Hot Rods Whats the allure of speed equipment to you?

I find myself obsessed with speed equipment, early ford hot rods, gauges etc etc, i know i recieved some of my moms excessive complusive disorder but i just find the the parts and the history fascinating, and how many different items were manufactured (ie Kiwi kevs pedal collection) i see a speed part that some one has, i google it, read about the history then want to find one for myself, i have started a hoard of neat old shit, now i dont just hoard stuff, i build alot of cars, and work on hot rods as my job, the only problem is i never get to my keeper cars, so the stuff sits, waiting patiently to get placed back on a car, and i have all the intentions to do so, but dont feel ill get to all of them, im sure theres alot of people that feel the same or do the same, sometimes it just gets overwhelming and i want to perge it all but then a day later i find myself buying more drugs (speed equipment), i guess im glad im not addicted to alcohal or drugs else id be dead, so i guess theres alot of other bad habbits a buy could be hooked on.

whats your guys take? what do you like about old speed equipment?

JEFF

 

The speed itself ie going fast,DUH. If you are buying speed equipment because it looks cool maybe you need to rethink your motives.

 

Well its my golf game.My hobby,I love parts and auto related stuff almost as good as the car itself.Also signs, oil cans,ww2 memorabilia.....

 

I have a similar thing/problem with old chrome hot rod parts. I find it very hard to leave them at a swap. Being in Australia, there is not that much around but i still find it somehow
Still searching for the holy grail = chrome banjo rear end.

 

I couldn't have said it better Jeff....I will score a cool speed part at a swap meet and all the sudden my mind is building a whole car from that one part...I don't think it is an addiction, cause there is way to break addictions. It is a incurable disease that cannot be cured

 

I just love the tie to history. Here is a piece made by a guy my age 60 years ago and it's still relevant and still beautiful. It's like having a a painting by a favorite well known artist....but then being able to take that painting and put it on your engine and it makes you rip down a two lane road. It's practical archeology. It's rare, it's old, it's useful, it's rad.

I love the evolution of speed parts and how even something like an intake can pinpoint your cars's place or where it WOULD have been.

I wish I had money for more but now my motto is if I'm not using it them pass it along so someone else can.

 

I'm addicted to finned aluminum and Nailhead speed parts and I like it!!

 

Having vintage speed parts is like a Playboy for your soul.Some I plan to use one day other stuff I just feel lucky to own.

 

I don't think their is any problem in buying a vintage speed part because it looks sweet. I think finned aluminum flathead heads are a great example of that. They don't do much for the engine itself but damn do they dress up a flatty...

And don't feel bad Jeff, the hot rod gods have smiled upon you like none other You'll get to your personal projects one at a time. And when you do, you'll have enough carburetion and vintage chrome goodies to GO!

 

I buy things out of necessity for the most part...there isn't much for rare or beautiful big block Mopar speed parts, and I don't own any flatheads or SBC's or any of the other cool speed equipment engines...I do love old SW gauges (the style with the needle behind the face) but I have pretty much stopped buying those since my 2 project vehicles suck up all of my spare cash...I guess I just haven't really been exposed to the more popular makes and models of hot rods since I'm always buying the neglected and overlooked Mopars...hoping to pick up a '54 Coronet sedan next spring, so maybe I'll be on the hunt for some Dodge flathead 6 speed parts then ...

 

Doesnt even have to be vintage for me. Dont know why, I just LOVE parts. Especially race parts. I have been known to go out to the garage and play with carbs, run my fingers over the short side radius of a head I have ported, pull out cams with great big scary lobes just to look at them, or fondle a set of roller tappets. hey, what can I tell you, I'm a wierdo. There, I said it.

 

I have an old "Mini-Express" mushroom tappet I was fondling just a couple weeks ago. Do I need counselling?

 

Must be me. If I can't use it I have no desire to hoard it. I sometimes wonder why people want a wall of flathead intakes, finned valve covers or whatever. Its a bit like having a few parts of an SR-71 and dreaming of the whole plane. It'll never happen so why keep them?

 

I can really relate to this. I never really had any intention of owning a chevy, then my brother gave me a large journal, steel 327 short block. So then I end up hunting cars, was actually looking for an '80s malibu wagon or a '64-'67 chevelle wagon, then I found my '66 Chevy II. Once I had the chevy II, someone offered me a '66 date code, small journal 327, so I had to snap that up. Now I'm back to square one, I have a homeless large journal 327. This could end up with me buying 3-4 cars, just because I wound up with a "free" short block.
I have wound up buying cars to go with parts I had to have...

 

I'm right there with ya, I just bought a finned timing cover for mechanical injection setup that I will never use. It will look damn good mocked up on a dummy engine I have though..lol
I do go through and clean things out once in awhile, mostly to fund other car things I need. I always make sure and buy other car parts with the money made just to keep things even in my little world.
I was just thinking earlier about that mechanical injection on that dummy engine and how that would look perfect in this fed I know the whereabouts of. The problem is I am way to big to fit in that fed so the whole thing would just be a static display which is ok with me too. There you would have a collection of parts all together sitting around doing nothing. ha ha

 

The allure of speed mixed in with all things mechanical. Little bits of history mingling with great dreams.

 

Well said indeed.

 

I like old original stuff....It's a link to history...using a real part that was on a car 60-70 years ago...cleaning it up..repairing it...bringing it back to life..that's what it's all about

 

I have a thing for factory (GM, Ford, etc.) produced speed parts especially Pontiac.

I have several Tri-Power setups, a Super Duty two 4 setup, some Ram Air parts and others. However I do have some aftermarket parts as well and just scored an N.O.S. Offy fuel pump block-off plate at this past Fall Carlisle.

 

Hoarding. The new crack.

 

Couldn't explain it better than that if I had to!!!

 

This is what I believe separates the truly traditional builder from the others - the history - wanting to preserve it - appreciation for it and drive a peace of it.




Example
I had a guy from next door always come over and ask me - Why ? --- Drum brakes - no AC - no IFS - clear glass - flathead …… some people will never get it and a lot of the time it’s the old guys that were there! … I guess it’s a been there done that thing.

 

I buy old (and new) speed equipment with the sole purpose of making the car it's INTENDED for faster...Of course "looks" come into play for "certain" parts...but the end result is to go faster (this is all relative to what is being built...(pro-street, traditional rod, etc..)...I mean, I ain't putting N.O.S on a Model A or a 6x2 intake on a '66 Chevelle...haha
Sometimes those projects never get finished....and the parts hang on the wall...for awhile.
In the end, shit that don't get used gets sold off to pay for shit that will.....


Speed equipment not being used is a crime.............like having a smoking hot girl you just stare at.....

 

When I was a Hell of a lot younger, I had this thing about one barrel to two barrel carburetor adapters. Of course at that time I had a very worn out flathead AMC 6. That and those cool looking little chrome air cleaners. Well I never got up the nerve to buy them, and it's probably just as well. But every now and then I think that I'd like to have one just to look at. The illusion of power sort of thing.

 

Im with ya there.

And i do like going fast too, but looks are important too, if im gonna set up a 6x2 set up on a motor its gonna run good too, im not just gonna slap a set up on a stock motor.

Ive deffinately gotten more strict on period correctness of the plans for my keeper cars.

JEFF

 

I don't understand hoarding. One set of Cal Custom valve covers is just fine for me. I buy parts for a specific project and not to just hang on the wall. I do love looking at them while the car is being built. Some extremely hard to find parts have been kept knowing that I could never replace them once they are sold. My finances may play a big part in not hoarding.

That said...there is nothing like finding that perfect part that fits the build theme and year that is running around in my head. The big stuff like intakes and such are pretty easy to find but finding those perfect hose clamps and fuel filter etc. can be more of a challenge. I love the hunt and that magic moment when the perfect part shows up in my price range.


I can afford to hoard some of the smaller stuff. A man has to know his limits.

 

Jeff,
For me it has always been about going fast. I suppose that Speed parts are a means to an end.

I do have a pretty deep affection for all things obsolete. I always have had. I am not sure where that comes from. I guess it could be that when I started pretending to know what it was all about I didn't have much money, so I used everyone else's cast off pieces. Now those pieces are collectible but to me they are just what I am accustomed to using.

Oh on the subjects of drugs, the Ol' Man told me when I was young but old enough to understand that going fast was addicting, every bit as addicting as heroin. I am pretty damned sure he was correct, every time I go fast I need to go a little faster just to get the same rush.

 

Whats the allure of speed equipment to you?


To,..... go fast.
​

 

For me it's the history of thought that it represents. How did we get to where we are? Some of it is amazing...

 

O.E.M stuff bows at the feet of economists.
Speed gear bows to the gods of speed. And often looks cool doing it.