Opinions on 4 doors???

Sorry...I just cannot 4 door unless it's a 1940 or earlier. That said, I dig model A 4 doors more than the 2 door sedans if they're severly slammed and full fendered..very cool.
Here's my buddy's 40 Pontiac. He got stuck hauling all the kids and luggage on our way to the '89 street rod nats. Car runs a 435 [bored 428] Pontiac with a 400 turbo, 4 wheel disc brakes with trans-am 3.72 posi. Bodywork is now finished and redy for a coat of shiny black. Car hauls ass!

 

so it's like having a truck? everyone needs you to move something for them.

suicide doors on the back make them a little cooler.

 

4 doors baby! Wagons especially. I love wagons. ever since I was a kid. They have been a staple of america since the early days, but nobody seems to acknowledge it.
everyone wants the 2 doors.
try shoe-horning a family into those to include them in our passion. doesn't work.
go for the wagon.
as far as an era to choose from, hard to say. there are quite a few early 50's chevies around (tin woodies). or even woodies for that matter. nice blend of custom metal and wood craftsmanship.
to each his own, but I am a wagon fan. I can help locate some good ones for you. PM me for places or ideas.

 

I'm sorry dude,but if you think finding a virgin 4 door or wagon that has been preserved ( with that ever so familiar musky smell ) isn't traditional than I don't want to be traditional. This thread like many other 4 door threads merely asked for our opinions on 4 doors,and you gave one. Now my opinion is.... your opinion sucks!!!!

 

Fordors are fine. They won't ever replace a coupe or roadster, and many don't have aesthetics as good as their two-door counterpart, but there are plenty that make cool rides. Just remember that the parts count is higher, and the resale potential is usually less, so you have to do it because you like the ride.

 

I like my 4dr.. Everybody has different taste, thats why they make so many different flavors of ice cream.

 

I Like mine alot

 

We have gone through the years of raising kids with two door cars. I never thought it was a big deal, just traditional. In looking back and reviewing what I would do differently, I would have picked up a panel truck or two door station wagon just for more room, not for more doors.

I don't remember where I read it but just in the last couple of days I read some old ads and one of them was stating the safety of two doors when hauling young kids. I think it was from Studebaker.

Neal

 

OK you asked for my opinion. I hope you are not going to be an asshat about it like 99% of the people that ask for opinions on here.

I don't care for 4 doors. Period.
Wagons are OK but 4 door sedans just don't float my boat. As far as I'm concerned they are throw away cars that only became popular in the Gang Banger period of our history as a country.

I can't truthfully say that I never owned one but I never owned one that I tried to pass off as anything more than a grocery getter.

That said you do what you see fit to care for your family. If you feel that you must haul your family around in a customized 4 door that is your business, I won't think any less of you. Family always comes first, no matter what.

Good for you that you are thinking about your family before thinking about trying to be cool. I have zero respect for the fellas that have a nice car or bike and the kids and wife suffer for it.

 

Very FEW look cool... You can dance around it all you want, but it's true.

 

Four-doors are twice as fun!

Sure the two-doors usually look a little better ... but for me, a four-door is a way to stay in this hobby for cheap. Almost as much style as a 2-door, and much lower price. Times have changed, and four-doors have a place in our hobby now, even if they'll never be top dog.

 

I've got a 4 door 53 chevy..
I like it, and i like it for being a 4 door.
its our cruiser, Ive got other fun toys with 2 doors

 

Remember with 2 doors the kids in the back can't open the door and fall out.

Charlie Stephens

 

here i thought there was only one flavor!!!

 

I have a 63 4 door Corvair, thats my family cruiser. Runs smooth and quiet. Honestly though, its smaller then a 50's 2door, but I really dig the roofline on the car, so.....

But I'm a big fan of wagons and I've chopped a Chevy and Merc 4 door and they look great!! More work, but look great!!

Bottom line is....if you find a 4 door that you like, who cares what anyone else thinks!

 

Yea the HAMB has become a magnet for wannabe rodders, hopefully if you are one of those offended by that statement you will get your act together instead of just sullying up and whining about it.

Strange agent is a little young to remember but I was there, there were very few if any 4 doors that ever got the respect of the real rod and custom crowd. They were never cool and as far as I and the over whelming majority of the traditional hot rod crowd are concerned they never will be.

Eventually we will die off and the rest of the world can twist history anyway they want but until then there will be a tiny little voice out there that says " just say no."

But as I said earlier take care of your family in what ever fasion you see fit. that is a good thing.

 

True, most mordoors will not look as cool as a 2 Dr but as said already they can and will be only as cool as you can make them. I own a 4 door, do I wish it were a 2 Door, yes but its not so I will do what ever need be to make it fit what I want it to be. 4dr htps are a lot better looking than the sedans but are harder to find. Wagons are way cool IMHO and would love to find a nice one. Everybody likes different things and everyone has an opinion but its what you decide to do that matters, what everybody else thinks shouldn't really matter. Just have fun with what ever you decide to get.

 

When it's WELL done I think it could almost be cooler in an "Im so awesome I made this 4door cooler than your 2door" sorta way.

OZ had posted this at one point. I think it nails proportions so spot on it's crazy.



We also had a '60 Fleetwood Caddy at the Speed shop that was absolutely beautiful. You can see some pics of it at www.austinspeedshop.com

 

i think i just creamed my pants!!

 

i respect anyone's opinion, whether they agree or disagree with me, as long as it is constructive. (see prior douchbaggery in the thread) that being said, i posed a question, so there is no right or wrong. anyway, i appreciate what you have to say. it makes perfect sense, as does the one before yours. i guess i should have said, based on your experience... as opposed to opinion. saying, "I don't like it", never helps any sort of situation.

Keep the positivity, there may be others that are benefiting from this as well.

 

i've got a 2 door falcon, puttin my buddies in the back is a lil hassle...sometime's i wish it was 4 door(wagon) but it's cool...i'd try finding a wagon before gettin a 4 door sedan...to me they look a lot cooler than a 4 door sedan. wish i had one...JMO

 

Not offended at all, and as person that does have their act together, that why I asked. I want to continue to be active in our hobby, but yet take care of my family and enjoy it together.

Lots of great points and/or tips, guys. I honestly never thought about kids unlocking the back doors of an old car, with new technology in the dailys, that sort of thinking gets lost.

 

Honestly, I know your trying to keep positive about four doors. What you are getting for answers though is the result of a couiple of very different generations chiming in. In my high school days ('78-'82), if you drove a four door to school, you had no chance of getting laid and probably spent lots of time locked in your gym locker. Period. Four door "hot rods" are for the most part an oxymoron. They for the most part just didn't happen until the last twenty years or so. And the older group of us still knda look at them and shrug our shoulders. There was always that weird fringe that was deep into wagons and deliveries and such that didn't seem to mind them, but for the most part, if you drove one it was because you had no choice. I remeber about fifteen years ago sitting at a stoplight as a high school let out and for the first time ever noticing teen agers driving four doors... And they acted like they just didn't care...At that moment I knew the world was going down hill faster than we could save it. Now I see the guys are carrying purses... For the love of the world and everything good, just say NO to four door hot rods!
Oh, and your child will do just fine and probably be better for a bit of noise and discomfort with the trade off of being dropped off and picked up by the coolest car in school. My parents raised me in a pair of his and hers T-buckets, a supercharged XKE Jag, and a '70 Monte Carlo SS454...

 

If I had to own a four-door, I wouldn't mind being seen in one of these


That being said, I'll stick to two doors

 

Hilarious.

 

I have a 4 door '50 Chev and a 2 door 64 Fairlane mid-build. I know my '50 is never going to be a hot rod or as cool as a 2 door, and I'm good with that. It's a very fun car to cruise around in and I'm into it for not a whole lotta $. In my opinion it's better to have a little fun than none at all.

 

Exactly!!!!!!!

 

The OP already has a '54 Chevy 2-door.

 

Have I got a Wagon for you!

Freshly rebuilt original 390, everything mechanically gone-through.

Car will be in the Boston World of Wheels first week of April.

 

Go work on your 2 door..... your pissing me off!!!