Hot Rods Todays messed up takes on how hot rods were in the 1950s n 60s

There is a number of things now thought of as how it was!!
Copycat repeated over n over so much. It may never stop,I wish it would.
Telling those who have fell in love with these misreads of history,"That is not how we did it!!"
Is too often taken as a insult,but is only facts they don't want to hear!!
No one wants to think ,they could be fooled into doing something that was not so!

Not that much more time will pass,when no one who did build hotrods in the 1950 n 60s,can be around to tell the real how it was!
I'm going on 80,was super active hotrodder my self in the 50s n 60s. I was in 3 car clubs an did so many car shows,I have no way of counting them all. I pinstripped,painted names on cars,airbrushed wide car T-shirts an built myself a hot rod in 50s an a full custom in 60.
I'm sure many old timers,just don't say anything,because confrontation is not fun! And often a waste of time.= "It's far easier to fool someone,then to teach them,they been fooled"< They are in love* with what they believe to be true,an will try to defend it.
Photos often used to back up things that are wrong, are more then not, a newer photo that looks old to that guy!

So,I'm going to list some of the things that are seen now,that were not then!!!

Big old headlights! They were crap,put in trash cans and replaced by the quantum leap in lighting; 7in. sealbeams! Was even the law in many states.
Today big fake lights have new tech,so they work now*< They did not work then*,an new tech dose not make that crap work in the passed*= To any one that knows,using them is delusional Bubble of bull.

Moon tanks used on street driven car all the time! Nope,they were for race fuel at the race track,and remove ASAP, they also block some cooling for street driving,in addition looking like the owner has zero idea what a moon tanks is even for!!

Tires!,as soon as they started getting wider,hot rodders knew to fit the rears with best bit they could find! = Any rod with a big OHV engine had something close to the widest tire of the year it was built in. Rods with all 4 skinny same size tires with OHV V8,were not common at all.

Rim off sets n widths.
We knew about front end scrub,so most did not have the brakedrum showing any more then about 1 in. max. to inside of front rims. Rear rims were the widest that could be found or made to fit.

Cowl steering,was nearly always done wrong= bump steer. So is copied wrong too. Muddy up the side of rod like a label" I didn't know what I was doing,an copied this mess"

Primer is a preparation for shiny,witch was always the plan,primer was not a finish,no matter what name its called.

Sure there are others. Also to some you could show exception< but that would not be common,just a freak. Like airbags in the early 60s.

 

HEAR HEAR !! Thats pretty much how my Dad explainded it to me so many years ago.

 

I'm smellin what you stepped in. The peeves I have from above are the Moon tanks and cowl steering. I was raised by a period hot rodder and did things by fabrication and junkyard vs "1-800-STREETROD" so I got to see process in real time even though it was a decade or more later. I came to be right in the end of the muscle car era. I got a license during the oil embargo, but dear ol Dad wasn't gonna let his kid hit the road in big block 4spd killer. Instead I did get the opportunity to drive a plethora of Caddy and Olds powered pickups. Oops, some were even faster than those muscle cars!

Still, like it or not, knowledge and accuracy be damned, perhaps keeping the spirit alive is a win/win/win and we can give the moderate inaccuracy a pass. However I end that at anything LS or modern HEMI. Fuck that...

 

Will be 81 Thursday and Dana is spot on. I started freelancing for Petersen Publishing in 1961 and if you really, I mean really, study the magazines of the fifties and sixties you will see an appreciation for thinking outside the box. One other thing; the majority of the cars built in that time period were daily drivers and heavy modifications started Friday afternoon and damn well better b e done before work Monday AM.

 

Yeah, but THIS sandbox is what it is, sadly.

Ben

 

Dana, I love you man but I still like big headlights on cars and women! but that's just what I like and I have had so many cars with primer, I always intended to painting them but something always prevented it, thus the moniker HOTRODPIMER.

As a kid in the 50's I don't remember too my 30's hot rods although the 40's and 50's were the flavor of the day in my neck of the woods. HRP

 

Hey Mitch, Don't know if you've seen my wife's old '36, but every time I see one of your posts I think about it. She bought it from Joe Wilhelm's widow, Marian, back in the late 90's. It had been used as Joe's shop truck since the 60's, and was slowly modified. It never did lose it's original paint, which was dark blue, but has faded and oxidized to a dull green. It still sported the name of the original owner , the E.G. James Glass Shop, above the windshield and on the tailgate. The front had a 6" dropped axle, and the Chrysler rear had 6" lowering blocks. The mill was a warmed over 303 Olds with 3-2's, and the tranny was a side shift Cad LaSalle. My wife Nancy drove it quite a bit, 'till we moved to Idaho, when she sold it to a lady in Germany. I still have the sign off Joe's shop...

 

Like most of us Silverbacks I know true Vintage and can spot a Poser a block away. Personally, I'm glad they are out there keeping it alive. I don't really care how they do it. I always slow down and give them the once over and right off knowing who I can have a sensible conversation with and when to keep walking. It's the same thing here on the H.A.M.B. As I see it Hot Rods in general have always been evolving and how I did things in my 20's make me shake my head a bit. It's been a good learning curve and I'm glad I've evolved a bit and damn glad I haven't forgotten how I got here. At post 70 I'm smart enough not to waste my time trying to tell a Young Blood he's wrong. I still enjoy the view and once in a while I still Light-em-Up.

 

I went to high school, years 1955 thru 1957, in the largest town in East Texas, about 50,000
population. A hot rod in my time was a 1930's to early 1940's car. Most had a Caddie or Olds
ohv engine. These were true hotrods to my circle of friends. Besides the engine changes, body
modifications mostly were fender removals and newer style highlights.
The term, custom car, was not widely used. My friends and myself made changes depending
upon your part time job. First came a must, dual exhausts, with glass packs or Smittys. Next
was hood and trunk ornament removal, usually by way of bullnose strips, then 2" lowering blocks,
fender skirts, and bar hubcaps. Engine hop-up was limited by budget to a carb change or more carbs.
I don't remember a nose down car, it just was not done. Looked strange.
The first true custom car I ever saw in person was a '50 Merc. tudor. A father of one of the senior
students bought it in California. Solid black, no hood or trunk ornaments, shaved door handles, tuck and roll
interior. I don't remember the engine, it did not matter. To this day that is the most beautiful car of my memory
of those great times.
Total lowering of the car and scolloped paint jobs were in the future. Thanks for that.
Ernie

 

I is 87 & my car had 8:50 15 on the Rear & 7:10 15 on the Front
and a coin bracelet hanging from the Rear view Mirrow which
I still have today.
Nose & decked & dechrome `
In 58 I found a 57oldsj2 engine & swapped into my merc &
had a ball with it and went to FL` &`raced down there & decided to come
home and guess what I was 150 Miles
from home in NY when the Engine Blew Up and was flat toad back.
put a another engine in it.
One thing is I was a Bicker back than so if the car broke down I always
had the motorcycle.
I opened my 2. Business in 1963 til 1975.


Just my 3.5 sents

Live Learn & Die a Fool
I would use the Bike

 

An appreciation of Hot Rods of the '40's and '50's and '60's today is a win in my book, regardless.
Of course there are imposters, the parts to achieve total authenticity of that era are presently mostly unobtainable (how many parts of the era are hoarded up in someones garage, not to be seen again, until a death occurs).
The "look" in most cases is an achievement as well as a nod to past times..I don't see that as a negative...100% accuracy be Damned.
I venture to guess of the many thousands of members of this HAMB community the percentage of 100% built as they were "back in the day" is an extremely low number.
People will mimic what appeals to them, and if they have a creative side, will expand on that "look".
Personally, I appreciate anyone's build, that has an "appearance of "traditional" in this day and age, keeping the torch lit.
I love an old build from "back in the day", but if I can only get excited by those, I will surely be disappointed.

 

It looks like the young guys on the HAMB want to re-write history to be something it wasnt, Traditional Hotrods were FORDS with very very few exceptions. These guys coming on the HAMB with International trucks (and Ramblers!) dont have a clue about the way things were. Ramblers were used by stodgy families, definitely never hotrodded. Internationals must have been good for hauling logs, look at old pictures, but they were slow and unattractive, certainly not hotrods.

 

Dana , Thank You . . .

 

The Car in my avatar is the sameway it was in the 50's
except for the door handels on the Frond & the Trunk I
changed I changed because of problems with it.!
the car has a different engine in it now it was changed in 1976
when my 63 chevy
got totalled out.
you have excuse me I am only typing with 1 hand & its my Left
and I am Right handed
also I changed to Automatic & a small block Chevy

just my 3.5 cents

live learn die a fool

 

I really don't understand why all these cars here are being built with flatheads. Wasn't it more traditional to upgrade to a new overhead Chevy?

 

I'm a member of the Septuagenarian's much like most of you posting, I am too old to argue and agree that many of today's younger guys don't have a clear idea of how it was, when you could roam the junk yard and find some amazingly cheap bodies,engines and and parts, things are much different now, if a young guy want's to emulate the type of hot rods & customs of ou youth they better have deep pockets.

I'm just thankfully that the younger guys are still carrying the torch, regardless if they are misguided at time ,the hot rod and custom car hobby has always had visionary's and old farts to try and guide the young whippersnappers into the future.

I honestly believe there will always be someone to keep the real traditional cars alive and continue to teach the ones that will listen, being a child of the 60's myself I tend to march to my own drum but I know how to march with others also. HRP

 

At 70+ I get a say in this discussion!!
What part of the country you grew up in had a HUGE part in what was 'cool' and what was not.
These kids driving around today in their "Carolina squat" truck and Tahoes....we did that back in the mid 60's! Nose high and dragg'in the tail (well almost!)
That evolved into raise 'em just as high as possible (like the SS & gassers of the day)
Next the California rake with high in the back with L-60's sticking out the fenders and skinnys in the lowered front.
I'm waiting for all these squat rucks (now outlawed!) to morph into the same stuff we did in the mid-late 60's.....
Which was easily the best days of automobiles and hot rods!!!!
The "straight axle" gasser look was big back then too. It was done to lighten the front end more so than just the nose high look!!
These young guys will 'figger-it-out' .......just like we did.
Still can't stand the sound of a sic cylinder with glasspacks....or more doors!
I haven't "MORPHED" that far
(yet!)
6sally6

 

Regional. So true. Still, the style to emulate was lakes cars 1st, then drag cars as time went on. Nobody drove around with fat tires front n back and doors welded shut like a circle track car. It's all based on something and straight line speed was most of it. Leadsleds? Those dadgum beatniks, same today as they were back then. Tell me I'm lyin...

 

Well as one of the younger guys here (pushing 60) I'll add my 2 cents.

I think hot rodding gets pigeon holed alot!

When I was in high school there were 2 camps, one's that came from money that had the hot cars that had shiny new paint, the best engines, full custom interiors, mag wheels etc.

The second group were poor, they had primer paint jobs, sparce aluminum/ sheet metal interiors, cheap chrome wheels or steel wheels. All their money was spent on engines. Things you could pick up cheap in a junk yard. No custom interiors or paint etc.

Then add location, California cars were built differently then local cars, sure you had some rich kids that followed the west coast or hot rod mag fads because they could afford to totally redo their cars or buy different ones and start over.

The poor kids stuck with what they had. And beat the living daylights out of them.

The poor kids fab work was done in the back yard and it showed, rich kids either payed to have it done professionally or could afford the parts and or tooling to do it right.

So I think it's a mixture of Americana, across rich or poor, west coast vs east coast vs central America.

When you start defining hot rodding by a handful of select vehicles you've done missed what hot rodding is really about, building the best of what you can with what you have.

I appreciate anything home built, I'll pass all day on a professional hot rod just to see one that's home built.

That's hot rodding to me, not paint jobs, not interiors but cars built to go fast and built by youngsters that are learning as they go. Doing the best they can.

.

 

At almost 75 now, I was fortunate to see a lot of hot rods in the late '50s and '60s. No doubt regional differences effect what people think was being built then. Not everyone had Fords, there were quite a few hopped up early Chevies in my area not to mention early '50s Oldsmobiles. I do not recall anyone back then seeking out fabric insulated wiring for their new build.

I had a couple of primered cars in the '60s and was happy to have them all one color as it was what I could afford at the time.

Admiration and re-creation of hot rodding seems to omit the creative builds of the era in favor of the typical roadster with a flathead.

 

I grew up in the 1950s and 60s and I was paying attention to hotrods. I never saw a flathead V8 in a hotrod. ALL of them had smallblock chevys and other OHV V8s

 

I beg to differ about Moon tanks in the 60s. I had this roadster as my only car from 1962 into 1966 and made several changes to it. At first I ran six 97s on it with a rear tank pressurized by hand pump. Then four 97s. Then a cross-ram with six 97s. Then in 1963 with Enderle injectors. The change to a 3/4" fuel line from the rear tank did not work well. Upon acceleration the fuel stopped coming forward. So I used a small electric pump from the back tank with a float behind the Moon tank to keep the level high in the tank for the injectors. It worked well thru about 1999. (And it was pretty strong on the street.)

 

So the timeline you are pinpointing is what the early, mid '60's? And then it will be what was considered good taste, nice blending of old & new parts/color/stance/fitment/drivability.

 

Here’s an honest question for the over 70 crowd. Did anyone actually use a camshaft for a front bumper in the 1950’s? I’m thinking that is a more “modern” rat rod idea, yet you see it fairly often.

 

I was born in 62, so that is what weight my words carry- not much, and I live a whole long way from socal. Don’t forget we are building and sharing what we can find and afford, so that will include some tudors and ramblers. I did see flathead hot rods in my youth, it is a sweet sound you don’t forget. And as evidenced by some of the pictures, someone- I know it’s not any of you, built some pretty ugly stuff back in the day, forgive me if I don’t put in effort and dollars for that look. I guess I am in the camp of tribute cars or cars that are influenced by the good old days. Who am I going to get to work on a blown hemi out of some old boat or Imperial? If and when I get something back on the road, I won’t be misrepresenting it. In the mean time I like hanging out with grouchy old guys in real life, and also here on the hamb.

 

I saw it done on numerous vehicles in the 1970's, and on. Well before the rat rod thing.

 

I'm with ya Dana! Big headlights or non-sealed beams of any sort, fake spindle-mounts on faux 'gassers' and Torque thrust D wheels are just a few items that bug me...

 

Very well said and spot on!

 

A mid fifties four door Buick with a pickup truck front axle just don't seem right.

 

I didn't know that was a thing, using a fake facade on a Kwanzaa hut to make it look like a normal business.