It's like you're in my head. You've described, perfectly, my life growing up and my kids now. I'm still tinkering to this day and I hope that I am setting up an environment where my kids are "learning by watching". Granted, I don't want them to be complete gearheads like I was (but if they are that's fine) but I do want them to be able to use a socket, change a tire, understand what torquing something to the right spec means, etc. Chris
Customs are labor intensive often more "form over function". Based on the ability and skill level of the owner, a custom can be built, just for the cost of materials and the time to took to come up with a design. True hot rods are built with the focus on speed, getting from point A to point B in the quickness time, therefore it is more of a function over form. Hardware to increase speed is way more expensive that the material for customization. I am attracted to the H.A.M.B. network because it bring back the true art of customs and hot rods. but as many others have said, "it is my two cents".
Really have you priced a set of Appleton 552's lately, or a good Merc grill surround, or a Desoto grill, or upholstering a car or getting a bumper rechromed?
You are 100% correct. Building a full fledged custom today is extremely expensive, especially if you are making tasteful custom changes that have never been done before regarding sheet metal fabrication and engine mods and engine compartment work. Easy to spend mega, megabucks and just plain run out of money before completion.
Yeah you have to get lucky and creative if wanting to do a full custom nowadays since various grills, bumpers, headlights/tail lights are hard to find and/or really expensive to then cut up in a custom. I know back around 2009/2010 my grandpa and I were looking to build a clone of Taboo (we had not bought the car back at the point) and I was searching for all the various parts needed to clone and it was just getting out of hand in parts before even factoring in everything else besides the custom work. Even now I would like to build a mild to full tri five and every time I go and starting running some numbers to get an idea of a budget its out of sight.
I remember back in the day when there were custom cars all over SoCal. Guys couldn't wait to modify their cars. There was Watsons, Ayala Brothers, Bill Hines, Barris's Shop, Roth's Shop, And a few others doing many different style cars. When the Streetrods started showing up, with modern shit on old cars, I was OUT! Today, every numbnut with new wheels and tinted windows, thinks he has a custom car. The gas crunch and foreign cars had alot to do with it too. The old car hobby got smaller and smaller. The Traditional and Rockabilly scene brought back many of the old custom and Hotrod styles. Todays kids aren't interested in old ANYTHING!!!
Building a full custom does take a lot of money but so does everything else you might want to build. A custom does take an imagination, creativity and an eye for what flows. No matter what you build its all relevant to money. Money for parts and money for labor that the owner doesn't have the ability or tools to pull off. I've watched trends come and go, I've watched guys go from Vdubs to mini trucks to hot rods to customs. Hell the mini truck thing is starting to make a comeback and look at the VW trend. I know when the car shows come back if there is a beautifully done custom there will be a crowd. Don't underestimate the young guys i see it happening and they're building some really badass cars. There will always be an ass for every seat and an eye for something different. Course I'm in California so different is the norm here lol.
This is a multi-tiered problem. One, as noted the 'usual' parts most guys want to use are getting hard to find and expensive when you. Two, customs seem have fell into a bit of a rut, with many cars ending up looking like many other cars because after all they're all using these 'common' parts. Now before somebody points out some of the more radical customs that have been built recently, IMO there's also two schools of customizers (and has been all along). One school is trying to improve the OEM design and this can include both mild and radical customs. The other school is trying to make a 'statement' and a lot of times includes exaggerated features. I'm not saying this is wrong, but this does seem (to me) to generate most of the 'ugly' cars. Every once in a while someone manages to meld the two schools and a iconic car can be the result. And not everyone has the artistic vision to do their own design; that's why the list of well-known customizers with iconic or well-known cars to their credit is relatively short. So many guys semi-copy some other design onto their car and you start to see a 'sameness' in the custom field. The other issue is what's 'traditional'. In non-custom applications, it's pretty straightforward. But customs are about design (or should be) and individuality, things that don't fit neatly into the 'traditional' box. So while you see the same parts used over and over on customs, there's no reason they have to be. It's OK to go outside the box as long as you retain the design esthetic from the period. I bought a '60 Ford Sunliner convert last fall with every intention of building a custom. I'd like to go full custom (rolled pans and all) but that may prove to be beyond my skill level and budget so I'm doing a 'phase one' build as a mild custom to start. This will also allow me to get the car on the road this summer. Basically lower it some (no bags here) and change out the grill/taillights, nothing too radical. So I started looking around at what others had done on these. Basically I found one of three grill treatments; OEM, OEM with drawer pulls or other 'stuff' attached, or tube grills. Taillights had a bit more variety, but not much. A lot of the taillights that were used 'back in the day' on these are now unobtainium and the ones that aren't are overdone. I thought about '59 Bonneville taillights, but those are stupid expensive these days ($2200 for a pair of lenses!!!) and I don't want to spend several years trying to track down parts for the other choices. So I started searching images and even went on eBay and just searched 'tail lights' and 'grills'. I found my parts and they are arriving as I type. Yep, I went outside the box. I've only seen my grill used once in a custom application, and have never seen the taillights used. And no, I'm not giving away the game; once they're in, we'll see who guesses what they are.... As to chrome and upholstery costs, if you're building anything nice newer than post-war there's not going to be that much difference unless you go stone-stock.
Thanks austinrod for a great narrative to start this off with. It's difficult for me to really relate because this thing grabbed me by the throat at a very young age and carried me away. There wasn't any struggle, I was hooked and reeled in like a trout on the line. I was only concerned with finding my place in it.
I hear that..first off thanks for keeping Taboo alive. Taboo has been one my favorites sense I first saw it at the Portland Roadster Show?in 1980 , the year I graduated HS, The only picture I have left that I took is this bad one. I am currently building a scale model of the car and just trying to locate the parts for it have been a bit tough, still need the 60 Chrysler taillights , got most of them but I haven't started cutting yet. I'm going to build it as close too the Black and Red version, the way it was when I first saw it, as I can get... before the additional body modifications were done.....I still think the car is great and the color is beyond words...good words.,,I'm just going for my first sight introduction to the car, maybe a mix of both?, honestly the earlier version will be a bit easier for me to do...nerves and site aren't as good as they used to be... Anyways great to see the car is being well taken care of and enjoyed so well. I will see how my build goes....if it works out ok I will send you a picture. Terry (aka Rudestude) Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thank you! Also neat picture of the car, that would the Portland Roadster Show the columns everywhere give the old Coliseum away, lol. That would be around the time I think Ron Sweeny owned the car with the Cragars and white letters on it. The second pic is from the day my grandfather sold the car back to Ron Luchs in 1990/1991 As for you model, look at AMT 58 Impala kits for the tail lights. The custom parts in that car had 60 Chryslers in it for some odd reason. If you need any other pictures or how things were on the car before let me know! I'll help with any info about the car.
Aw yes ,the Coliseum Columns, I have maneuvered around them plenty of times. Years back I showed a 56 Buick the "Panty Dropper" white with full length flame job mild custom class. I had that car at every cruz night event I could find ,sometimes 2 or 3 in the same week end. Lots of fun, I didn't own the car but I had it in my possession for about 5 yrs , due to the guys work he didn't have time for it....odd thing was he always showed up to collect the trophies. This picture is of another one at the show that I liked, 56 convert , due you remember that one and is still around? Thanks for the info on the model ...now I know if I need any info I can go directly to the source. Thank you Terry Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yes that convertible is still around somewhere. Ron Hing originally built it. Its has the Chrysler tail lights as well. Its a debate of wither that car or Taboo got them first. Ron Luchs (Taboo's original owner) and Ron Hing (convertible) got into a mod war one upping the other until Luchs had to sell Taboo as he was starting a family. Last I saw/heard of the car was it had an engine fire that burnt the nose up, it was repaired and then painted orange. I dont know who owns the car currently. I have been looking for the past 5 years.
Think back, the most memorable customs all along the line are still recognizable as to what the original model was. There is no mistaking what year and model Taboo is when you walk up to it at a show, All of the mods work on that car. Quite often old customs that went though a lot of every other show season changes to stay competitive and within car show guidelines got changes for the sake of change. More scoops, bigger fins, a lot of that previously mentioned fuggly stuff only for the sake of change for show points. Now days when someone finds one and digs it out it often gets changed back to one of the earlier versions and a lot of the fuggly gets tossed in the dumpster. The lowrider Bomb look did a lot to kill some of the traditional simple custom mods, All the sudden guys who didn't live in East LA were looking for all the gaudy chrome trim that came on some of these cars because that is what they saw in Lowrider Magazine. That started around 1975 when the magazine came out and all the sudden the chrome a lot of guys took off the first week they owned a new car was put back on 25 years later. I'd agree that now days all too many guys think that bolting on a set of aftermarket wheels and tinting the windows is customizing. That and bodies made after the late 70's don't very well lend themselves to custom metal work as there isn't enough thickness to the metal to allow for welding or reshaping the metal.
This 1954 Ford Sunliner was given to me by Capt. Ted Brewer. I was 12 yrs old. My dad said I could have it and do what-ever I wanted to do to it, but he was going to use it to drive to work during the week. This was the first car I did body work on. That's me in the white pants. I nosed and decked it, took all the chrome off the side and primed it up, and later painted it candy apple red (by brush) right there in the driveway. Thanks to the little Hot Rod magazines and my Dad pointing me in the right direction. Long live Customs.
I am not referring to your basic do-dads, that you just add on, bur real metal work such as chopping, sectioning, or changing the factory shape of a vehicle.
I agree whole heartedly with this statement. There is enough of a market for hot rods that there is a pretty vast aftermarket for basically every part on the car. You don't even need to start with one to build one. Comparatively speaking, buying new parts is cheaper than bringing old parts to new condition, and you could get a whole new chrome front end for a 32 for less than the chrome bill for the bumper on an El Dorado. But even then, hot rods are just so much more sparse by design. Smaller car, less body work, fewer systems like heat and A/C, etc. I'd also argue that when it comes to real significant work on a custom, it takes a higher echelon of skill than it takes to build a hot rod. You can bolt on power to a SBC or even chop a model A straight down. But sectioning or chopping a full bodied car is next level stuff, especially if the paint is going to be laser-straight. The other thing really is that a custom is a harder vehicle to grasp the concept of than a hot rod. A hot rod has a singular purpose, to go fast. Fit and finish, ride quality, amenities, paint and body work, chrome... are all secondary and tertiary to going fast (or at least faster than stock). A custom doesn't quite work that way. The primary purpose of a custom is for visual impact. It really is an art form, and while hot rods and customs are related, ultimately it's a comparison between math and English. A lot of people just can't comprehend the idea that you do something to a car just to make it look better. Maybe it's even like a masculine thing, like a hot rod is "manly" or "bad ass". Where a custom might embody some more of the feminine qualities of beauty and presence. There also hasn't been much of an entry point for newbies in the custom game recently. Aside from the guys already doing it like Mike Ness, Billy Gibbons, even James Hetfield, there's not much of an entry point for folks to look at and be inspired to want one of their own.
I particularly like the use of the word 'just.' This must come from experience. edit: I suppose it also depends on what you mean by or count as a custom.
Yeah, "just" the cost of materials. Meanwhile the cost of those materials, no labor, are; Paint - $4-5000 -Chrome - $10,000 -Then whatever engine package it is, add $15,000 if it's any obsolete drivetrain....
I feel that I must defend myself here, you can build a full custom by chopping, sectioning, and channeling, reworking the headlights and changing the taillights. The cost of obtaining the required skill level is high but it is a transferable skill, that can be use over and over again (in fact the more you use that skill the better at it you get). I never said that it would be cheap. I have spent truck loads of cash trying to get into a 10 second bracket, and never got there. Metal work on the other hand is a skill that I can achieve by working with metal over time following the pre-set guild lines of the Masters (and that includes some of you all). You cannot buy parts to chop a top, or to channel down, or to relocated the rear fenders, it takes more skill than money. That is all I am going to say on that!
yeah luckily the fell out of the circuit at the right time before cars had to drastic changes to stay competitive. Look at Madam Fifi and its evolution. Alot of nice customs kept going under the knife in the mid 60s to be able to keep showing. Its kind of funny, but its similar to drag racing of the same period with how rapidly that evolved and got out of hand. Lots of nice race cars got cut up to keep them competitive
The biggest fault of customs was to change things just to change things. This is just my opinion I have never seen a car with canted headlights stock or custom that I liked. Now most chopped or sectioned cars are cool. here is a great example of what not to dohttps://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10219096142778052&set=pcb.745557002750482
Traditional customs are still around. It's just the cars that changed. Tuners are the current traditional customs. Because what was traditional was taking a newer car and doing a lot of modifications. Sometimes just paint and add on's or take-offs. "Traditional" was using what was available. Would they have used billet or 6 piston brakes if they could have had them? Absofrigginlutley. Look at the Hirohata Merc. That was a new car. Same with the cover car of a summer issue of a Hot Rod magazine in 58. It was this 58 chevy below. Look at these others. What most people call "traditional" is really just copying a specific style of a very specific time period.
Any modified car is a “custom” Every hot rod is a custom build. I like spaghetti the cost to build a custom and fact that most full customs are ugly. But as far as what we consider a mild custom, those are going strong.
The factories caught up with customizing around '55-'56, just look at the popular cars built from '55-'60. Watson proved a wild paintjob and lowering worked on new cars. The '61 era reflected early musclecar, then '64 hit with the GTO and The Beatles. TV and movies, along with Detroit ( Alexander Brothers/ Winfield) kept the torches lit, but after the counter culture implosion with anti Vietnam/ Woodstock, custom cars were a dead horse to most. The van scene employed quite a few, though people treat " vans" with little respect, but classic grille swaps, chopping, and molding were prevalent in custom Vans at their peak. Pat Ganahl, Terry Cook, " American Graffiti" sparked a interest in '50's customs, that began growing around '76 and bloomed into the eighties renaissance. Today, saving/ restoring original customs of BOTH coasts is popular, and traditional rides are being built.. But, the sad fact is the custom car in it's prime, WAS a new or newer vehicle. Many missed opportunities, albeit not HAMB friendly await customizing.
The Jalopy Journal
