Here's a link to the thread I started to document the changes I made to my '35 Chevy after bringing it home. Started out as a street rod (yes, with velour interior), got a little bit ratty, and now is going back to it's hot rod roots. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=732988
Always loved hot rods so at 19 (in 71') I bought my first. It was a 32 5-window that had been wrecked in the rear. While trying to put it back together, I found a 31' Chevy 2-door.....bought it and sold the 5-window (wife was getting on my arse).....built the 31 resto-rod style (that's what they were doing in the 70's) and had it on the road in 73'. couldn't find good steel fenders so I went fiberglass. Been running 3x2 since 72'..... Built my own dropped headlight bar Fit a 32' Chevy grille shell to the 31' by modifying the radiator splash apron and doing a little work on the hood to make it fit tighter.... Mor-drop axle with 4 wheel drum brakes No A/C, No PS, No PBrakes..........just a basic hot rod in 70's resto style Shouldn't take much to push it over to more traditional....just need the time and $$$$$. Car is still on the road today but not converted just yet.........found a set of front NOS fenders and used rear fenders so the plan is to pull the glass and go all steel then go with more traditional wheels and rubber (I have too many projects so progress is slow). I really like seeing pictures of the day and reading about how various technical issues are addressed on traditional cars.......Regardless of the style, I like them all...........
Great looking 35............We need more of those old 'Stovebolts' on the road....... Enjoyed your other thread too...........
So if I like and can respect them all am I in the closet? I own more muscle cars and a big ole cruiser that are not in anyway HAMB friendly! But I do want to build a Trad Ride just haven't found one that meets the budget and talent level as yet! But I'm still lookin and learnin!
I guess I jump back and forth. I love traditional cars and feel my roots are firmly planted there. I also built two cars that by this board are street rods. I never liked the Boyd cars, smoothed out, pastels directional wheels trendy cars but I never minded tci independent front suspension on a full fender car. Hated rat rods from the start and never had a use for pro street cars. I found out about the hamb trying to find parts for the car my Dad built in 1959. I wanted to make this car the way he did in 1959. Kind of made me lean to the traditional side more. Don't get me wrong my street rods always had a more traditional look to them I just wanted to cross the country in it with ac heat and overdrive for mileage.
I reckon I might have one foot in and one foot out here. I'm a 'stuck in the 80's kind of guy' (probably late 70's to early 80's to be more correct being my teen years). I still listen to a bunch of 80's music, mostly Aussie rock, Angels, early AC/DC, Cold Chisel etc. Probably doesn't mean much to the non-Aussie's but let's just say it's decent stuff! I guess like a lot of folks I'm influenced by what I grew up with. In 1980 I was 18 y.o., had my first road going car (55 Chevy), my drivers licence, and the big wide world at my feet. As squirrel said earlier, I'd take that Chevy truck with the Centrelines or the steelies (us Aussie's love those Centreline Auto Drags!!!). Today I'll freely admit to that 55 in the 80's having crushed velour interior pieces and imitation True-spoke wire wheels. Talk about 'Decade of Shame'!! All that being said, the longer I hang out on the H.A.M.B. the more I can see the current 55 being built sans front bumper with a set of white painted steelies. Hey, it's got 3 pedals at least. I got that bit right from the start!
All I wanted to do was ask guys who had owned Street Rod style cars to show pics or tell how they changed it into HAMB or traditional style. There's no secret agenda. As I stated, I was a Fad T and Street Rod fan, until the high cost almost scared me away from hot rodding. The closet is a reference to the Street Rodder style. If you like all kinds, then say so. Please, don't take this shit so seriously. It's just a simple thought about build styles. All are good and in the eye of the beholder. Chromeazone, her name was Candy Barr. Google image her. She was a doll.
The billet laden street rods of the eighties and nineties helped keep me away from hotrods. They're pretty but just not purposeful looking to me. Like Tman mentioned, I grew up looking at my dad's old magazines, those were REAL hotrods! I went from British sports cars to old American steel. Had a couple of Triumphs then had a kid, needed a car with a real back seat and some space, bought a '72 Sedan deVille and it was all downhill from there. The ratrod trend did help get me interested in hotrods, introduced me to the existence of traditional rods. And although my Comet is far from a ratty, I'd build a flat black on flat black on flat black pre-war roadster in a heartbeat as there is something about that look that appeals to my punk rock side.
t, the "other" magazines got chucked when mom and dad found his dissected centerfold of a "hockey" team hanging their asses and breasts out the window of a school bus pinned to my wall at about 7 years old. What a long strange trip it has been!
OK, I'll fess up, my current project is a 69 camaro, my first car, that I've owned for 23 years. It gets done first, currently on a rotisserie getting floor pans. Project #2 is a 63 impala that's a cast off parts car from my fathers 409 restoration, it will be built mostly with spare parts we've accumulated over the years, really considering a satin silver paint job, may not be totaly hamb friend depending on what parts get pulled from the pile. I've got a 37 chevy coupe spotted that's really rough, and a pair of 54 chevy trucks, even rougher. Can't decide if I want to pull the trigger on either of them. I come to the HAMB because the fab and tech are the best on the web.
growing up i was around a lot of muscle cars, but it was hard for me to get into the whole street rod thing. when the family galaxie became mine the first thing that happened was the front end was lowered about 3 inches and the back about a foot! haha. ive always had the less is more idea for cars, so the simpler, cleaner looking customs did it for me, not flashy paint and boyd rims.
Here's mine, before the accident. Hallcraft wires that were powder coated black, tube axle, friction shocks, chrome "classic style" headers, big brass mirrors, Model A grill shell that's 2" too tall, and sand buggy rear shocks. She was a lot of fun and a first effort, but a lot of compromises were made due to lack of funds and lack of knowledge. And here she is, just before I go for a drive. The payment from the accident allowed me to "fix" a few things. Some were cosmetic and some were just plain evolution. "I" beam axle, short shocks, Model T radiator, lake headers, steel rims with Baby Moons on 165/80R/15's QA-1 rear shocks, and of course, my fresh stroked 350. Nothing stays the same. Our taste change, whether from fads, peer pressure or just something to do on a boring day.
I really don't know where I fit in, I like almost everything in American cars except the mini ricer styles. I like bold colors, not pastels, and flat black is great on some, not so much on others. I like shiney stuff, but it can be over done on anything. Same thing with being smoothed out, some I like smooth, some I like with all the hinges and gee gaws hanging out in the breeze. Two things I don't care for though, is rust and patina. Faded paint and rust look like nobody cared about the car enough to take care of it and drove it into the ground. And while some rats were built to be the opposite of the bling bling billet rides, some are what I call art cars instead of rats. Lots of cars fall into the art class, where the builder is making a statement, some of which turn out good, some not so good, some just plain stupid. I'm not in a closet, I'm in a revolving door! I can usually see some good in everything, if the bad doesn't overshadow it! Even then, there are those things known as parts cars!
crap, im the most screwed up one here. I love trad rods and customs, but I enjoy building or working on just about anything with wheels. This is my list or current projects Helping on a 33 hemi powered Plymouth coupe ( will post pics soon ) Setting up the chassis on a 51 chevy. Body dropping a Tacoma Building my 49 GMC Pro street 944 with blown, injected billet laden chevy Rounding up parts for my sons 49 ford truck Helping fab a wide body on a twin turbo V12 Mercedes Hoping to get a chance to build my merc
I liked street rods, but I always liked the ones that were leaning more traditional with nice interiors but original seats, traditional dashes instead of Dakota Digital. Fortunately, I didn't have the cash to pull something like that off. Then I came across the HAMB and the light bulb went off! I just turned 50 so muscle cars were the rage when I was in high school. I think I was born 20 yrs too late. This is a before and after (still not done). I didn't de-street rod it, but hopefully you think it's on the right track. Before After
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