is "the look" more important than the driveability ???

I have built everything from custom bikes to traditional hot rod coupes and trucks. I have told my kids that sometimes you have to give up comfort for style, However, real world drivability is everything. If the vehicle is not comfortable and easy to drive, you simple will not drive it. If you have given up EVERY bit of driving comfort and ease of use you will find an excuse to not use the vehicle. It may look cool but you will not put those real miles on it.

I have decided that I will give up some comfort but it has to be easy to get in to, easy to start, and easy to drive down the road straight. Anything else is just a posing vehicle......Obviously this is just my humble opinion....feel free to disagree.....

 

I didn't miss it.
Unless comfort is on the list of priorities or list of goals along with functionality it won't be there.

Example, the human body requires a certain amount of space to remain comfortable. If you choose to ignore that simple fact you are intentionally going for discomfort.

 

If my '30 Roadster was finished as a "Perfect as built in 1962" car, or I had a perfectly restored 1926 Bugatti the ride is only as good as the componets of that year. It is what it is, any changes put it in Street Rod Land. You want a nice riding car go to the local car dealership.

 

so these are your build reguirements?;
1- uncomfortable
2- undriveable
3- looks good
my point is #1+2 wouldn't be a goal if it could be helped. agree?

 

So, am I to believe the best driving, most reliable, most comfortable car ever, even though it is butt-ugly by everyones standards, is the car we should want to own?

Of course not, the look is just as important as the comfort and drivability.

I believe its a sliding scale, Race cars dont have to be comfortable as long as its fast and looks nice.
Show cars are just that, looks over comfort.
Daily drivers are the hardest to achive, there are more limits because comfort and drivability are more important.

We all make sacrifices to have what we want, some delete A/C and glass windows for speed, some add A/C and airbags for comfort. some ditch the hot motor for more drivability.

to answer the question "NO" unless its built for the sole purpose of a show car.

Godspeed
MrC.

 

Hell I have forgotten what the question was.

A car can look correct and still be very highly functional or drivable. Even a car built to '62 standards. The Ol' Mans roadster was built in the late 40s and upgraded to '60s standards by '62. It was comfortable enough to carry a skinny crippled kid on a 700 mile journey straight through, the Ol' man looped it so that was 1400 miles. It cornered like it was on rails and looked good doing it.

The deal is that looks are secondary unless you are building a show car to '62 standards and a lot of them didn't even run, most only had to be driven from the trailer to the roped off area. When you build a car to suit its purpose it will look like it does and unless you are a total screw up that will be lookin' good.

 

No.
Does someone's build requirements include " uncomfortable" or "undrivable" at the top ? I doubt it.

But because "comfortable & drivable" was not at the top or included at all, they have little of both or none at all. Not understanding or being ignorant of their importance is why they weren't on the list in the first place. Not including them is the same as intentionally ignoring them which is the same as setting out to build it that way.

The old saying of “if you aim for nothing , you'll hit it every time " applied to the requirements list should make sense. How can you achieve anything if its not on the list.

Its all a compromise

 

you probably already have it figured out, but did you ever think of a smog pump inlet and a vacuum canister? they are pumps so should be able to pull vaccume on the iinlet and they are everywhere in yards, thinking on the cheap and easy for your wipers as far as me, I think I'm going to keep one project with just basic creature comforts and maby build my 90 towncar into a custom, they are huge and like to wallow down the road and are perfect for that, they actually look decent if you swap the starwars dash for the optional analog one, makes it look 20 years older

 

Its the same old story, "form vs. Substance..." when i was in school, the binder, and the cover page were as important to your grade as the "hash" you put inside...
I just picked up a 31 coupe, already chopped some 5-6 inches... Looks cool as hell, but the prob lies that i an 6"3" and 250#... Im a little nervous. But im hoping proper engineering and plenty of imagination fluid, we shall produce a fine, properly raked rod that will allow for comfort, vision, and power enough to smoke em down the block... D/b

 

For you my friend it is a packaging issue.

 

My cars look like shit and don't run so I guess I will stay out of this.

 

Some on here would say that you got the look my friend.

 

I've never owned a comfortable car or truck but I've had some pretty cool looking ones. If I wanted comfort I'd by a new Cadillac.

 

We should always remember " Form Follows Function " JMHO.

 

No shame in that Dude....This is about opinions and nothing else. Your response is every bit as valuable as mine, and not a bit less..................Centurion9

 

That's a great way to put it.

 

Has anyone ever looked at the Doane Spenser Roadster and said "Ooooooooooooh that looks confortable."? Bob

 

Spencer's roadster is a great example.
Looks fantastic, innovative solutions,

I don't think anyone looked at his car and said "WTF, how do you fit in there? Hey watch this clown - he can't even walk, what a fuck up".

His roadster also competed in some long distance endurance races. It must have something going for it.

 

I saw this on facebook. You be the judge.

 

I didn't realize that we were talking about that^ kinda vehicle. I thought we were talking about traditional hotrods.

 

To put it into perspective before a person can be classified as white/hispanic/asian etc. they have to be a person as an indentity.

When you mention cars the first thing that comes to mind is 4 wheels and a cabin area that's able to transport passenger(s). If one chooses to build a car no matter what crazy style and it renders the car unable to carry passenger(s) or/including in a safe reasonably comfortable fashion then what you have is art not a car. I'm choosing the word "art" very loosely here.

Think of it as building a kick ass house that has no walls so you can enjoy the scenery year round, and say the house is located in the northern part of the US. Would it be kick ass.......yup Would critters and bugs eat you alive.......yup Could you live in it year round especially in the fridgid winter months absolutely NOT, it'd be too cold, pipes would freeze etc. etc. Would it still be a house....sure

A house is suppose to house people in a safe climate controlled enviroment just as a car is suppose to transport people from point A to point B in a safe reasonable manner. Can you see where I'm going with this......

 

The video that started this thread is "that" kind of vehicle. I didnt even think it had the "look" but thats just me...

Ah, I see the link is broken. Just as well, it wasnt something you would really wanna see anyway. Sorta like the automotive version of a calf with two heads...

 

YES! It has "The Look", that is what you see first. The fold down armrest is nice, but the overall look is what it is all about IMO. Bob

 

You just have to build the car around yourself. Be true and don't try to "impress" some other dude with how you paint is shiner or you hood is lower, just make what works and you think is cool. Build it once. Classic, is a great and very hard class to build into.... Drive it lots and change the oil

 

This form / function issue is a like a subconscious voice in my head. Whenever I think about changing something from its original state I am thinking of the benefits that that change makes. Here's an example:

I bought a car recently, sight unseen apart from a few pictures. One of the pictures which won me over eventually steering me to buying it was of the beautiful 55 century dash, which I thought was perfect. now the seller said he could have air con installed cheaply and my wife thought that would be a great idea, so I went with it. when the car arrived, I was disappointed to see this whopping great air conditioning unit taking up half the floor space under the dash, and I am hating the look. So I am in form mode. However, the next heatwave that hits is going to make me change my mind about how much I hate it. Function takes over.

Same with the vacuum wipers. I want to keep it original, though they currently don't want to work. I could fart around and try getting them fixed, and they may work ok, but they will never work as well as a motorised unit, which I am thinking of buying. The only thing stopping me from buying it, is the "form" factor.