Does anyone have any pics of any cool cars with roof racks? (I'm considering putting one on a "mild" late '50's custom, also considered making my own for quite some time too, but that's another post,). I don't know if I've ever actually filled my trunk, but it seems like putting a surfboard on top of a late '50's custom would be pretty solid... Or a Christmas tree, or a snowboard, or ..? Something? Anyways, roof-racks on cars that aren't wagons is the pic request, iffin' ya please.
If my car has a surfboard on the roof I’m either going to or coming back from surfing. I don’t get the whole posing thing. But do your thing with your “mild custom” with roof rack......
When you get the roof rack mounted on your "custom" don't forget the lighted mud flaps, coon tails and fuzzy dice. Got to complete the "look".
I started out as a VW guy. Roofracks are a big part of that scene and I feel like they work there. This is a hot rod forum and I feel like roof racks arent for hot rods. Theyre for grocery getters and family cars.
I run roof racks on my O/T cars. Wouldnt be caught dead without one. In Colorado, you are "Naked" without a roof rack. I need to find one for my '55. Cars just look weird without them.
I must be getting old! Because roof racks are kind of growing on me, granted they make a hot rod look like a fish outa water but on the right car............ Unrelated but I also would like to see more wood bed rails on older trucks.
C'mon man ... Not even Gidget (the real one) mucked up her car with a rack. Photo from 1957. Don't be a kook.
And there it is, one of the strangest threads to hit the HAMB! There is Nothing Hot Rod or Custom about a roof rack! Period.
Hello, Ever since the need arose during our surfing days, a roof rack was always the answer to most cars or hot rods. Of course, my first 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery could not use surf racks due to the way the sedan delivery roof and side panels were designed. We tried two rack in front, but the 45-50 lbs. longboards even tied to the rear closing door slid back and forth. So, no roof rack for the sedan delivery. Most early roof racks had minimal rubber protection on the rain gutter mounts. We never put on any racks on top of the 1958 Impala. Then over the years, the companies made thick rubber coated rack mounts that fit perfectly in any rain gutter and did not scratch. The top crossbars were left off for the surfer/camper to create his/her own design. The flat pieces of wood did a great job, as long as they were protected with some fabric, like carpeting. But, most surfers put their surfboards wax side down to keep the fins sticking out in the air near the rear of the car. So, those carpet pieces were changed plenty of times to keep the boards or other uses of the racks clean. If the first board were put on the carpet covered cross bar, then the others could fit as needed. A towel would keep the wax from getting on the bottom of the second board. What about the suction cup racks? The suction cup racks gave protection to the paint surfaces, but eventually left a ring around the position of the cups. You could not leave the racks on the roof for long periods of time. The rope and clip securing the suction cup racks were not the most efficient and those tended to fly off at freeway speeds, with the boards still attached. Those definitely were “cheapy” model racks. The ones we took to Kauai for the summer were cast aluminum with a 125 lb weight limit. They were separate items and fit nicely in our small suitcases. When we got to Kauai, we went to the hardware store for a couple of 2x3 oak planks for a custom width rack cross bar to fit the 1962 rambler 4 door sedan. We custom measured and cut the oak lumber bars to fit the width of the roof top. Not, it was good to hold 4 to 8 surfboards. The 1969 surfboards were considerably lighter in weight than the 1960 longboards, so the rack should hold a car load of people and the requisite number of surfboards. Jnaki The maximum number of boards we had at one time was 6, from 6’8” to 9’10” long. Plus the 6 people inside and a trunk full of supplies for an all day beach surf exploration road trip across the island. The one thing we were very careful about was to keep the sand from the boards after the end of the day. That way, nothing was going to scratch the cars paint surface. When we left after 30 days in paradise, we gave our share of the rambler and the custom racks to the owner of the house. He kept the car there for the next several years. The cast aluminum rack supports never rusted and were easily taken off for a normal style cruiser. Be careful of steel racks with rubber, (even painted steel racks) as salt air will attack bare steel poking past the rubber protection and they will rust in the rain gutter when left outside to the elements. As placing surfboards fin back or first, the idea is streamlining as much as possible. With the fins back, the curved nose area helps direct the oncoming air up and over the obstructions. The fin first creates a different air pattern around all of the different fins directing the wind, every which way. The photo above was taken after we just got back from a short drive to the Hanalei Pier/Rivermouth area. It was an all morning surf adventure with overhead waves. But, we were in a hurry to get back home for lunch and a nap. So, to head off the complaints about surfboards neatly stacked on the rack, we were in a hurry. The afternoon glass off waves sometimes gave us another session in the water until dinner time. It was only a few blocks to the river mouth surf spot. Racks help out the space starved coupes and sedans. They are good for extra stuff, but does everyone need to carry that much stuff if you are just going on a vacation?