sure wouldn't seem hard to go "out with the new and in with the old" to get this one back closer to its past look. No matter, it's still a great looking Vicky with a sweet period chop.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  26. CBurne7
    Joined: Nov 27, 2014
    Posts: 188

    CBurne7

    Everything in life is just a series of pendulum swings. Right now, people's tastes in older cars are swinging towards tradition, but with time I'm sure it'll be back the other way. There will always be people on both sides too.
     
  27. :cool:Certainly I have changed my point of view over the years. I look at what I built in the late 60's and think really! Then in the 70's I built a sedan and put an automatic in it.:eek: Now that I am almost 70 my view is traditional all the way. In fact I am going to start a thread on "Things That Will Never Be On My Hot Rod" I do not profess to know what is correct but this is Hot Rodding so it is about individuality. But remember Back in the 40's and 50's not as much was available. To me that was a good thing!
     
    tfeverfred likes this.
  28. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    Racers, hot rodders, and customizers were always changing things to be faster or cooler. If you just want a slice of life, freeze frame your build / car like it appeared / might have been on a specific date. Dull, but correct? Gary
     
  29. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    During Super-bowl half-time, I picked up my new (to me) September 1948 issue of Hot Rod (a re-pop) that I got at the Ground Hog Gala yesterday. I got it mostly because that's the year and month of my birth. Hot Rod and I go way back, by luck or happenstance. Anywho, attached is one interesting letter to the editor I scanned for you, especially RE the disc brake question and the name of the fellow who submitted it. It's 1948, remember. Also in that issue, other interesting articles and advertisements, including a write-up on a 3 wheeled car and a front wheel drive race car. The new track record holder at Winchester, Dick Frazier, made the cover in his flathead powered T roadster - no roll bar, no gloves and a spiffy looking wrist watch. Another oval track photo shows a young and slim Andy Granatelli racing at Soldiers Field, Chicago. Just saying... Gary
    sep1948HotRod003a.jpg
     

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