Customs Where to draw the line... (Customs Only!!)

We run Coker Classics on our '50 plym and they are wide-white bias-ply. So far theyve been great. they ride great, handles pretty nicely and theyre good quality. We dont drive the car in the rain unless we get stuck in it and the one time we had them out on wet roads; they were fine. Driving on wet roads comes with common sense. If youre runnin bias-ply; drive responsibly on the wet roads. dont aim to set land speed records and take corners responsibly and they'll do just fine.

 

There is no line. It just depends on what you want or can afford to build. Just dont call your ride the ever so popular "period perfect Custom" or whatever annoying phrase you want to conjour up if you have even one thing that isn't from the time period. If your going for the period perfect thing you have to go all the way. It's either period perfect or not, then it's just a custom car, which is great, that's what most mine are and I'm fine with it.

As with anything, you can't start a sentence with "It's prefect...with the exception of..." and as stated many times above, if you have a killer car done nicely and a stock 350 tbi motor...please just keep the hood shut and make em wonder...and be sure you have those rubber wheel well skirts...

 

I like to use the description "traditionally inspired" to cover my multitude of sins.
Paul

 

My self I love the old looks but like having everything modern under the skin. What I enjoy is when you get some of the tree huggers telling you that your car is one of the reasons for polution and everything bad in the world and then you pop the hood of your 19?? build and show them the 2008 EFI power plant getting 24+ MPG and then ask them what their all plastic carbon credit buy a new car every few years is doing to save the planet!

In talking with several old builders over the years most of them have said they wished they had the new EFI and computer controled suspention back in the day and they would have used it. Remember most customs in the 50's and 60's were built with the most modern parts they had at the time.

Build what you can, drive it when ever you can and enjoy every minute of it because life is short and you can't go back!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

 

I agree and disagree with several things that have been said... I'm building my car for me and me only... if you are trying to represent it as a "traditional" custom, then don't slam it to the ground with modern equipment, etc... if you just rep it as a custom, do w/e you want... I've got friends with 62 cadillacs like mine that are one step from full on concourse cars, some look period correct, with modern safety and comfort upgrades, and then some are full shaved, slammed, disk brakes, etc... my car lays on the frame, doors shaved, custom paint, etc... but I won't take it to LSR or Pistons and Paint and try to pass it as something it's not

 

It didn't rain in 1950? How on earth did anyone ever survive a drive to the grocery store in one of those death traps, much less a mountain road?

 

there has been alot said on here already....

I will say that you can get away with more modern components on a custom than a hot rod, just because you can hide more. But the one thing I've noticed since "traditional" has become the latest trend, is people so fucking concerned about what is traditional and what isnt...like they are trying to impress others with their car rather than trying to impress themselves. Its like a dick measuring contest sometimes about how traditional a car is or isnt. Ive noticed more people posting threads asking if they should use a component or not, like they need fucking permission from the HAMB. I love this place, but build something that suits your tastes and dont fucking worry about what the grand collective thinks...in the end its your car, you own and (should) drive it.

 

For me, since I like driving my cars, what ever makes it more reliable, safe and comfortable.

 

FYI: Those AN fittings were originally used on aircraft from as far back as the 20s and 30s, also known as the era of the cars they are applied to. Being an aircraft mechanic, if I were around then you bet your ass I'd have used them on a car! It's a simple ease of use item.

 

i think you are correct if you apply this thinking to customs in general.
thing is the op was asking about traditional customs and i think it would be safe to say it is nearly impossible to come up with really ground breaking modifications on old iron using only old parts and techniques.
basicly a traditional custom is a copy or interpretation of what has been done before and therefore already has an implied limit on creativity to start with. the inclusion of newer safety items and a few creature comforts when well hidden should not detract for an otherwise traditional looking custom.
i want this hobby to continue but for it to move forward with new ideas and creativity you would need to embrace modern technologies and newer cars and thats just not what this board is about.

and please dont think im bashing you because i am not. just offering a different perspective. i am a late model director for the KKOA and i get grief all the time for the things me and some of my friends do to newer cars.
i think traditional builders should not try to include newer elements and still claim a traditional build but i do feel there is a place for the contemporary(old car new tech) and modern custom (new car new tech) as well as the iconic customs of yesterday and today that we all love,in the world of customizing.

 

Amen!

 

they may have existed at the time, but they were virtually never used on cars. If you use them on a car, I don't care, just don't leave the stupid blue and red anodizing on them, because I know they didn't do that 'back then.' It's also ugly as sin.

 

A lot of people actually didn't survive in "those death traps", hence the development of seatbelts, radial tires, disc brakes, etcetera, etcetera...

 

impossible to argue with!! ditto

 

Great points. As the the radial/bias thing. They did come out with radials in the '60's which I think is okay to put on a '60's build. I am building my car to be late '50's. I had radials on when I bought it and I hated them. I can't stand the look, they killed the look of my car. That is why I got Bias Plys and I am not going back. Yes my car is also my only means of transport and I heavily log the miles on it driving all across American and Canada. I'm young and stupid, I think Bias tires are the only way to go. But that is just me. I bought my car with the original Y-Block and love it. I would never swap in another motor in it unless I blew this one up. I would try and find another Y-Block unless my budget didn't allow it and I had to get a 350.

For me, I like to buy stock cars, then customize them. My car is all stock powertrain wise, minus the T-5 the previous owner put in. If I bought a car with disc brakes, or a newer engine I wouldn't change it. But if the car came with stock shit I also wouldn't "update" it either.

I am not a mechanic, I could give a shit less about wasting my time swapping in a Mustang II, would rather put my use to custom touches. Whatever mechanical comes on my car, stays on my car. I am happy with my old ass motor, differential, suspension, etc. The only "new" thing I am putting on my car though is Moog CC850 Aerostar coils. Other than that the mechanicals are staying as is.

 

Well, even though you know they didn't, my buddy did use AN fittings on his '57 chevy in the mid-60's, northern CA.

 

I agree with "there is no line". Custom means "one off". You build it for yourself. If it pleases you that's all that counts. If you don't like the way I built mine, build your own. I may or may not like it, but who give a s**t. Just my $.02

 

Whatever you do- I guarantee that someone here will find something to bitch about as being "non-traditional."

As far as my free (and worth it) opinion goes- I prefer traditonal appearing. Safety always comes first. If I can hide the seat belts, great. If I can't, then that's one place my car won't look traditional, and I'm fine with it.

With customs, it's all about the look. If the body and interior have a traditonal look, then that's a car I'll like a lot. If under the hood and under the car look traditional, even better.

But, in the end- why build the damn thing if it doesn't please YOU? Really, it's nice to have the approval of a bunch of other car guys, but if getting that means spending lots of hours and cash building something that you don't enjoy driving- did you win or lose?

 

Damn I can't keep my mouth shut sometimes but I share these thoughts to the letter. I'm building my car for me first and foremost. Will I call it a Traditional Kustom, hmmm maybe a Traditional styled Kustom. It has bags. it has power windows, even kicking around the idea of a sound system of sorts. Hell the whole car is on a modern aftermarket chassis. Will it have a kool stance? Hell Ya! I'm hiding 12 disk brakes on all 4 corners behind Cadi wires and bias plys but I intend to drive the shit out of it. If the Bias plys don't pan out I'll get radials in a heart beat if the look is just as kool.

I never looked at a car as the sum of it's parts but as the car as a whole. When Cole Foster built Kirk Hamments 36 Ford 3 window everyone considered it a top nothch traditional ride. Yet it had modern efi, air bags, power acces and what not. But if you looked at the end result of the car it was truely badass. Modern parts and all.

 

Yes and no. Alex was sidelined by a bias-ply tire failure (which might have killed a radial too), and a failed MII ball joint. He's ok. My boss Skoty Chops, is bringing him another tire, and should be there by now.

 

I guess I'll be the one to go here....I hope I don't step on toes... but I think this is EXACTLY what this thread is about.

Let me be the first to thank the (re)restorer of Cushenbery's El Matador, Harold Murphy. I know this was rebuilt after the fire got it in the 90's, but good lord. It looks totally bitchin...on the outside. I was let down when I saw the inside. Where do I start? The tilt column, the air ride paddle switches, (not to mention THEY ARE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHERE THE DRIVER CAN'T REACH THEM!) the black plastic power window switches on the door panels, the billet shifter, CD player, the black plastic A/C ports, pro comp tach in the center console...This just makes me sad....

Current version


1993 version


Would it be so hard to have made this interior look like it's former self?

 

X2....agree!

 

amen...

 

Good Post.....Good Questions ! Very Good Anwsers.......It's LIKE, Oral Sex !
It's A Matter of Personal TASTE.
I;m Havin' One Of Each (Ones definitly All '50's..........One IS Gonna' LQQK All 50's, BUT Will Have Later Front, Rear Suspension, NO BAGS. '54 Chevy HT, Chopped, Caddy Engine & Trans, Bias Tires, Etc.......
Again , Good Post............Smoked-up, In Tha' Great SMOKEY MTS of Tenneesseee !

 

seems like some people want to let this original discussion be side tracked about bias vs radial. what is right or wrong depends on a lot of elements, some not in our control. be it the first time novice builder or the top dollar pro builder we need to look at it all in the right perspective. this is not 1940 and we do not really know what tomorrow will bring. it is like TV shows, if you do not like the show change the channel. there are some cars built by the biggest names in the custom world that make me want to throw up. my first early rod was a '41 Chevy that I brought back from the dead. at the first show I drove it to some ass---- came up and tapped his finger on the parking lens and looked at his buddy in disgust saying "plastic". F--- him, could not afford the original glass ones. so, if my ride is considered a POS because it does not meet your standards so be it. I have been talked into selling two fantastic cars over the years because I let peer pressure get to me. would give anything to have my chopped '54 Chevy and '66 Fairlane GT 390/4 spd back in my garage. customs mean class to me and there is just a certain flow of body lines that make them work.

 

Agreed. Now there are things that are obviously tacky but a carbed 350 is not that to me. Digital gauges, modern stereo in plain sight, and over the top billet are about the only thing I would say don't have a place for me. But even that is the owners choice . They just ruin cars for me.

 

One thing I can really appreciate is guys that build within their means.

For instance I just bought a 49 hudson. It doesn't have a motor tranny. I would love a twin h power setup but financially that's not in the cards right now. I have a running 350 700r4 combo that I got for 200 bucks. It will be going in the car so I can move forward. Not my first choice but it is my best for now.

I think being in the hobby is more important than being able to brag about how traditional your ride is.


Circumstance is a big part of my opinion. Pulling a good running 235 for a 350 is not cool in my books.

 

me too.
and yes it is cool, if it means i can get it for cheap.
just ask my friend nick. he has been kickin himself for a while now over a 53 235 that runs like a sewing machine.

 

Agreed, also can't stand modern head units in "traditional" customs. I am going to have a modern audio system but it is going to be hidden under N.O.S. custom speaker covers and I will just have a hidden AUX cable tucked under the seat. Nothing visible, besides N.O.S. speaker grilles.

 

Nothing wrong with a 350 in your situation. I just bought a 60 Lincoln.. I'd give my left nut for a factory 58 430 Lincoln tripower setup. If one's even out there I can't afford it either.

Now, Ripping a twin H power out of your car for a modern crate SBC would indeed be blasphemy. I don't have a problem with SBCs in the right cars, but am real sick of seeing 49 mercs with em, high dollar cars too.

What was done to El Matador is just criminal.. is that an ESCORT STEERING WHEEL? Jesus wept.

FFS, show some imagination if nothing else!