The Thread on Ryans editorial got me pondering another "Traditional" question. Were the Fords popular simply because of the number built and the cheap price? That's my bet. $50-$100 dollars for a Buick doesn't sound like a lot until you figure you could get the ford for $5-$25(?) and a coke was a nickle. Does that mean there weren't any hot rods built that weren't fords? I doubt it. As has been mentioned, the internet and mass media weren't the norm back then. There is a lot that made it under the radar. In my Muscle car youth (Cause these old cars were too expensive) I drove a Buick when the norm was Mustang, Chevelle, Camaro. My Father is a Buick man and that's how I was raised, so when it was time to build my first fast car, I went with what I knew. The Body had rusted off my 70's fullsize So I had a 455 under the bench. A buddy turned me on to a "60's Coupe" sitting in the corner of the grainery in his home town. It turned out to be a 67 GS-400. The price was right so I grabbed it and built it. Before you go screaming about an O/T muscle car post......turn the clock back to the late fifties/early sixties.......the body has rotted off my 55 Roadmaster and a buddy knows where there is a 1930 Buick Sport Coupe...... Who says it had to be a ford to be a hot rod. Any old timers out there have a story ?
My grandfather's favorite hot rod was his Essex (owned several T's too, apparently they could be had for the princely sum of $5). Everytime he sees my T, he goes on about that Essex. He gets a kick out of reminiscing about the old days, racing his friends around the contryside. I don't think there was too much effort put in on design. The goal was just to keep it running and be faster than his friends. Price played a major factor in what he played around with He grew up a poor farm kid. Last time I talked to him about cars he told me about an "old lady" who tried to do him a favor and sell him a pristine Model T when he was about 14 for $20 and he couldn't afford it. I wish he had pictures of all his old cars.
I preferred the GM's, Nash, Hudson, etc of the 30's to build. Reason being that the aftermarket was minimal back then and Fords handled and stopped like the pieces of shit they were. Many other makes had IFS and juice brakes as far back as the late 20's so it wasnt a lot of work to drop in a 283/327 and be on the road in no time with something that was fun and safe to drive. Those were also years I was raising a family so a big 2 or 4 dr allowed long family cruises. The two that traveled the most, up to 1500 miles one way, were a 35 Buick Series 40 2dr with 390 Cad/Hydro and a 38 Roadmaster 4 dr with a 455/TH400. That 38 was an unbelievable highway cruiser, all stock suspension with a 12 bolt rear.
well there were more fords than anything else but find me another cheap car of that era that had a prettier grille the the 32 ford. ford were cheap but they were good looking too.
The Jalopy Journal
