Art & Inspiration Who Drives a Beater Hotrod, Car or Truck and Likes it That Way

I guess I drive a beater

 

I put this 57 together specifically as a beater, to see how cheap I could do it and to use up shit that's been sitting around for years. I don't really want to paint it because that would open up a rabbit hole hundreds of labor-hours deep, but I do wish it was at least mostly one color instead of this patchy mess.

I really want to start with a nice car and drive it daily for a couple decades, see how long it holds up with regular use. BobK's convertible still looked pretty damn good after 200K and he wasn't afraid to drive it anywhere, I really just need to let go of the fear of scratches and dings with nice paint.

 

Hello,

My wife and I have seen this truck on the local coastal highways. It seems to run just fine and the owner(s) look as if they enjoy the state of the hot rod truck. From far away, it looks like an old truck left outside in the salt air for plenty of years. (a coastal city… salt air...then it is a possibility)

But in looking at it in its original state we saw a couple of years ago, the change over is now to represent, a certain style, not just a “beater” old truck that has seen its days.

New tires, rims and the look is pretty cool. It looks well taken care of despite the constant barrage of salt air daily and definitely, nightly. So, it is going to age well and possibly very fast.

Jnaki


What a better way to broadcast the local ocean influence of a swordfish that we see and taste on our summer barbeques. Local catch at the local fresh fish markets… no better around… YRMV

 

Now THAT, my friends, looks like the hot rods I remember from the 1950s..
Looking good.

Ben

 

My beater Bird. Old lacquer paint, nice interior, runs great. Take it to the store, out to eat, run for part's. Never have to worry about scratches or door ding's, just drive and enjoy.

 

Yessir, its neater in a beater !

 

Beats the hellouta me!

 

That is Pete Trumbauer's 1932 ford 3 window coupe at Latimore Valley. The coupe has been a race car for many years.

 

Squablow,..paint it with a brush and cheap Walmart house paint

 

100% beater. Closest it's got to "nice" was a fresh coat of single stage black paint a few years ago. Now it's marked up and the cheap clear I sprayed over it to revive it is beginning to lift. Old thing still gets tons of attention every time I drive it, and I'd take it anywhere, anytime. Don't really want to dress it up because I enjoy the worry free nature of it, dirt roads and all.

 

Yup pete is a great guy and I always enjoy running on the track with him!! His 32 is an awesome car and he always flogs it pretty hard.

 

Not driving yet, but I am putting one together. I'm not really a *patina guy* necessarily, but I can't bring myself to paint this one and will be driving it with the body as it is.

ironandsteele.com​

 

My Beater

 

I enjoyed looking your coupe over at the roarin 30's picnic Saturday. Even cooler that you haul your bikes around to ride as well. I need to get a hitch on my tudor for a rack!

 

Thanks, there was some REALLY nice cars there along with some cool old timers too. What were you driving?
That bike rack is one of the best things I’ve done to any of my hot rods. We’ve done several mini vacations that we normally wouldn’t have done in the ‘40 because we were able to add a biking trip onto a car event. A few years ago we drove to the HAMB drags and did a Biking trip before. Then went to the races and races then went to Booneville and rode way out into the Katy trail and watched the eclipse. You should definitely get one. When my body gets too banged up to pedal anymore I’ll switch to battery assist.

 

Exactly, I always think of a beater as how you use it not what it looks like…

 

Yes sir, some very cool old timers. My grandpa used to hangout with the roarin 30's back in the day when they would go to the sprint car races in granite city or on their trips out to indy to watch qaulifying for the 500, and @bchrismer who is the son of one of the original roarin 30's members is basically my mentor when it comes to my 40. My car wasnt there, but I've got a 40 tudor that is currently getting a flathead swap done to get me back on the road for the summer. I'm definitely going to look into the bike rack deal. I really enjoy gravel riding and especially riding in new places.

 

LUVIT!!!!

 

Don’t use latex house paint, it’s water based and can cause rust problems along with being difficult to remove later. Use oil based paint such as Rustoleum in quarts. I’m a residential painter. This roof was a quart

 

Guilty!
I left my 32 Tudor pretty much as I found it, with just a few drivability upgrades.
I wanted to keep it as it was built back in the 50’s(?), with 59AB, 37 trans and rear end.
It runs great, stays cool and is perfect for shorter chingos.
It needs a re-do, but I really hate to change it from its current state.

 

I need to look at this thread from it's beginning. All my Hot Rods started out as beaters. My frist priority is just to hit the road. Then slowly finish over time. The interior being the last step. My daughter tells me about picking her up from school in our 34 delivery, and there was no floor in back. She could see the road. Here's a picture of the old UFO when I frist got it on the road. Picture it sitting beside all the finished Easter egg pastel paintjobs with tweed interiors back in the 80's. No it wasn't a rr, but it was a beater. We use to say. Street is Neat, and Beaters are Neater. lol

 

I love it!

 

This isn’t mine, but I’ve seen it many times at local car shows.

 

my truck had decent paint, just several different colors; so no problems with rust comin thru...

 

I had beaters 20-30 years ago. They were just old cars then. Fun to drive, usually reliable. I've been looking for another lately, they're all out of my price range now.

Devin

 

50 chev

 

Driver with old paint.

 

one of these days i need to redo the original torn up interior... (at least the front seat...)