Hot Rods There are no rules in building Hot Rods

I reiterate, "There are no rules in building a hot rod" but if you are building a traditional hot rod and sharing it on the hamb there ARE rules on this site.

As far as the old hamb verses the so called new hamb the only real difference is it's more focused and the rules are pretty much the same as they always have been, just enforced more. HRP

 

There are rules, some folks are just oblivious to them.

 

Plymouth in a Plymouth. Time tested.

 

<<<< It's a '66 Mopar 361 that will be disguised as an early 60's one, currently thinking about making it look like a
Golden Lion engine. It's going into a 27 Model T roadster.

IMG_3456 (1) by rjgideon posted Sep 11, 2020 at 9:53 AM

IMG_3436 by rjgideon posted Sep 11, 2020 at 9:53 AM

 

It's just disappointing to learn this isn't a hot rod:

 

Hot AF to me

 

Not a HAMB "rule", but certainly, as the math teachers would say, a "given", no matter how one words an engine choice thread, what choices he is considering, before it's over, some Chebbrainwashed will throw out "put a Chebbie in it!"

 

LMAO
Bad Chad is a few hundred miles north of us, up in Canada...but there's definitely been a "trickle down" effect.

 

Have just one rule. "No Chevy shit"
No small block
No 700r4
No S10 NWC T5
No wood filled bodies.It's all junk. Yuck!

 

I'm becoming a firm believer in run what you can afford. That sure isn't a V8 flathead as I have more tied up in that engine than I had in my whole 48 Chev truck in 1982 even when you calculate the 82 dollars into 2021 dollars., Then again I have spent a ton of money on the 292 that is going into the 48 and that engine was given to me.

The 48 gets the 292 with a lot of polished cast finned aluminum decoration on it.
The boat tail race car thingie on a 28/32 or so Chevy chassis with a mix match of body parts gets the Flathead Ford Six that Rob over in Tacoma gave me years ago unless it has fatal issues inside. Then it could get the 8-BA that was going into the 31 Vic I sold that is still waiting for a new home for it to be hauled into the yard. Or the V8 might go in the 27 T that My son and I accumulated parts for over the years.

With the bit of engine work planned for the 292 it should be able to run with the big dogs out on the long roads all day long and show a lot of them the way home. It might even be able to make a respectable pass through the quarter.

I've got other engines out in the shed but they may be headed to the swapmeets when they open up to help finance the truck.

 

LOL there is a rule to building a hot rod that is very very important. "MAKE IT FAST!!!!!!!"

Sorry I just could not resist.

Almost everything I have built for myself since the early '90s has had an SBC. The Timex has been in several some of them mine and some not. I screwed an FE together for my '64 Galaxie.

I did build a Boss clone for a friends Chevy. He was a Ford man and had a slick OT Chevy body. I hate to admit it but it seemed like a good idea to me.

 

Any build I do for myself has always had a rule to just make it a driver I can enjoy. My current 37 and 56 Chevy's both have the popular SB 350. Years ago in one of my 37's I used a 292 truck 6cyl. While it performed well and was certainly different, it did have some effect when I decided to sell the car.
For a more modern Custom Wagon conversion I built, it runs the original factory V-6 fuel injected engine.
The current 60's Wagon project that I have converted to a 2door with some Nomad influence originally was a running 283 factory air car. One of my considerations for an engine choice is to simply freshen up the 283 and keep it in the car.

 

The only rule I believe in is engine in front of the transmission in front of the drive axle. I know that there are front wheel and all wheel drive cars a lot faster than mine, but I cannot wrap my mind around them. My best friends son ran a sub 10 sec Acura, but I grew up with V8's in front, big tires in the back.

 

Whats with all of this V 8 talk!

 

Bud of mine had a SLICK black '57 Chev Bel Air 2 dr h.t. The 327 in it spun a bearing, so I removed the engine & Muncie 4 speed.
It was on a rolling stand, 'til I could get to it...
My beautiful 304" flathead was detailed nicely, candy red by Larry Naumann (painter across the tracks from my shop) and Evans heads, Edelbrock 4 jugger, chrome 97s, lots of bling!
My nephew and I lowered the flatmotor into the Chevy bay, left the hood open...
I wish I would have recorded the outbursts from the 'curious onlookers' that wandered in from 'Fifties Nite'!
Sounded like 'lefties' at a recent gathering. "Oh, GOD! Who'd put this in here???" Paired with, "Someone oughta be shot for taking that 327 out, this was one of my favorite cars!!!"
Sounded like a group of outraged on the View.

 

Did it stay, or were ya just effing with them?

 

Sometime back in the past someone here posted a picture of a running driving Camaro with a flathead in it. I am quite certain the pic has been removed though.

 

Maybe I'll relax my general guidelines.

3 pedals is a must. The number of cylinders may be negotiated.

Honestly, driving a 3 pedal vehicle no matter how old has the "hot rod" feel!

Back when I was into European cars, we called automatics (Euros were never good at autos) slushboxes. I still have that sentiment. 3 pedals connects you with the vehicle, the V8 sound us just a big bonus!

I personally like Flat V8s even though they really dont have anywhere near the power of anything 10 years newer. They just look and sound so traditional. But they are big coin to build now, as even my FE was not cheap.

The SBC or LS in everything has its merit (cheaper) but I dont consider it traditional. Just like slushboxes.

I want my engine connected to the road with steel, not with ATF.....lol

Flame suit on!

 

All this 'make it fast' talk, lol. It's actually 'make it fast-ER'! When people hear my flathead thru the lake pipes, someone usually says 'cool, is it fast?', to what I inevitably laugh and answer 'no!' Was it fast for the 1950s? Oh yeah! Compared to later on in the hobby or by modern standards? Absolutely not! My F150 accelerates and handles like a formula car compared to my shoebox.... Lol.

 

So Ford Model A Victorias, Cabriolets, A-400s, or woodie wagons don't make a good hot rods because they are full of wood? And Ford T5s are OK to use?

 

Maybe no "strict rules", but I believe there are some self imposed rules. At least I have some I abide by. Like a 4 cyl. is OK if it's a vintage 4 cyl., but I'd never consider a modern 4 cyl. Same for a 6 cyl. I'm fine with an inline older 6 cyl., but not with a newer V6 for me. V8's are also the same, as I love older V8's but not into the newest LS, late hemis, Coyote Fords, etc. They're great engines and fine in newer cars, but I'm not putting one in my builds.

My choice for my current build was a boring SBC 350. But I wanted to try something new to me, so I bought a 1990 one piece main seal, roller camshaft motor from a GMC Vandura. So it looked the same outside, and since it was a short block, I had a pair of early 70's LT1 heads rebuilt to new, and added roller rockers to them to keep it looking older. I also refit it for a old style points distributor, and a mechanical fuel pump. So looking at it you'd never know it's a later roller motor.

 

Everyone has their own personal hot rodding rules. The issue comes in when they start telling other guys that their rules are THE rules. And they actually believe this bs....

 

The ford T5 is a much different trans if you have ever had them both apart side by side. Chevy bodies have wood doors too.

 

I agree 100%, I have a shit ton of opinions and personal "rules" I set for my own cars. But I try to keep them mostly to myself.

 

...and then there's the guys that just can't LET IT GO

 

Is anti Chevy gibberish all you can post?

 

Whatsamatter, truth hurt? Not anti-Chebbie, just anti the "Chebbie uber alles" BS. Many threads with stated choices that the OP lists he's considering, but almost always the Chebbrainwashed show up with the BS

 

Not at all, in fact I have crewed many time at Bonneville for @mctim64 with his Yblock powered PU and roadster. I also happen to have a flathead, a Jimmy, a coupleSBC, a Ford 6 and an OT Datsun L28 in my shop slated for projects. But, what I don't do is try to talk down to everyone here that is considering a small block in their Ford like you.

 

51 Mercury with 331 Hemi!

 

Love it!