History Feeling Nostalgic about Nostalgia or remembering the Traditional hot rod boom of the 90's

I was driving this in 1984. I did't think it was traditional just a fun hot rod.

 

I drove my below-standard, primered 50 chevy delivery to Goodguys Puyallup Washington in the late 90s and parked it in a row of early 50s chevys, all painted and chromed with graphics and billet parts. I was a little embarrassed but I'd put all my $$$ in the 406 SBC, big clutch and 4 speed. It ran like stink! I walked around to see a line up of cars from the Tie Rods car club and their cars were unpainted, un-chromed with all early parts...most of em in primer and some with 30s original paint! First time I'd ever seen this and afterward I felt just fine about my car.

 

In my mind there are two kinds of traditional. One is trying to do it with the exact same parts, techniques, styles as a " period correct " era. Then there is " practical traditional " ...building a cool hotrod with junkyard parts, a grinder, a welder, a drillpress YOUR OWN IDEAS....I like both but the latter more!..

 

As time goes by, it is easy to go back and see the trends you didn`t like. But as it happen, not so much. It is easy to back in time and see the stupid things you did, but as it happens, not so much. As in, why did I do that.

 

I just received an E-mail from a bud about the 65 years of hotrod mag show where they cover cars on display. Pretty kool. Sorry if this has been posted before I didn't see it.

 

I just received an E-mail from a bud & he sent this me. youtube.com/embed/AFKtlu-zL-w
Sorry if this has been posted before as I never saw it.

 

I don't know how we started talking about the 90's street rods.

I am talking about the Hot Rod revival.


These cars were home built raw, aggressive, and they all looked different, and kept the spirit of the original hot rods.
Somehow some were the street rod attitude crept in.

 

I’m 66 this year and remember the excitement of the traditional revolution. Much of it was expressed here on the H.A.M.B. at the turn of the century. I jumped in head first viewing homebuilt cars by mostly young and frugal people as a way to express their displeasure of the expensive street rod craze.
Those cars stood out in the sea of Easter eggs. Creativity abound. We couldn’t wait to view every aspect of each car. You seen some cars that I believe actually started the rat car theme. But those too were refreshingly different at the time.
Times change. It’ll be interesting to hear this group on the H.A.M.B. in 20 yrs. I hope I’m around to witness it.

 

Give me the old home built hotrod! Like said before, what you could scrape together, weld on, grind on, drill holes in, and fire up that engine you built yourself with parts you have collected and set back on shelves knowing someday I'll use it. Might not be the prettiest or the most looked at but it was yours and you built it and damn proud of it. Get in and drive it like you stole it!!!!

 

I grew up with Street Rods in the family,
Dads were always really shiny and too pricey for me to even
consider owning one myself. I did buy a stocker '50 Chevy the first summer outta high school ('82)
Dad gave her a sweet paint job after a few fender benders.



Then I moved, got a job and dove a Toyota for years. Never thought I could afford a super nice car, always thinking of the past and what I was around growing up.
Then, 1997, the Billetproof car show happened.
Thats when I realized I didn't need a car with a $10,000 dollar paint job to fit in.
Primer was fine and unfinished projects were cool!

So I bought a '54 F-100, cheap, already lowered, just did a few things to make it mine,
wheels, tires, paint...but the thing was, I didn't "build it".

Sold that and bought a '53 Chevy 210, nice one, already lowered, just put on new wheels and tires,
pretty much just drove it. Didn't "build it".



Both neat cars, but I never felt good, or had pride knowing I didn't
put in the work and time to say "I built that".
Then in 2015 I went to the Race of Gentlemen. Changed my mind again on the hobby.
Bought a stock '31 Model A Roadster, tore it apart, hopped her up, lowered it, chopped it,
made parts, bought old and new parts. Made it mine.



"I" did all the work, just me, what a feeling to tell people when they ask about it,
that I did all the work to make it look like she does.
And it all cost less that most paint jobs I see at shows.

Now I get it.

 

Nostalgic for the 90's. Interesting. I'm 77, hot rodding since the late 50's which I thought were the "traditional" years. Sure, some rodders had there cars built in professional shops then, but they were the exception. Yes, we did have some work outsourced------upholstery, maybe exhaust or paint---but the core of the build we did ourselves.

Just let my decades long subscription to "Street Rodder" lapse because it is now filled with "checkbook builds". Thank goodness for HAMB where the "how to" knowledge and questions still are the driving force.

 

My god...I've been outta high school 25yrs this year. I remember reading about the hot rod shows out west around that time. I built my flatty Merc powered T bucket in '99-'00 and never looked back.

 

Ain't that the truth.

 

I'd have to say that the resurgence of "traditional" hot rods or even customs had a lot to do with guys like me who just flat got tired of every thing we did on our cars or bought for our cars being "dated" or out of vogue by the time we got the ride on the road or went to a major event while those "old hot rods" that had been around basically unchanged for years with the finned cast valve covers, dropped I beam and steel wheels or 35 wires and looked just like the cars we remembered falling in love with when we bought one of the little books for a quarter or absorbed the black and white rotogravure pages of Hot Rod when we were young. You didn't have to buys a new set of wheels and tires every year because the ones you had were now obsolete. You didn't have to change valve covers because your were now dated but instead hunted yard sales and swap meets and friend's back shelves for those old cast finned ones that had been collecting dust because they were what you fell in love with. I just sold a set of Edelebrock Elite big block valve covers that I bought for my truck when they were just out on the market and I was working in a parts house that was also the regional speed shop. I saw them in a magazine, ordered them and never put them on and they became dated in a year or two or became a belly button part. I was broker than a church mouse for the next ten years and the big block never got built. They got dated before I even got a chance to put them on.
A few years of not doing anything hot rod wise and only going to local shows as a spectator with his camera if even that and I started seeing more cars built the way I remembered them when I was a kid. All the sudden I decided that I could build my 48 with a look that didn't show the world it was built in 2004 when I rolled into an event in 2008. think about it, you can look at some of those unchanged since they were first built street rods and by the paint and wheels tell yourself the year they were built within a year or so of hitting it spot on. On the other hand look over at that well finished traditional hot rod and you can't tell if it was a fresh build that was on it's first year out after being built or that it had been built a number of years ago and well kept unless you really check the details and you might miss then.
While no doubt there will always be those gotta have the latest and trickest piece and the high end paint and interior street rods (that keep some of our members with rod shops in business and provide the funds for their kids college education) traditional rods aren't going to fade into oblivion. We have discovered that we don't have to tear it down after the last show of the season and redo everything so it will be "fresh" for the next season. We can fix a few things that need fixing, make it a bit more driveable in some cases as all the sudden we decide that we want to go further down the road to events that we only read about. Those 4.11 gears were great when we only went to local shows and out to the drags a couple of times a year but sure suck when we look at how many miles it is to Bonneville from the house or how many miles it is from home to Austin for Roundup or that other event 3 states away that we always wanted to go to. Add to that since we did't put out 4 k for a set of bigger wheels and lower profile tires like that street rodder who shows up at cars and coffee with different stuff every few months we have some coin in the kitty for a road trip.
I don't think traditional is going away any time soon. Some of the cars might get more fit and finish as guys skills improve or they just decide that they need to do something before the car falls apart and some will deteriorate a bit more every year as their owners brag about the "great patina" that you can now see though in places but enough guys have come to the conclusion that not worrying about having the latest trick wheels, valve covers or injection system that Street Rodder magazine is pushing this month is a lot less stress in life. We will just stress over finding a set of Strombergs that actually match.

 

Now that more guys want the old parts the prices have gone through the roof. Simply supply and demand. The fancy new wheels are alot cheaper than a set of real deal magnesium wheels. Old speed parts are also big money. The days of putting a car together with cool old speed parts on the cheap are over.

 

Racerx you sure got that right. The price of some of this stuff is right down crazy. As far as doing everything yourself, if you can't do it, learn! When your on a budget, you learn how to do. That's how I did it, I built my first chassis, body work, and everything else when I started drag racing. That's the only way I could afford it. It might of not matched up to some pro built cars but I kept getting better as I went along. I never worry about using that new and latest stuff, when people were buying weld wheels, I was polishing on an old set of centerlines. Build it the best you can and be proud you done it yourself.

 

You guys hit the nail right on the head in regards to prices and old speed equipment and such. I find as years go by I'm finding less people selling old parts when I go to swap meets preferring to keep them. Let's face it, I think we all have sold something we later regretted letting go. As I look around the walls of my garage I guess I'm guilty of hanging on to certain parts as well. I went to a garage sale years ago where I bought a 56 ford truck grille with intention of flipping it and it never left the garage and most likely has a permanent home on the wall.

 

In the early ‘70s my Dad and I joined the NSRA ; I was told to eliminate my single master cylinder and upgrade a boatload of other stuff to “make” my 3W acceptable. Guys were constantly telling me to unchannel my rod. This persisted thru the ‘80s and ‘90s... When the new wave of Shifters, Choppers, et all “discovered “ old time rods, I thought I was back in style... only to be constantly told to repaint my rod black, maroon or primer and to pull my mouse and go back to a flatty or an Olds. Oh well i’m still wailn’ away on my old orange stagger head Chevy powered buckboard, and she’s still just as much fun. Never have tried to “fit” the trend!

 

I was never really into the street rod type cars, and not the style of most of them in the 90s like has been mentioned . When I got back into hotrods in the late 90s after playing with a monster truck for 15 years, I was just going to build a raw bare bones T bucket. Then I found my 60s model A drag coupe that was left for dead, or destined to become another street rod and never looked back. I put the car back to they way it was raced in the 60s, only faster and safer. I do not give a damn about trends or fancy mega buck rods, however they have their place as well. I guess the other pay off is, my very uncivilized drag coupe gets more attention then any new performance car, and it scares the hell out of those guys LOL.

 

This shit hasn't changed. We have. I scrounged and traded and learned my way into this the same way we all have. I felt I was onto something special when everyone else was modding their Mustangs or Hondas and I was hunting down caddy or hemi stuff with a Mean model A in mind. I had no money but still found the rare shit tucked away for a few bucks. I was young and hungry. And metal finished was always cool. Doesn't cost a dime more but pretty neat to pull off. To this day, I'll go out bashing around the town with MR. FORD in his coupe having more fun than we should and wherever we go I'm proud of these cars. Yeah I painted mine but there aint no $$$ in it. MR. FORDs is still in all it's bare metal glory and looks awesome and there aint no $$$ in it either. Just the time and passion to make it happen when we didn't have the means to.

There are some teenagers and twenty-somethings out there that are about to go thru all this. I even see some around and it's neat. That nostalgic "it-used-to-be-cooler" thing is theirs now. We just have to make what we do have as fun as possible.

Whatever you're working on- Don't compromise.

Drive em fun. Drive em fast.

Don't get too serious. About anything.

 

Yea. If you make them to nice ,they are not fun anymore.

 

I totally street rodded a 36 5 window back in the late 80's early 90's. 84 corvette red (what a nasty color), enkei wheels, white letter T/A's, glass roof insert, velour seats, Stereo in the glove box, oak gauge cluster, SBC with a couple of 4 bbls and a powerglide.

I blame ZZ Top and whoever invented the mullet for my poor decision making at the time.

 

It was Joe Dirt!

 

Anyone can write a check. For me and my Buddies, it’s only about what you can build. My stuff doesn’t have high dollar paint or the latest speed goodies, but at least I BUILT IT. I’ll always walk past Barrett Jackson specials to look at and talk to the guys or girls who actually built their own car. You can also tell if the guy is bullshiting you too, check his hands. Checkbooks and credit cards don’t give you calluses and stained hands.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I couldn't help but dig out a couple of picture my of my buddy's car and how the trends changed his car through time. Late seventies, early eighties to the nineties. Same car.

 

This statement is what I am talking about, when I first became interested in traditional, period correct call it what you will in the late 1990's. People would look at one others car ask questions and most important often complement each others work.
I think this came form research and knowing history, but somewere these style cars became trendy.
Because of this the lawn chair checkbook crowd jumped on board with no understanding or knowledge why their new "toys" were built to look the way they did.
Cars with the East Coast look (Channeled no Chop) suddenly became un-traditional or "wrong".
By not knowing history any car that did not have a flathead or early overhead became wrong, ironically by guys who were running disc brakes, tilt columns,A/C ect... on a "traditional" hot rod.
It was no longer cool to brag you built you car or how you met a cool old timer who helped you out finding some super rare speed parts.
It is now to cool to sit behind your "hot rod" bragging how much you spent on your Horn intake, and how many hours your painter has in body work.

 

@ramblin dan THIS , THIS right here is the perfect evolution from hot rod to pastel streetrod !!
What’s it look like now?

 

There is room in this hobby for everyone. If you don’t like a cars style walk away and don’t look at it but keep you thoughts to yourself. There is really no difference between the traditional crowd looking down their noses then the trailer queen crowd looking down their noses at the traditional crowd. We are all interested in cars. I personally don’t care about rat rods but can appreciate some of there owners ingenuity and engineering. I personally don’t get why some of the traditional crowd can’t stand duel master cylinders, disc brakes, collapsible steering columns, etc. They are safely items that could save your life. But to each his own. I don’t need anyone’s approval or permission to build what I want. If we all would concentrate on what unites us rather then what divides us the car hobby would be better for it.

 

I'll have to ask him. All I know the forty was gone one day and he came out with this. Don't know if this counts as pastel but it looks cool as hell floating down the road.

 

I really don't know, I don't go to car shows much....never really did, I only have 1 friend (since the 6th grade) and he's on here. We grew up in a town that didn't have any old car scene let alone hot rods, all the mags had lame colors, painted chrome, billet junk. But I was still cruising around my second car a '60 Elco with Moon's in '93 (after high school) because of the little books and I thought we were in the know when everyone else was missing out. My Elco was a pile and so was my friends but we loved them. We were totally isolated (by location and choice), so no making connections to score parts.....it was working, getting paid and looking at the Recycler paper (pre Craigslist). We even would drive out to Corona (40 miles away) to get the paper for out there because parts where cheaper. I really didn't see more of a car scene but just a scene in general (clothes and hair), we built his Model A in '95-'96, went to Viva and that's where the scenesters were.

Just like anything the "trend" has become high dollar and name dropping. But it still doesn't effect me, I don't really go to shows (without a swapmeet), I'm proud of what I build, I'm my own worst critique, I'm on here because of like minded people. I've gotten older, life is getting in the way more, body parts are wearing out, but the fire is still there.

BTW, the pastel shit is why I hated street rods and couldn't look past it until my friend got his A, we think a like, never fit in with trends or others (until here....sorta ).....slightly modified, but mostly stock looking is our motto. He always got stuff first so here is his Elco in the early 90's and his A at Viva.





Nothing is going to be the same as when you were young, dumb, hungry and broke.