Flat black, Rusty, Unfinished!!

These seem to be a few new no no words on this board.Some feel like they are a part of the rat rod craze it seems. I hear more and more guys on here tell us how it should be shine with a nice coat of paint. I want to build a traditional stile rod and one thing that will not make it a traditional car is if it is flat black, rusty or heaven for bid unfinished. Don`t get me wrong I enjoy all the really nice rides that are built to spec of a 50`s show car`s but I always has a soft spot for the down to earth cars that never had all the shiny parts and looked like a lot of fun to drive. I had a number of shine cars with a lot of hours put into the bodies I had them straight and shining like a nickel. Didn`t enjoy them because I was always worried about something getting damaged. There are a lot out there that think the same way I do and don`t need someone telling me what is or isn`t a traditional hot rod. Needs more then one carb!! Car sits too low!! SBC are not traditional!! Flat black is so over done!! And if it is a rusty car that has any of the above it is a rat rod. I like most hate the clown car rat rods, shulls, spider webs with the clown pipes and crazy use of stop signs. But seeing a Model A slung in the weeds with a SBC and left Rusty or painted flat black!! Come on .It looks like a fun car to drive. There were cars build just like this back in the day. So I got to thinking about a number of cool cars I seen in post here on the board. All were from 40`s and 50s and none were shine, some were ratty, low slung and even had SBC in them with single carbs. All came from a time when the term rat rods was not even dreamed up. All cool cars but some, if build today, would be looked at as quit possibly a rat rod. So just because it is not shiny, flat black, low slung, or have a SBC in it don`t mean it is not traditional. Here are a few traditional down to earth 40`s and 50`s hot rods.

 

A few more

 

X2 on what you said.... , but ,this is the wrong generation for that traditon .

 

Alot of words out of my own mouth right there!!!!

 

I agree with what you say, the fun factor goes way up when you eliminate the "I might scratch it" from the equation.

 

Amen.
I have hated all my shiney nice cars. I felt like they owned me. Always worried about someone opening their door into them and leaving a ding or scratch. I remembered in high school when I built my first fast car. It was a beat up half flat black 85 cutlass that my friends and I stuffed a built 455 olds into. The drivers door didn't open and I climbed in and out of the window. The interior was worn out and a couple different colors. I LOVED THAT CAR. We had more fun in it than any other car. It was extremely loud and fast. All the pretty boy kids in their 5.0s that daddy bought them would make fun of it... Until I took off from the light and left them in a cloud of tire smoke wondering how my beater could be faster than their sports car. I sold all my pretty and shiney cars that I built in my later teens and early 20s. Now I will not build another car that I will be a slave to. I also hate the spider webbed stop signed clown cars. I put together a car I can drive regardless if its imperfect. Just my view on it.

 

The last picture on the 1st set is by far my favorite.

 

fitzee, I agree with what you said........

 

No, sorry. Rusty cars were not around "back in the day". Rusty cars were only seen in junkyards, not on the road. Primer was used temporarily before you were ready to paint it. Drive what you want, and enjoy it, but please...let's not attempt to re-write history.

 

fitzee; Somewhere in there you defined what is right for you and yours. Whatever, however, you do it with your car is welcome, parked beside mine at any show or event. I'll respect your way of doing it, whatever it might be. We may even discuss it. Or not.

But applying, implying, that what you would prefer on your car, suggesting that it is what I should do on mine, that premise is all wet.

 

Yea man, sounds just like my HS ride, excpet my cutty was primer red & had a 351C with no hood/bumper/grille/carpet/seats/etc.

 

So these car were not from back then??

 

Blah blah blah, shut up and build whatever you want...then drive it...

 

A photograph is merely a snippet in time. The car could have been built on Saturday, the photograph could have been taken on Sunday, and the car may have been painted on Monday.

Of course there are always exceptions to EVERYTHING. A few cars out of the millions on the road I would hardly consider a trend...

I was there. I never saw a rusty car on the road. Never.

 

As I see it, every persons idea of traditional is different, the fact that we can say it freely and do what we want is what makes America great, I think we can all agree on that. Dave

P.S. I agree with you fitzee

 

The folks that have never seen a rusty car back in the day are probably from California, Arizona ,etc. I'm an east coast guy and can attest to the FACT that there were PLENTY of rusty rods on the road.

Build whatever you want, and don't slam people for doing whatever THEY want. If you want me to build my rod to YOUR specs, then pay for it. Otherwise, take a hike.

 

So you saw ever hot rod built back then? Sorry!! I never new that. My apologizes

 

These cars have had 70 more years of exposure to the elements than those built in 1940 no fin wonder there are more rusty cars. Everyone doesn't have the bucks to cherry out a body but why not drive the car until or as it gets fixed, isn't trhe high cost of building shiney billet cars what really caused treturn to traditioal builds?

 

Fitzee I agree with you, somewhere along the lines that aesthetic got mixed up with poor craftsmanship and douchebags.

 

Geez dude, relax.... I merely said I never saw a rusty car on the road. Take that for whatever it's worth. I could give a shit what you want to build or drive (as long as it is safe), or anyone else for that matter. Have at it. Enjoy it.
Just don't tell me how it was, when you weren't there...PLEASE

 

Fitzee
I think where you are missing it is that a lot of those cars were unfinished. No they weren't called "Rat Rods" I think the Ol' Man called them Jalopies.

I'm not saying that you are wrong your words are good but the one thing that you are missing is that there was little to no money to be spent on things like paint and chrome in that time period. That was money that I don't doubt would have been spent if it were available.

What was the norm was that a car was built as far as cash would allow that usually ment that it had the very best of what was available within budget. Most of the time being as the builder/owner wanted to drive it the cash outlay went onto drive train and then was rat holeing cash until there was enough for a paint job. Hell I was still doing that very same thing in the later '60s when I was in high school. More often than not a car would go through several owners before it ever got paint and hydes.

From where I sit if you want a jalopy more power to ya. I don't see the need to justify what it is that you want. If you are in this to satisfy someone else than you should probably seek help or get yourself on the waiting list for a spine transplant or both. I don't think that you need either but the words needed to be said for those that do.

Ya build it the way you want to and let the chips fall where they may.

Anyway that was just for clarification not a slam on you my friend.

Carey on

 

You never lived in Michigan did you?

 

I gaze into my crystal ball and I see . . . I see. . . . .

CLOSED

 

was this going anywhere since the start?

 

Sounds a little like the times we are living in now. Only for me there is no money for things like tires or king pins for my front end much less any speed equipment. I guess my car is more traditional than I could have ever known.

 

Where did he say what you should do? Sounds like to me, he just wants to do what he wants without people knocking it.

 

Two words for you Spell Checker. As far as your post these are really getting old on a weekly basis. Build what the fuck you want, how the fuck you want it and drive it. This, how it should be done and why crap, who fucking cares? Peer Pressure, either you ignore it or cave in to it. Me i could give a rats ass what anybody thinks about my rides as long as i like them. Move on and have fun, and quit worrying about stupid shit. Rant over.

 

Can't speak for two of them, but the first one is the Frank Mack T that was painted black lacquer and won top show rod year after year at the Detroit Autorama. It is now in the Petersen Museum and owned by Bruce Meyer, still sporting the hand rubbed black lacquer paint it had when it won the first Detroit Autorama in 1953. I know, cause I was there. That picture was taken during construction.

 

Rust is a color.

 

I`m getting off track here.The point I`m trying to make is that someone today that build a car that is flat black, rusty or unfinished ends up getting bashed on.Just like back then money might be tight and I know what chroming and a paint job can cost.Or maybe he might just like that look. For me it is all about enjoying the ride and going places meeting new people.it was never about my car is shiny then yours.I see too much of this shit locally.There are very few here that beat to the same drum as me so I not following a trend.I just feel that traditional goes way beyond Flatty motors,6 carbs, Chrome from head to arshole and 52 coats of hand rub lacquer paint.