I just wanted to start a thread on period correct 1940's hot rods...everything from t buckets, model A's & B's, customs etc...if anyone has cool pics of some, cool stories, engine builds, distinctive chops...heck anything that was popular or not so popular to do in the 40's would be awesome I think....theres been a growing popularity of 60's hotrods and late 50's hotrods...as cool as these periods are, i think its harder to find some of the 40's...so lets see em!
i found this picture at kustomrama.com it said its from 1952...great pic maybe 40's inspired since its really early 50's...40's seems harder to find
Remember, half of that decade was during wartime. Most of the guys that were able bodied enough to build a car were in the service.
The forty's were a rough time World War II, gas rationing, scrap metal drives. Most were away overseas and those few left behind were working around the clock on the arsenal of democracy. It wasn't a fun time until VE & VJ days came.
Don't get too discouraged with the thread yet, erlomd. It's a really good premise. Give it a chance. We'll bump it up for a couple of days, and see what happens. The thing is, a lot of people...I'll make that most people...even here, don't realize that the '50s was not the heyday of hot-rodding. Doesn't sound right, does it? It's true. There were more roadsters (the original hot rods) runnin' around in the '40s than in the fifties. There was a time, when a coupe was not even considered for building a hot rod. The original hot rods were racers that just so happened to be used during the week for daily transportation. The roadsters were lighter than any coupe or sedan, so roadsters it was. Some might be suprised to know that many racers didn't even want to use the '32/'33/'34 model. Many considered those to be too big and heavy also. Model As and Ts were faster, 'cause again, they were lighter and they pushed less wind. Sure, later they used the '32 chassis, 'cause it usually already had provisions for the V-8. But they didn't come into wide-spread use until the masses were done with them. And the fact is, the flathead V-8 was not immediately embraced by hot rodders. Initially, there was much more aftermarket development for the bangers. The four cylinders had been around longer. The V-8s had to catch up. Guys like Vic Edelbrock and Barny Navaro finally brought the V-8 up to speed, though. Lots of guys think hot rodding took off around the late '40s...you know...after the war, when Hot Rod magazine first got published. And in a sense, it did...it spread across the nation, but not in it's original form. True, the guys came home, and built a lot of rods. But not necessarily roadsters. In the '30s and through the '40s, it was ALL roadsters. So this has the potential to be a great thread. OK, enough talkin' history...let's see it! Let's see if there are enough here who can contribute to a '40s theme. Remember guys...NO overhead engines. NO sedans, and very few coupes. (maybe from the very late '40s) MOSTLY ROADSTERS! And some will have steel wheels, but many will be runnin' wires. Let's revisit our roots!!! I'll start. Here's one of my favorites. Looks to be a pic from the late '40s, judging by the barely seen car on the other side of the street. Really, this is a fairly modern-style hot rod for this thread. It's a '32, running a S.C.O.T. blown flathead Cadillac engine. In it's time, it would've been like runnin' a blown Hemi in 1970! Bad MF!!! ............P.S. Some people have asked where I got this pic from. It's from the internet, but I forget where! If anyone knows, please tell. "Happy Hot Rodding" - Rick
Somewhat true, but many a teenager was still runnin' 'em at Murock during the war. Lot's of younger brothers snagged their older brother's car, and went racin'. Some built their own.
Edelbrock's record holder, Giovanine/Spurgin lakes roadster, Veda Orr clone and a car that Josh Higgins at AMOCAT did that represents the 40's pretty well.
I don't know about this 32 being 40's. that's not a scot blower, it's a gmc, 3-71. guessing it would be 49 at the earliest. wasn't navarro one of the only guys playing with the jimmy blower in 49??
Grat pics JimmyB. I knew this one wuold have been good! I kinda feel like some of those are early 50s though! Am i allucinating? Keep'em coming, this might get better than "cool pics" thread! PS oh yeah, what about Life mag google archive, i bet theres tons of good shit there too!
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