What haapened when a Hot Rodder crammed the first small block into a Deuce?

Forgive me...but I think this needs its own thread...

Did all the Rodders with Flatties make fun of his ride? No, of course not. He took what was obviously a better engine and crammed it in the lightest car he could find.

The "period correct" post got me thinking...

"Period Correct" becomes a dirty word with me so very often. Rodders of the "period" were all trying to make their cars cooler, faster, lighter, and more reliable than they were before. They used available parts and technology to make a better car. That's why "period correctness" means parts and techniques must be older or current to the "period" of the car being built.

Here's the bad news:

To be a true Hot Rodder... in the spirit of the Original Hot Rodders of the "period"... We would use the best parts and techniques available in OUR "period", not THEIR "period".

That means EFI, Independent suspensions, disc brakes, carbon fiber, billet, radials, seat belts, halogens, LED's, digital, etc...

"Sounds like 'chainer bullshit to me."

But that's what Hot Rodding was... improving your car with the technology of the time...

My, how times have changed.

The Trad cars are really "second restorations" of the past and the Hot Rods built from today's technology are a rolling joke. Easter egg paint and billet monstrosities that the owner never touched other than dusting off the wheels after it rolled from the trailer.

Show me a modern Hot Rod. Skip all the 1950's restoration parts. I want to see one built in a garage in the suburbs. I want to see a modern functional fast ride that looks bitchin' and is still owned by the guy that built it. One that's driven hard and often. Give it modern technology, but make it have the soul of a Hot Rod.

 

Kinda the way I built mine but some will differ..

 

Q; What happened when a hot rodder crammed the first small block into a Deuce?

A: It went a lot faster, until he had to replace the transmission, rear end, and brakes, and box the frame.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

[
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Show me a modern Hot Rod. Skip all the 1950's restoration parts. I want to see one built in a garage in the suburbs. I want to see a modern functional fast ride that looks bitchin' and is still owned by the guy that built it. One that's driven hard and often. Give it modern technology, but make it have the soul of a Hot Rod.[/quote] here is apic of mine,disc brakes on front,power steering/brakes,auto trans.built in my garage,driven hard and often.Not so traditional but alot of funhttp://

 

What if the rolling billit easter egg monstrosity was built by the owner....would that make a difference. I agree with your assesment. Nothing wrong with traditionalist. They keep certain ideas and parts of our culture going. But for my understanding of what a hot rod and hot rodder is I turn to my father(80). He was a rodder ie. 49' Ford, 53' Merc', 55 Chevy, 61' Impala etc...he has made his way in life and now takes more modern cars and makes em go faster...look cooler etc. Is he no longer a rodder because he is not building something pre 48'? I think not. He still loves older steel when he is waxing nostalgic but his idea is still hot rod purist in that (notice by the short list of cars) he upgraded when he could for a faster car with more modern suspension and then built on that.
I love em if ya built em is my philosophy.
Just my .02
Fitysix

 

what happens is you end up with 30lbs of stuff in a five pound bag.

my car is no where near done due to the fact that no parts i buy fit or work in the space im limited to but I make them work. still keeping an old look to the car.

car has or will have chop, channel, section, strech,flush fit doors, suicide doors, power windows, locks, heat a/c defrost, cruise control,heated seats,hidden cup holders,power,removeable sun roof,am/fm cd changer (updated 63-67 corvette radio), jaguar independent rear, 427 twin super charged sbc, frenched license plates and tail lights,hidden tail gate cables, flush mounted gauges,and all the other stuff i can jamb into it

 

I was there in the day, and if you ran a flathead, you were a loser, literally. Pretty little engines but there were left in the dust when the Overhead V8's came in. First the Caddy and Olds, then the small block Chevy. Everybody switched and those that didn't slowly faded into the rear view mirror. Flathead guys couldn't make fun of anyone, because they couldn't back it up at the stoplight. Flatheads sounded pretty though. My ride in 59' was a Caddy powered Henry J.

 

Hell Yeah!!!

I could have edited out the pics, but they should be seen again.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

 

forgot to add this is all being done by me who pushes a pen all day and sit in an office.

 

I love it!!!!
Fitysix

 

Here you go I'm 21 built this car myself in my parents 2 car in the burbs. Oh yeah 6 months after returning from a war hmmmm, sound familiar. Disc brakes,alternator,automatic trans newer technology but real hot rod look and yes I beat on it, driving it today roads are clear but still snow on the ground and it is about 39 degrees outside and yep no heater in sight. So if this ain't what you were looking fer well don't know what to tell ya'. awesome thread though

 

To be a true Hot Rodder... in the spirit of the Original Hot Rodders of the "period"... We would use the best parts and techniques available in OUR "period", not THEIR "period".what are you smokin that makes you come to a conclusion like that? in 1955 the 32 was 23 years old. should we all be fixing up 1983 mustangs? I think not

 

i guess i can show you a picture of my friends honda?

 

Been doin' that since about '68, granted I lean toward simple ( some call it rough) but it gets done all the time by lots of folks from my generation.
So whats you point?

Oh you mean you want to see a billit mobile that was built by the owner?That still happens all the time too at least here in KC it does. But if I had the inclination to build one I wouldn't post it here. My skins thick so the riddicule probably wouldn't hurt too bad but this just isn't the place for it.

The problem is that what you are accustomed(sp?) to seeing in the magazines or at the winners circle at some big show as a rule is owned by someone with enough cash to promote it.

I tend to build cars with a '60s flare because that's what I've always built, that's where I'm from. I guess that means I'm in a rut or something. I[m not trying to emulate a bygone era I just never escaped the '60s, at least not for vewry long at a stretch.

 

What happened??? All the other flathead forever purists stood around and laughed, and shat all over him for building a non traditional rod!!! Then he took them all, one by one, out to the drag strip and handed them their collective asses. The next week, every shop in the area was filled with sparks and curses as people burned out flathead mounts and tried to figure out how to build smallblock mounts in their rides---and every wrecking yard withing 300 miles immediately had 45 smallblocks in any condition on backorder.

 

Hear, hear!

I say, build it to your tastes, and screw what everybody else thinks. It's your car, after all, and you're the one who has to live with it. Do what makes you happy.

Besides, the term "traditional" can be interpreted several ways. Grabbing a big hammer and MAKING all the parts work together as a cohesive whole (and coming up with innovative, creative ways to do this) is all part of the spirit of hot-rodding!

When the Prize Patrol comes with that oversized novelty check, my '60 Cadillac is getting a Fatman IFS, bigger 'n shit. My '66 Dodge Wagon is getting a tubular K-frame and a power rack.

And everything I own is getting an end-of-the-tailpipe turbo setup!
http://www.ststurbo.com/universal_system

~Jason

 

The answer to the question is: The guy went to church, entered the Confessional, knelt down and said, "Bless me Father for I have sinned."
Seriously though, in 1959 I put a flathead in a '31 A Pickup. A year later I put a 303" Olds in the pickup. Another year went by and I installed a 265 Chev in it. Each change was considered an improvement back then.
HAMBers tend toward building rods that are true to or represent earlier hot rod eras. It's a wonderful thing.
It's all done for personal satisfaction and an occasional "thumbs up" from a like-minded rodder. No point in fretting over anything else.

 

Built entirely by me (except the trans). Pure hot rod....550 horse big block, 4.56 posi, slicks...probably totally illegal.

Built to whoop on Z06 vettes and pro-steet chevelles..and to scare the shit out of me and anyone else riding in it

 

This thread is kind of about the demise of flatheads in hotrods (the first time around). Reminds me of a story my boss told me back in the early 70's. He had a flathead powered 32 that was top dog around here at the time. He said a new Olds pulled up beside him and proceeded to blow his doors off. He said they both pulled into the local truck stop cafe and he went over to check the car out. It turned out to be a J-2 Olds and to heap insult on injury, a girl was driving the car. That was basically the end of his flathead days. It wasn't long and he had a 53 Ford with a 283 in it. Said the cops could see the dropped draglink you had to run with a smallblock in the Ford and pulled him over all of the time to harrass him about driving a hotrod.

 

I have to say that I have the utmost of respect for the guys that build a period perfect car, be it a Hotrod or a Custom, or do a total perfect restoration of a vintage Rod or Custom that they bought and are restoring to it's original period perfect glory. It takes a lot of time, money and work to do this, I've built harley's like this for customers of mine. What I don't like is that a lot of the people that do this are a bit snobby about it, as if they are a class better.
Of course I agree that there are certain limits to what should be called a Hotrod, a 1955 Nomad just isn't a Hotrod and 1965 Nova isn't either. You know what I mean, flat black paint and white walls don't make it a Hotrod.
Personally I like my cars and bikes to go fast and stop and handle well, so I consider my Hotrod (1929 model a RPU) a traditionally inspired car, if this is the right way to put it. Chassis and suspention are traditional, Biasply tires a.s.o but the engine is a 1968 caddy big block that now has 512 cid and I run disc brakes up front. My harley is built simularly, 1957 pan head, rigid frame but the engine is bored and stroked to 93", electronic ignition, disc brakes. Why did I build them like that? Because I wanted to, some guys don't like my car or bike, but a lot of guys do.
What I really don't like is cars that are thrown together out of just any kind of junk, and then the owners claim it's some thing that it isn't.

 

Well said.

People build thier cars to thier preference. Because I dont like Billet, doesnt mean so should the next.

I like chrome, people like polished aluminum/Billet. Fine.

Cars are a preference and that's what makes the Hobby go round and round like it does.

For me, I prefer the ways they did it in the "50's & 40's."

"Traditional" to me means just that. Building it the way they used to. Flathead motors, Banjo rears; Shoeboxes w/ original running gear, Stock 6volt radios.

Hey, that's me.

 

Telecaster. More pics if you got 'em. I like your philosophy.

I've been chastised on this board for having some non traditional HAMB thoughts. I really don't get that. I'm just amazed at what the guys (and girls) on this board build in their garages There is a ton of talent here. And by the way Slag, love what you are doing! Who cares if it's disc or drum, IFS or straight axle, flathead or a 572 crate. The whole idea that you've build it; its fast, custom and a real driver is the cool part and what I think hot rods are about. This, at least to me, is what old school is about, not all of us driving the exact same thing. What I don't get is building a trailer queen to sit behind in a lounge chair making sure not a spec of dust gets on the $10,000 paint job while strangers walk by. I guess it's cool to have people admire your car but.... what about when its running down the road? Seems kinda boring to me and a real waste of time to just sit and look at what you are most likely afraid to drive. I admire the guy that's driving in the day what he works on at night. The whole labor of love thing. That's the cool part. Anybody (provided you have the cash) can get Boyd or Foose to build them a fabulous car, but, it's just not the same, again at least to me.

Gary

 

Anybody building anything this weekend?

 

Just giveing the Buick a shave
Fitysix

 

I have to agree to a point. You see I am in the middle of the exact project you are talking about. Now don’t get me wrong I really like the traditional hot rods. It just happens that for me I had some new parts around before the car got here and the 2 will make a great rod.

I have a 50 ford that I removed the original flathead from and I am now installing a LS1 from a 2002 Corvette with injection, a computer controlled 4 speed auto & 9” rear. The outside and interior is going to be completely traditional with a nice 4-5” chop, but with modern drive line.

My opinion on this was the fact that hot rodding was based on finding the fastest most powerful engine combo out there and make a cool ass ride that is unlike everyone else. That is exactly what my goal is, not I am doing everything possible to stay away from Billet…

 

hot rodding is hot rodding and restorations are restorations. You build a hot rod but you restore an old car. Make your old car go faster or make it safer with more modern tecnology and you are hot rodding. Build it like the 50s and you are restoring. Both are cool. Do what suits you. Thats what that first guy did.

 

That sounds similar to what Ak Miller said about what happened when he put a 303 Olds in his '32 in late '49. All the other guys laughed....until he shut down all of them.

 

Isn't doing it traditionally more about paying homage to that generation than it is about making the fastest best handling best stoping car? I think alot of it is just to get the same feeling they got back in the day when they didn't have all this modern stuff. They did the best they could with what they had. I'm sure they woulda used disk brakes, big blocks etc. if they had'em but the fun is in seeing what it would be like with out all the hi-tech stuff. Yes no?

 

What happened? He found out it was lighter than the Caddys and Olds motors! But sometimes he got his ass handed to him by a Cad motor.

Hey happy fuckin holidays kids! Build em if ya got em. What you're doing (or trying to do) is the tradition. Not how it looks or what you're using.

 

Heres mine... Its a 54 dodge pu on a 94 caprice chassis.... I plan on using as much as of the caprice as possible...