Hot Rods Can you define a "traditional" 40's hotrod

I've heard for a while now about "traditional hotrod builds" and was wondering just what that entailed per the car's era, let's take my '40 plymouth sedan for example...what would be a traditional hotrod build for that?
-Paint{scollops/pin stripping?}
-Motor{flathead 6 hopped up}
-Interior{tuck and roll?}
-Accesories{skirts/spots/visor}
I don't know if my build will be fined as textbook traditional with the suede paint, skirts, spots(dummy}, visor, and a modded flathead 6...I'm in the planning stages of the interior cloth{no vinyl} and new panels.
I'd like to add my McColluch supercharger but can't seem to find a dual carb set up that'll work well...and that probably wouldn't be too traditional there if I did.
Any help here folks- Thanks in advance.

 

Why do you want a 40's build when you dont understand what it is???

 

I say its simple. Build it with parts only available before the 40's, and build a hot rod like they did it back then.

 

its easy to define a traditional hotrod.
No accessories like visors on a hotrod
Just look thru all the magazines printed before 1961.
If we are talking street driven cars, as opposed to racecars and showcars, you will find that 99 percent of traditional hotrods are Fords. That is true from day one, 1909 when Henry started making the Model T. The Fords were king until 1955 when the over head valve Chevy V-8 came out and even then, Fords dominance carried it until the Muscle cars came out. All thru the ages, the magazines talked about the division as 1948 and older, because after 48 the new cars had automatics, independent suspension, overhead valve and air conditioning.The post 48 cars were considered as street machines instead of hotrods then muscle cars appeared.
Simply stated, hotrods were pre 49 Fords, 49 to 63 cars were street machines. Streetrods began in 1971, and after 63 the factory new hotrods of all brands were muscle cars.The gas shortage of 1973 put an end to performance cars for many years.
Lots of folks want to argue, 'what is a hotrod?' and you can hotrod a bicycle or anything else. but 'traditional" hotrods were street driven pre 49 Fords with a small amount of those also being raced. When you look at magazines printed after 1971 you will see the streetrodders talking about 'oddrods'. Those were cars that were not Fords.


In recent years some guys have begun to try to re-write history and want to include 48-52 Dodges, International trucks, Dodge trucks and a lot of other nonsense as traditional hotrods. Buncha crap. Dodges, Internationals, Ramblers and everything else were slow, stodgy and not suitable for hotrodding. Station wagons were sneered at as 'Moms cars', 'grocery getters' not cool at all, and were not deemed suitable for a street driven hotrod.
The extra weight of glass and metal meant a serious penalty
Everything changed in 1955 when the small block Chevy came out but it took several years to take effect with the faithful Ford hotrods installing SBC engines in the pre 49 Fords. Traditional hotrods pretty much died off after 61. We owe a thanks to the streetrodders of 1971 for reviving interest in our old Fords and a HUGE Thank You to the HAMB for reviving interest in traditional hotrods.

I was there in the 50s and 60s and 70s and thats we way it was

Dont believe me, go look in the old car magazines

 

Traditionally they wouldn't be using a sedan!!

Nobody wanted to been seen in YOUR MOM'S CAR!!!

 

they didn't hotrod sedans back then. same goes with 4 doors

 

There are so many different opinions and definitions about what is traditional and what is not that I doubt you'd ever get an answer that isn't confusing or contradicting.
In basic context take the advise given above... Concentrate on vintage parts and spend a lot of time perusing old car magazines, try to talk to some old farts who where building and driving hot rods back then, and, most importantly...keep it simple.

 

"Traditionally", I doubt a lot of people in the 40's were building a hot rod from a 40 Plymouth sedan.

 

Moonshiners did....

 

Make it all pre 1950 parts and do what you want. That is what it was all about. WHAT EVER MAKES YOU HAPPY. Screw what everyone else thinks.

 

YOuv'e basically listed everything to make a nice traditional 50s-60s hot rod

 

So all hot rods were Fords, were they? I wonder what all those dual carb Mopar manifolds were for, and Wayne heads for GMC's? And high comp heads and hot cams and......well, anyway.
Hot rods were whatever you had and wanted it to go faster and look cooler. Lots of old Plymouth 6's would outrun Fords just by virtue of the OD transmissions many of them had, Ford didn't get an OD until '49. I grew up in the '50's and '60's and lots of Mopars and Chevys got the hot rod treatment.

 

yeah, but did they do that in the 40's like the original poster asked? just look to the drylakes, what make was prevalent there?

 

It's about time someone got it right. I wish all that would fit as my signature.

 

I just want to understand what it would be....

 

"Some of us were also there in the 50's and 60's and 70's and that's not the way it always was. Shall we hear a 1951 song about the Rocket 88? http://youtu.be/Gbfnh1oVTk0

Or what about a Nash Rambler at Bonneville 1951."

While it's true there were a few cars that were off beat, for the most part they were not considered the norm. Honestly, before joining the HAMB, I had never heard of a COE being a hot rod or any four door car or station wagon. There will always be a few people who think outside the box, but they can't be considered the standard for the day.

 

I understand the ford flathead V8 cars were the main cars to hop up, but before those were around in the early 40's they had to be messing with flathead 6's and trying to go faster. As I read into these replies, I see nothing of paint and interior mentioned...honestly asking, wasn't there anything being done of these or was it all motor and nothing else.
Hey, I was born in 65, I know that era's cars and into the 70s...I lack the knowledge and old enough mags to see what the far earier crowd was doing- the reason I asked here.

 

I believe you over looked the part of my post that said

'If we are talking street driven cars, as opposed to racecars and showcars,'

also where I said 99 percent.
Sure, there has always been oddballs.
Curbfeeler posted a CUSTOM. The OP asked about traditional hotrods
He also pointed out there was very little done to cars in the 40s until after the war

 

Ford V8 came out in 1932.

 

Nice to see traditional is just what i thought, and that we all agree on it.

 

Cadillac had an overhead valve motor in 49', so 55' is not the year of the first chevy overhead valve motor. For the OP, what you are suggesting for your sedan is a "traditional" CUSTOM job, not a hot rod job. Also people were using, overhead valve Chevy straight 4 and 6 motors in the 30's for Bonneville, so that can also be considered a hot rod motor that was highley used in hot rods. Dodge and Plymouth were not often hot rodded or customized, with a few exceptions, until pretty recently. They were made for pretty basic and cheap transportation originally. Now Chrysler was putting out some high end cars like the New Yorker, but those wer'nt rodded or customized either.

 

As predicted... 2 pages of attempts to define the undefinable....
Tradition is more a state of mind than a clear cut set of criteria.
Should be obvious.

I'm reminded of the judge faced with the question of defining pornography.
"I can't define it, but I'll know it when I see it"

 

You are kinda almost right. I agree that a chevy is not a cadillac

 

x2 on this. and i think hooch haulers are beautiful cars. jet black, very little chrome, dropped down with a raked stance, black steelies and a HOT ass flatty. thats how id build it

 

Theres's really two ways you can look at this:

There is "traditionally styled", a car built using period cues, part, and build methods but in all reality would have likely never existed. Nothing wrong with these, but some people get pretty worked up when you say their whatever car can't be a "traditional" whatever, but honestly it can't be. Things just didn't happen that way in real life.

Then there are truly "traditional" cars, ones that actually were commonly built, thus the origin of definition of "traditional". These are your 1932 Ford hot rods and 1950 Mercury sleds kind of cars. There are others of course, these being iconic examples given. There is historical evidence of these cars in print and film.

You can build it in the style and fashion you choose and enjoy it exactly the same way though. You only have to please the person driving it.

There are no limits of the current popular styles; there are 70's BMW 2002 "gassers" driving around, "traditionally styled" swedish Volvo customs, "hot rods" being built out of sectioned, narrowed, and shortened '59 El Caminos. Nothing wrong with any of these things, they all pay homage to actual 'traditions' set years before.


What's this mean to you, Mr. Plymouth Sedan driver?

If you were to go purely "40's traditional" with you car it most likely would not have recieved much hop-ups. It would have been economical family transportation and there is nothing wrong with a car like that. A nice clean old automobile is always something I appreciate, regardless of door count or body manufacturer.

If you wanted to go "traditionally styled" you'd have to look to Ford and Mercurys in photos, film, and magazines of the years you'd like to emulate. One of the previous posters mentioned the monumental event World War II, so the 40's really have two distinct styles, pre and post war. Even more food for thought.


What's it all boil down to? It's all just fancy words, just do what makes you happy, and enjoy the car.

 

Actually in the 40s Mom's car was probably as cool as anything out there. rationing remember?

 

The best thing would be to study photos from car events from the 40's. The 40 Mopars if they were there would most likely be sitting in the background as stockers or if the racer was a high roller might be the tow rig for his roadster.
Guys raced what they had available and quite often what was cheap at the dry lakes in the 40's. If you could pick up a good running flathead six powered car for less the the asking price of a similar Ford to build a race car out of there is a good chance that is what you ran.

In the 40's and 50's no one would have run a sun visor on his custom or rodded car or truck. That and the stock skirts were the first two things that came off. The guys with the lowrider Bombs were the only guys who favored them outside of some guy who thought bolting on every piece of chrome and crap that Western auto had on the shelf was customizing much like the HOG guys do at the Harley shops today and call it customizing. Same idea different wheels same result. Up into the 60's damned few real hot rodders would be seen driving a sedan and even less would drive a four door. Even in the 60's if you drove a four door to school or to cruise you got laughed at for driving your folks car.

As far as scallop paint jobs I don't think you will see any in any photos until the mid or late 50's They didn't come in until custom car guys had the slab sided cars to work on and try to make the look like something besides slab sided cars. I've got some late 50's magazines and custom car specials that show scallop paint jobs as the new hot lick deal.

 

Sure, any Hot Rod built completely with parts manufactured before 1950.

 

So what you are trying to say is that I can't put a twin turbo LS7 in my '40s custom and be period correct? Damnit.

 

"Can you define a "traditional" 40's hotrod"

Yes, see below