Folks Of Interest Are you more of a hot rod guy or a custom guy?

Oahu,

That is gorgeous,,,stops me in my tracks!!!

Tommy

 

Take a guess- The Evil Twin- original 406 3x2 car with a 427-8V, 4K converter and 5.14 gears. Ever ride in a big-block car with 5.14's? Ribbit.. Ribbit..



Then there's the Croozer Twin

 

My dad was a drag racer so I was brought up in that vein. Recently, attempting to learn about customs and build my own.

 

1964 El Camino, full house 427 with 5.38 rear gears. Nobody beat me thru an intersection when the light turned green.

 

I have given this a lot of thought and here is where I am.

• I don't drag race or street race. I do like to take trips in my cars.
• I'm probably never going to own an A or a Deuce but I like looking at them and I love fat fender and later 40's and early 50's cars. (I'm tall.)
• I like mild custom touches but I'm never going to build a full on kustom.
• I like for my cars to have traditional appearance (wheels, interior, etc). I don't like modern looking interiors in old cars.
• I don't like to look under a hood and see an LS engine, no matter how much lipstick you put on it.
• Billet stuff is used very sparingly on my cars and I prefer not at all.
• I like my engine bays to look traditional but I use engines from the 70's primarily.
• I will have OD, whether it's an automatic or a manual.
• My cars will drive and handle well and they will be lowered and have a good stance.
• I like old school painted wheels with appropriate trim, hubcaps, etc and older classic "mag" type wheels. I don't like modern billet wheels.
• I am going to have A.C. in my cars.

So where does that put me? I'm a little bit hot rod, a little bit custom and I know what I like. I just don't fit in a neat pigeon hole.

 

Definitely more of a custom guy, though I would love to add a hot rod or two to the stable before it's all said and done. I just feel like a custom car has an incredible presence about it, especially if you do it right. Among traditional rods in particular, I feel like when you're building a rod you only have a limited number of options in terms of style. A custom is a much larger blank canvas, and if it hits hard coming in low and slow, everybody stops and stares. Like walking into a party with the hottest girl on your arm.

 

For a classic juxtaposition, Hot rods are the coolest thing on the road but only if they can put up IMO. You don't have to drive them like you stole them but at least it should be an option .

My new shop truck will be a bit of a departure for me as I blend both some hot rod and custom elements into the build. I have good coaches and I'm doing a lot of research, should be cool...and hot!

 

I have one of each and i love them both, but man I really love driving my kustom shoebox

 

In the seventies I was into customs more than the hot rods as they where just to expense as I built my merc for under a thousand in 1977 and had a lot of fun with it ! Now i'm into Hot rods my 32 that I drove out to father's day show in California from North Carolina and Kustoms with my good buddies car Bob K. as I'm the caretaker now !

 

Hot Rod.

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Full disclosure, that is a photoshop project I did a few years ago. That said, if I ever had the means to build a real one I'd be on it like stank on limburger cheese.

 

I've built a number of hot rods but never a full custom. If I ever did build a custom it would look like this rendering I did for the Friday Art Show . It would take a ton of work, a lot if tin knocking and more time than I would be able to devote to it so I guess I'll just have to dream

 

I'm more a Kustoms guy.. but Hot Rods I dig also

 

I like Both, I have had both in my youth and in my adult years. Pic's in my albums. Now as a Senior/ Old Fart I still have my Mercury, If I buy one more old car (doubtful) I would lean toward a 50's/60's Resto-Mod style. I plan to finish my time left in car hobby with my OT late model cars as I don't want to work on cars much anymore, just wash, polish, minor maintenance. Some health issues have entered our lives and I/we decided on different ways to spend our time doing some of the things we never took the time for, we got the "Message" time is precious, use it wisely. Nobody is promised tomorrow !

 

if i did not have shit for brains my job would be building custom cars. i'd say I'm a custom guy.

 

With a few 32's and a 39 Mercury coupe in my garage (and plenty other 2 and 4 wheelers) it is not easy to decide. So no answer from me.

Hennie

 

If it has rounded glass it's too new for me......I like show rods, lead sleds, and customs, but just to look at.
Phil (80 and still building)

 

I would like to think............Hot Rod!!!!

 

I guess I'm a Custom guy of sorts, my ride is an O/T grocery getter with a late 60s, early 70s Trans Am car spin.
Oh yeah, I have a 50 shoebox coupe that will get the mild custom treatment.
My heart is into Hot Rods, 29-36 Ford coupes are my dream cars & have been since I was playing with Hot Wheels,
a long time ago.

 

Customs all the way. Momma said the coupe was rough on her back and backside.

 

I'm a Hot Rod guy all the way. Customs don't appeal to me at all and would much prefer how they came from the factory. On the other hand early Hot Rods do nothing for me in their stock form.

 

Hello,

My brother and I started off as a custom kids with Rod and Custom mags as well as the Hot Rod Mags. We could build model cars and slap on some paste/paper to make molded shapes for little cost. Hot rods were very strong, but in this little kid stage, it was customs. It did not hurt that there was a 56 Ford F100 custom truck sitting on the main street near our house in Long Beach. My dad and mom knew the owner and frequented his business. We knew the Candy Apple or Tahitian Red truck up close and personal because it was at our local Mobil Gas Station regularly for some addition or tune up.

My friend, the mechanic at the Mobil Gas Station, finally gave me a short ride back to the owner’s business and that was my first ride in a custom car (truck). Well before getting a ride in my friend’s 34 Ford with an Olds powered 5 window coupe years later. It was my first real education in custom cars/trucks. The mechanic friend usually pointed out some new custom stuff that was added, as well as a description that went above my head at the time.

Jnaki
A mild custom for a teenage kid with additional stuff for more power and go...



Long Beach Poly High School newspaper 1962… There was a cub reporter doing the photo and writing. He had no idea of hot rods or custom cars. He did not listen to my facts about what was on the car and only wrote what he thought was correct. So much for accurate newspaper reporting. What high school teenager could afford a B&M Hydro and Magnesium wheels? We did what we could with what money was available. But, time was the problem point. How to work around the need for a daily driver, when a big custom touch or addition was going to be installed over several days?


Since we grew up in So Cal with the custom car shows and cruisers, as well as hot rods and drag racing. Seeing all of these cars in the numerous car shows in LA and Long Beach gave us plenty of ideas. We were able to draw and emulate if we could, the custom ideas for our own cars as teenagers. Some of those ideas were very cool and would have looked good on our cars. But, there was one item that looked cool, stylish and innovative. That was the disappearing radio antenna.

The one item we did not like on the black 1958 Impala were the angled rear antennas on the fender surfaces. My brother and I had our friend’s mechanic/body repair guy do some work and removed those antennas. He filled the remaining holes with his old school “lead” work and matched the black paint perfectly. When that was finished, he drilled a hole the right front fender for us to install a disappearing antenna for a custom look. (We couldn't see ourselves drilling such a big hole.)

The question we had after looking at those cool custom “frenched” antennas was, how does rain or water drain out of the deep hole? There was no pinhole at the bottom, just the sealed disappearing antenna.

So, inquiring minds would like to know…

 

I like hotrods....

 

Custom guy here. 1961 in high school and was hanging out at the towns custom car build shop. I got to go to the Detroit Custom Car show at COBO hall and was hooked.

 

Actually, neither one. I like street sleepers; highly modified, but appear stock.

Off-topic (somewhat too new) USA car original 200 HP->450, original weight 3450->2750. Other performance and safety modifications.

Jon.

 

I'm with CarbKing....hence, The Judge..
https://49fordcoupe.smugmug.com/The-Car/i-LsNHXg8/A

 

Am I more of a hot rod or custom guy?

Based on preferences?
Yes!

Based on what I've built?
I don't know.
I'll let you know if and when I finish this '53 Chrysler.
Custom hot rod?
Hot rodded custom?
We'll see how badly I can blur the line.


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I am a full on hot rodder (as if I needed to say that). I have always been a form follows function guy.

that said and to quote my Ol' Man, "All hot rods are custom, but not all customs are hot rods."

 

Those are all the things I like! And it doesn't even need to be fast. If it can do 65 comfortably that's all I ever need. I've got one hot rod and I like to look at it but that's about it. If someone out there wants to trade me a canted quad, toothy grille'd taildragger for it I'd probably do it.

 

Squablow, I'm gonna go out and get a canted quad toothy grilled taildragger to trade for your roadster.
I wish

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