Projects Ruining a “Survivor Build” 50’s hot rod?

I heard a well respected hot rod builder say "the look is illusive" In spite of all the efforts, this sort of sums it up....

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...enized-hotrods.1002926/page-100#post-13054743

...Here's a melding of sorts and really a street based racer mixing NA Hardware with other actually in the early 60s...similar wheelbase with plenty of power to move a lightened roadster body...

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Very zen............. if 'illusive' is what you meant.
Very true..............if 'elusive' is what you meant.
Works either way in this situation...

 

Check this out
Hot rod Hill Climb - Drive it like you Stole it - Bing video

 

Neat family history you have there.....Thanks for sharing!

 

^^^ Very, very cool, especially the dude at 1:03 with his arm hanging out the window.

And not a 'dual wheel' in site........................

 

Only thing you have done wrong is asking for everyone's opinion on what you plan to do, make the temporary changes and go have your fun but don't mention it on the HAMB and you'll be fine!

 

I think I heard that same pretty famous hot rodder hear back from the other pretty famous hot rodder he was talking to ..... “Form follows function”..... Or it might have been MR. Miyagi on Karate Kid trying to get Daniel son to take the pickup instead of his 40’s Ford convertible for sanding and staining his walkways.... I can’t remember, it’s been a while... LoL

I do get the points though..... I’m just not sure what the final look will be just yet for the hill climb part of it.... I just know from the racing days.... You can get the absolute best cooling you can get.... and that’s just you’re starting point. The big old Alfa hood for a couple weekends a year let’s me hide a lot of cooling in there if needed, and makes it easy to remove as a component... Plus it would offset some of the visual weight of the added rubber in the back... Time will tell.

Just seems like a fun way to relive some of the grass roots of why hot ridding began, and not change the car where it’s not true to the purpose of the original build.

I need to finish up the seats this week.... then start “hanging in space” the grill to see what’s what....

I’m sure when the topic “what’s a cool REMOVABLE Rollbar / roll hoop idea that will pass vintage tech” gets brought up.... Things will go much smoother and be less opinionated...

 

You did ask.......................
If you don't want the views of others, just do it. It sounds like your mind is set...

 

I'd say a hotrod is only a pretender unless its raced, go for it!

 

I’m really appreciative of all the feedback... Haven’t had time to go through all the inspiration threads “Just Gary” provided earlier because it’s a ton of info.... But it’s really helped.... I’ll end up using some info from the threads shared... Thanks for sending Gary.

Plus.... He mentioned that the dashes of the originals had tons of gauges.... My car has a pretty butchered dash, so instead of trying to make it something it’s not... or replace it.... Some comprehensive gauges with a thought out placement sounds like the way to go....

Sure, my minds set on some of the basic parameters.... But I’ve been trying to farm the helpful comments and inspiration from the posts... And use posts going the other way as a “reminder to respect the car’s previous craftsmanship”.... Which I’m doing.... By protecting every thing original, and having just a few things that bolt on/off for a couple times a year....

It is a little surprising.... like don’t bolt on a different grill with upgraded cooling for two weekends a year from someone with a tubbed mid year vette...... but who knows... I’m sure everyone has their perspective... I respect their right to it....

In the end I started the thread for both sides, respect that I’m getting them. I’ve have made up my mind what I want to do with it, just doing research on how .... I just want to learn and go about it in a period correct manner as close as I can where possible.

 

Do what you want but don't BS yourself and try to make it fit a story you have concocted and then, in turn, try to sell it as "traditional". That always reeks as wholly inauthentic.

 

Don't add an alternator or electric fan. That's total street rod crap.

 

I certainly don't advocate changing everything on your slice of history, however that is a b...itchin grill.

 

Ok. Lets run with it.......................

 

Traditional, with a nod to the requirements of a hill climb event, where I want to meet safety requirements and respect and protect the original parts on the car with upgraded cooling/traction for a couple weekends a year... Then for the other 345 days or so of the year.... Return it to stock.

If that’s BS’ing a story..... I’m guilty.

 

Those are some great pics I was looking at too when contemplating the hill climb! There’s a pretty cool website I came across called “uncommon engineering” where I posted the picture of the crank driven supercharger above.... I have no connection with them, and the sight looks like it’s been the same for a good long while. They have some great shots of the Moon Eyes style “Potvin” supercharged that were crank driven like the old pre-war Alfa’s and Bentleys..... The company was started by an ex Indy mechanic who worked in the period from the Offenhausers to the Cosworths and later Ilmors... Once I get the car dialed in and reliable, I’d like to go to a 471 blower set up.... The supercharger out front and low is like the Moon Eyes dragster set up would be my first choice, but it’s beyond my time and means to justify... Ultimately it also meant changing parts of the original build that would be much harder to return to the original specs.

 

Hey MindTraveler,

I read posts on this site to help me with my current project, but that does not mean I am not into motorsports of every kind (from snowmobiles to drag boats).

After doing major work to one of these old beasts, I have made some discoveries that may be of interest to you...

If your intention is to hill climb, you will be putting some major stress on the chassis, I did not see too many pics of what is underneath your car, but you may want to start with a detailed inspection of the condition of the underside (look carefully at the frame and any welds that have been made for any "hotrod" type modifications). These cars were definitely not designed as "corner burners" so for your peace of mind (and safety) start with a solid suspension. I had to "box" the frame on my P/U before I even considered installing any suspension upgrades and that is just for the street.

If you increase the rear traction, with dual wheels, this will put a lot more strain on the entire car, not just the suspension (which will probably need to be beefed up).

Next is the brakes - not sure if they are mechanical or hydraulic, but if you are building a race car, they have to be way better than stock.

A lot of these old Fords were used in circle track racing so you may want to try and get a handle on how the chassis on those cars were built (they only turn left, but they would have the type of modifications you will need to make).

I think you are seeing where I am coming from, remember that most of the cars you are trying to emulate are "purpose built" race cars and even though you could quickly make this rod look the part from the topside, it is what you don't see that is important.

Best of Luck,
George

 

What these guys said!

 

Does this about sum up things?

Hey, it's your car, do what you want, but...Build it the way I think
it should be done. That way you can still play in our sandbox.

Phooey!

 

I think things may have gone better here had the thread title just been along the lines of “Making a hill climber...”. Vs “Ruining....”.

 

I get a chuckle from some of of the posts here, the man's car is something most cars here aren't, a true hotrod that has been raced, it's not a poser even though it it was street raced it was built for competition. What I don't understand is why the posers need to get there panties in a wad over what he does with his car.
I personally think it's cool when the old cars get out and make hot laps earning there keep. You guys that don't race your "hotrod" have missed the point of the hotrod in the first place, you've got a street rod.

 

I dunno man. Anytime someone talks about turning their hot rod into a dually, I feel it's our job to intervene.

OP, the way you've written it up sounds terrifying to most of us. Like you're hellbent on turning your bitchin' roadster into an odd Rocketeer-grilled-pseudo-Euro-rally-rat-rod kinda deal.

The phrase "neither fish nor foul" comes to mind.

It's not my money, but if it was, I'd take it on the "rally" just like it is and see how it performs. I bet it does just fine. And if it doesn't, maybe you could tweak a few things to make it fast and fun. I assure you there is a pair of rear tires out there that will give all the understeer you can dream of. There was a guy, Doane Spencer, that made his roadster a high performance car, and it looked good doing it.



please, please don't do this to your car

 

Suppose @MindTraveler64 found this old rod...he swapped a grill and rear, went hill climbing, had the time of his life, unswapped said pieces, and started a thread “I Found This Cool Old Rod”...everybody’s panties wouldn’t need pressing.

Rod on Buddy!

 

That extremely unconventional kart build kind of intimates that you are into the unusual. When I was a kid; I was kart crazed, my brothers and I built a rear engine kart. When I got into kart racing I bought a competitive side-engine kart. When I got into road racing we built a very fast, race winning kart that was a mix of existing hardware and some of our own innovations. Hard to have your cake and eat it too.
Why not let the hot rod be a hot rod and build a competitive single-seat hillclimber that exploits the rules and gives you a chance to run at the front?

 

Spot-On !

 

I'm all for the Alfa grill'd dual wire wheel hill climber, I just don't understand why you'd want to make it out of that already finished roadster.

 

I guess it's because dualies aren't typical hotrod fare. And... that hot rod doesn't need anything different than the its original setup to run a hillclimb.