History PreWar, PostWar, Late 50s or Early 60s?

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

PreWar, PostWar, Late 50s or Early 60s?

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I really like them all but at the same time I see my tastes evolving somewhat.
when I started driving in the mid seventies all my car cars were old cars,
nothing newer than from the early sixties.
somewhere along the way I started to do more than put them back in reliable condition
and began doing things to improve looks or performance,
but the cars were primarily still from the same early sixties and fifties.

in the last fifteen or twenty years a few late twenties and early thirties cars started to happen in my garage.
still built to the same late fifties and early sixties style.

lately I have the inclination to build a prewar hot rod.
maybe because of the Caddy flathead in my shop now.
I can see another T roadster in my future,
little car, big flathead, open wheel and just a bit rough around the edges

 

I liked the tight sweaters on the girls,,,,

Now back to our show,,,,, I like what I can't afford,, 32's with full house flaties,,
Land speed chopped coupes with set back engines,,,

But lately I am admiring roadsters with Y Block's because I have come to love the exhaust sounds.
Bangers are great in T's but once you move into A's and later they need a V-8
Solids over wires,,,
Caps with rings,,,

 

My tastes have changed over the past decade...I was really into 'big' cars such as 58'-60' Thunderbirds for the 'cruising' style of long-&-low. But, these past 10 years, I've really been leaning towards the ''pre-war'' models...I agree, the 50's were a bit hard to ''pin down'' to a certain style, but....simple, iconic, and a style that signifies a period that fits my personality (growing nostalgic with age I suppose)......I have pretty much quit the 'speed' stuff I was into, driving fast, etc...etc ...(4-bangers have lately made me interested also).......now liking the simple cruise, with the bare basics...yet with a real style that ALWAYS turns heads and gets people slowing down and waving. I drive 55mph these days (if that), and enjoy playing with nostalgia and ''old time'' fun-----------------pic posted, (the Lazy 8) ''EXACTLY'' fits my direction I want to go... ......totally love this car....which will be very similar to my ''last and final'' project.......I just wanna drive em' now

 

Back in the 60's and 70's there was a time I wouldn't look twice at a custom 60's car.
Too over the top. There was a time I also preferred cars with integral headlights. I couldn't even tell the difference between a Model A and a 32.
It was all about muscle cars in those days. Now my preference goes to prewar cars. Its my affliction with history in many forms and I've come to the realization that I've overlooked the most important part of hotrodding.

 

I like all of those build eras as long as the build is really true to the era. Never-updated survivors are great, even if they weren't the highest quality or most tastefully done, they're great because they're the real thing. And new builds that really strive to hit a target date are equally great to me, whether that target date is 1948 or 1963 or whatever.

I guess I like every period mentioned, as long as the car is true to it's period. Accuracy beats all.

 

late fifties. lots of chrome details, better motor choices. i like the cars that weren't just stripped down. give me the full fender, bumper, trim, comfortable plush interiors etc.......

 

Like my tag line says, I got bit in '64... have always been drawn to rods built from about '61 to'67. Have my dad's '30 roadster with '35 wires and a Winfield cam , but dang it she's just to slow! Burned out on building up (and blowing up) flatty's in the '70's so that ship kinda sailed , too. So for me I'll stick to stagger head Chevys stuffed in old Fords with 4 speeds, and mag Americans... like this one :

439919.jpg by bowie posted Jan 13, 2013 at 8:24 PM

 

I am still stuck in the '60s and for me that pretty much means performance is the number one goal.

That is not to say that cars all the way back to before depression era cars don't interest me. I am just not likely to build myself anything other than a '60s style car. I can't really land on a year I would guess anything between '58 and '68 as far as build style is concerned.

It is funny a few years back we took stock of the cars that we have owned and driven, most of those cars were built before '68 and the majority of those cars were built (manufactured) between '54 and '64.

By the way @Jive-Bomber good read clean and to the point.

 

For me its post-war into the mid-to-late 50's. Say '49-'59...the emergence of the OHV, but cars still built with form following function...

To me, post-'59 is when it become more about aesthetics than mechanics...

 

My '51 shoebox is fairly heavily customized roughly the way it might have been done in the early '60s and no visible parts are newer than '64; my '41 coupe will be styled in the spirit of an early '50s tail dragger.

For a lot of us, period correct or period perfect is not realistic or even desirable. I don't have the disposable income to throw away to be period perfect, and I don't live in a place where there are a lot of like-minded enthusiasts, cars or parts to choose from, so I'll try to stay in the spirit, if not the actual execution, and stay within my financial means. I'd love some 16" Lyons hubcaps for my '41, but I've never even seen a set for sale in person let alone be able to afford them if I had.

 

Pre War and Post War my favorites.

 

Pre war and immediate post war are what I lean towards. The whole goal was to go fast (mostly) and guys were still trying to figure out what worked and what didnt. To me that was the "wild west" of hotrodding.


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If I could live or relive a time in history. It would be from 1955 to 1965. The Hot Rods, the styling of the new cars, music and dress were just the best at that time.{ my opinion} My parents Took me to the 64- 65 worlds fair. I loved the bubble top concept cars of the future. The Beach Boys, pony tails, Hot Rod shows at those old armory's,and road trips with the family. A very Cool time in our History. Where were you in 62? lol Ron...

 

I'm now in the process of building from memory a 27 T Tudor Sedan that ran around when I was a teen in the early 50's. So I am trying to use only the stuff that was available back then: wire wheels, split wishbones, flatty, banjo rear, you know whatever you could get from the junk yard or make from available materials. I know it sounds kinda old school but for a 77 year old its a journey. Bear in mind that the wheels are borrowed just to get it moblile and the alternator has to go...This is what I've got do far:

 

Late 50's early 60's fror me.
Late 50's
Early 60's

 

I too like true vintage rods from 28 to 34, flattie preferred!

 

Early 1960's for me, found my old Hot Rod body in 1962, goal is to build the car I could have back then. Bobbed rear fenders, cycles on the front, 354 HEMI, on '32 rails. Bob

 

Got my license in '64 so I guess I'm most happy with early ford hotrods. I got over flatheads in '66. My car is a 34 [changed to a 33] ford coupe with a built 57 Pontiac engine, 67 GM Muncie 4 speed and open wheels. Just like I wanted to build after getting out of high school but uncle Sam had another plan for me. Wheels are widened 53-56 Chrysler wires. The quick change was beyond most of us financially and mine is the late model style but I always wanted one.
I vote for late 50s-early 60s hot rods.

 

My favorite era is brillantly shown in the book The Birth Of Hot Rodding. That would be the late 1940s.

With my current build of a 28 roadster on deuce rails, we're shootin for fall 1951.

 

I'm solidly in the 60s. Actually all the way to 1970, in my viewpoint, not much change took place. The process used became easier, more affordable tech, old ideas were executed better. Just breeze through a 67-69 HRM and you can see it. Just before the popularity of Truspokes and tires out past the fender edge. I'm not shy to point out that some customs (kustoms) were bordering on and even truly terrible. It seemed that shock and awe was the order of the era and the number of mods made a winner. Hot rods? Hey, we had engines under the hoods of "store bought" cars that could outrun the old stuff with a visit to the scrap yard. Imagine a 550 HP Caddy instead of that 300 HP early version. Heaven on earth! Big Olds, Buick, and yes, the inimitable BBC too. You HEMI freaks? You got a 426 that was docile enough to run on the street as of 1968-69. Still the style that brought that warm smile from inside and reminded us all who we really are was still there. Smog, music (?), and the rear engine dragster picked up the hammer and began to nail shut the coffin for the old guard. The beloved Funnycar got a whole body shell and sent the altered wheelbase cars packing. Even the evil AA/FA was leaving the scene. Within a decade we had easter eggs, billet, tweed and more. Or actually in our world less. Those are my thoughts, yours may surely vary, and that too went the way of the cheater slick and gave a world of same/same and even worse posers trying to look like it.

 

I like all the eras. My car is a mixture of some elements from 50's-60's. I don't mind mixing the genres because I'm builing it for myself. I love the period correct builds, but when it comes to my own stuff, I'm not hardcore.
My 40 has the patina thing going on (modern) wheels and tires say 40's-50's, SBC and lake pipes say 60's.
I dig it.

 

Im 29 Years old, and get told all the time I grew up in the wrong era. I listen to Chuck Berry Radio on Pandora, love all the old rock stuff, I Don't Like cars newer than 1960, I love Fuel injection since I build wiring harnesses and do Tuning for a living. But My favorite engine of all time is the Flathead, I dig Big ass old 4 doors, Love me a chopped/ Channeled uncomfortable as hell to drive, but look cool as hell Coupes and 30's era stuff. I would say the Mid to Late 50's builds are my favorite, I love a good Ol Survivor. One of my favorite cars we have is a 1923 Buick Touring car that is totally unrestored original we cruise it around at the Local shows and a Local Threshing Bee. My all time Dream car is a 29 Model A Roadster on a 32 Frame with a Big stroker Flatty, 39 Top Loader, Quick Change out back on 40 Ford Wheels 7.50 rear 5.50 Front Hallock windshield. I wish I had grown up in the 50's, the only thing I would miss is the whole EFI tuning thing.

 

For me its the mid 50:s thats are best. Say 53-56.
The hotrods start to really looking great without to much gimicks.
The customs where still nice built without to look like cirkuswagons.
Even stock factory cars still looks great and got ohv V8 power during this era.

 

Tried for early 1950's poorboy-kids car

 

Pre war for me. All day long. 4 cylinders and tall wires. A '28 A phaeton and a '28 Chevy coupe would keep me happy for a long time. What a year...


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50's and early 60's rock and roll period before the Beatles and that crap....that's when I grew up, in that period and it was sweet. All the cars were cool even the factory stockers that changed drastically from year to year.
I built what would have been a high school kids mid/late 50's rod. What I wished I'd of had.

 

Pre-war is where it's at. That is how hotrodding should be defined. Cheap and simple fundamentals of hotrodding. These cars are timeless and can be agreed upon by all walks of life as cool.

However, I think we all know we owe our hobbies' livelihood and existence to the post war cars and builders that really grabbed the world by the jewels and entered into the world of organized racing. Without these guys I'm not sure the gasser or muscle car era would have existed to the extent that it did

 

My 1936 Dodge will be built to the flavor of what was cool in the early fifties. I will be running a late forties Ford split wishbone with a extended bell 331 Hemi. I can't wait to quit gathering parts and get moving along with it.

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