Can a Hot Rod have fenders

Well, In Albert Drakes book Fifty's Flashback, he said that if a car was a hotrod it didnt have fender's. Disobaying his father he ripped the fenders off of a car (I think a A) that he bought. But that was the Fifty's, This is 2003. I think A car can look great either way. As long as they have a good stance like some said a fendered car looks awesome. I think a car with fender's gives it more depth. More to look at and think about. But a fenderless car just looks awesome anytime. I would say just find a good project and start on it then when your further into the build then look at it and decide how you think it would look with and w/out fenders.

Nick

 

Ok found a pic and scanned in two cars that resemble some of the style I like.. First the tub

 

Now here is a Deuce sedan but with alot of the features I want...

 

Nick, I agree with what you say but I think I almost need to decide up front because if I go fenderless then I will probably go with a 32 chassis, but it I go with fenders then its an A frame... I am not a fame of Model A's on A frames, they sit to far inward for my taste...

 

Hmmm, i see what you mean.

 

I kinda prefer hot rods fenderless, but when I inherited my dad's '29, it was full-fendered. I decided to keep it that way in his honor and now it's kind of grown on me. The 28-29 has a bitchen arc to the front fender that later models don't have, so it's a great candidate for full fenders. But assembling the fenders, aprons, hood, etc etc is a GIANT PAIN IN THE ASS. Especially if you're running an original set of frame rails that have been torgued, tweaked and hot-rodded for 70 years. If I had to build this car over, I'd consider a new, rigid set of frame rails. There's some things left to do -- interior, odds and ends, and these tires came off my '38. The "littles" need to be littler, the "bigs" bigger -- but I kinda like the look. So, IMHO, go with fenders if you like 'em.

 

Awesome A Detonator! That's how they should look! Like to see it in person some day! Next Pleasanton? Please!

 

Uh, I think the Milner Coupe had fenders (sort of). The California Kid has fenders. Unless I'm mistaken they are both hot rods (of course the KID was recently detunned to survive on modern gas).
Just a matter of personal taste, and the style of rod that you're building. I'm personally partial to bicycle fenders, or no fenders at all. But I've seen some with bobbed fenders that were as rightious as it gets.
One thing to consider is that front fenders have a tendency to catch air. Just a thought.

 

Damn that is a clean roadster you have.. I like it..

 

detonator's roadster has everything i've been talking about...i want a few different sets of wheels...with an easy wheel change,roof on or off,hood on or off...maybe some different air cleaners or scoops...you could dramaticly change the appearance of that car easily...depending on your mood...a real hot rod with fenders...that rules

 

Thanks Jim, Boones. I actually drove to Billetproof last Fall. I think full fendered cars are best when they're kept clean and simple. There are so many more "factory" design elements to deal with that modifying any of the shapes has a much greater effect on the overall look than it does on a fenderless car. Hiboys and channeled cars NEED chopped top for instance, but it's hard to get a top chop looking right on a pre-33 fendered car. Don't get me wrong, there are cars that have pulled it off -- but there are a lot more that haven't. Same with hoods, generally a fendered car looks kinda choppy with no hood. It breaks up the lines of the car. But there are lots of exceptions -- and that's what makes this all so cool? Right? There are no rules (except Germ's )

 

I have to agree WITH the fenders AND the hood.
Makes everything flow
Anything built without,has a 'bad-ass' attitude and look to it. And that is NOT a bad thing. I just believe that the cars and trucks of the 30's and 40's look more elegant WITH the fenders. Just my $.02
Oh ya......we are JUST about ready to make this thing a very purdy RED.......Thought you all MIGHT be getting TIRED of the GREEN picture.........

 

Whats a fender?



Who's car is it anyways?, It's YOUR DECISION!

Rob's 31' Chevy Sedan gone' TUB Hotrod CLICK HERE

 

I like Fenders.
TZ

 

Detonator,
WOW WOW WOW.......That is such a tough hot rod. It has a perfect stance and the wind shield is right on target. It needs nothing. Except to be driven and enjoyed.
Hope we can hook up one day.
Happy Holidays
Chuck

 

You mean a fendered coupe like this?

 

No Gary, I think he means one like this......

 

Detonator, I've got to agree with you on the fenders, they're a bitch but the look good on a 28-29. I had my roadster pickup through a number of rebuilds since 1959, all the time without fenders. This last go around I put fenders on it and it's been a son of a bitch fitting and matching, but it does look good, it's real low. It's got to have a chopped and laid back windshield though for the mean attitude. I saw your car at the Livermore Billetproof and it looks just as good when you see it for real.

 

Here's a shot of Frank's (fab32) sedan. I think it would qualify as a hot rod.

 

I'm kinda partial to Model A's with fenders... because that's what I grew up around... here's a pic of mine... although it now sits an inch or more lower in the front. Anyways, I will agree that it is a SHITLOAD of work to put fenders on a car... sure some people can just bolt them on, but to get them RIGHT, it's a shit load of work.
Sam.

 

I think a better question would be
"Can a HOT ROD run without fenders?"
And the answer would be
"It depends on the class rules it's running in at the race venue"
I vaguely remember hearing about someone a couple or three years ago driving a highboy roadster to Bonneville, bolting on racing wheels and tires AND REAR FENDERS because the STREET ROD class requires them, and after racing he removed the fenders and drove back home.

Of all the cars pictured, I'd have to say the two jacked up in the front gassers are the only strictly HOT RODs in the bunch.
The rest are "STREET RODS"
Even Samiyam's coupe is a STREET ROD, (as well as being a HOTROD). I know this because I've driven many miles on the street in caravan with it so I know it's driven on the street, and that's all that needs to be for a hotrod to also be a street rod, for it to be driven on the street, ever.
(STREET ROD is not a cuss word)

The ONLY thing a car has to have to be a HOT ROD is owner-increased performance above and beyond what was available on the car from the factory.

HOT ROD is NOT about A LOOK, it's about PERFORMANCE.
Faster, quicker, more manuverable, these are the words that describe a HOT ROD.
Now if in making changes to achieve the above adjectives causes the looks of the car to change in a certain way, so be it, but those looks aren't what makes it a HOT ROD, only the faster, quicker, and more manuverable make it a HOT ROD.
Cars that are modified with the primary agenda being what it LOOKS like, and are driven on the STREET are by definition STREET RODS.
Now if they are HOT, that is, faster, quicker and more manuverable than they were stock, then they are also HOT RODS.

If they aren't faster, quicker, and more manuverable then they are probably CUSTOMS rather than HOT RODS!
(Not to denigrate CUSTOMS, I really like them. In fact I like them more and feel they are more honest than STREET RODS that aren't HOT.)

But there's another category of cars known as "REAL HOT RODS" and one has to understand the term as used by Tex Smith in his book "How to Build Real Hotrods" to know what it is.
I think if you understand what it is you know that it isn't a list of rules.
Rules are for racers to bend.
It is just a gut feeling for what YOU like.

Historically, I would imagine the front fenders came off RACE CARS because they lifted the front of a car making it want to fly and/or caused drag. The rear fenders probably came off because bigger tires wouldn't fit under them.
HOT ROD RACE CAR rake was probably a result of big & littles, and high rear ends make it easier to change quick change rear end gears without jacking up the car.
The STREET RODDERs copied these HOT ROD RACE CAR looks on their street driven cars whether they intended to ever RACE them or not.

 

DrJ nailed it....that's why I'm driving a hotrod toyota...I increaed the top end by removing the rocker panel mldgs. Looks mean NOTHING

 

Although this is a Deuce, not an A, it's fender-tire placement is IMHO just about perfect.

 

Of course they can have fenders. Detonator, that's a bloody cool car. Got more pix?