Cars that influenced history....Hotrods and Kustoms

ZZ Top's Eliminator coupe introduced hot rods to the MTV generation in 1983. It was built by Pete Chapouris and inspired by his own California Kid.

It actually belongs to Billy Gibbons, who also owns Cadzilla, a wicked black '36 coupe and Kopperhead, a beautiful subtly customized shoebox Ford.

 

i had the opportunity to casually talk with the designer of cadzilla at work during the week of the LA roadster show.... really cool guy, and deffinately knows his cars.

 

Barris' 41 buicks... I think George's was butt ugly but this one is beautiful.

 

ZZ Top's Eliminator 33 Coupe did it for me when I was younger. Always wanted to make an identical one, except in "negative" colors and name it Flip Side.

 

Good thing I read all the way to page 3, I was really surprised that no one had said "Eliminator" yet. That was the first hot rod I remember. Course, I was 8, and I believe that not only did the girls have something to do with it, but maybe the music too.

Jay

 

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Bob Mc coy's 40 tudor was famous all over the world. It was in Life magazine's article about the hot rod phenomonon as well as Hot Rod. It ( among others) started the flame paint craze still popular today/

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McCoy's car did (and still does) embody what a fat fendered "hot rod" is to me. I love that car.

 

I think you guys are admitting tha Eliminator did more in the way of introducing ZZ top listeners to the world of hotrodding than it influenced that world. It was hardly a milestone car design wise, so it didn't influence hotrodding like the California kid or the McMullen Roadster did, but it sure got the word out!

 

Au Contraire, Good Doc, it made us youngun's realize that there were cars other than Front drive shitboxes, like most of our parents drove at the time, and that hot rods were the way. In a way, it was a milestone car, probably not like the Niecamp roadster, but in it's own special way. Remember, most of us under 30's have been around economy cars most of our lives now, and that is why most of the younger generation is turning to Civic's et al. It's all they know. I know it is the first hot rod I can remember. And, for what it's worth, we had a Datsun 210 in '83. Which do you think made the bigger impression?

Remember, the question was influenced history not hot rodding.

Happy Friday everyone! What's left of it anyways.

Jay

 

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Au Contraire, Good Doc, it made us youngun's realize that there were cars other than Front drive shitboxes, like most of our parents drove at the time, and that hot rods were the way. In a way, it was a milestone car, probably not like the Niecamp roadster, but in it's own special way. Remember, most of us under 30's have been around economy cars most of our lives now, and that is why most of the younger generation is turning to Civic's et al. It's all they know. I know it is the first hot rod I can remember. And, for what it's worth, we had a Datsun 210 in '83. Which do you think made the bigger impression?

Remember, the question was influenced history not hot rodding.

Happy Friday everyone! What's left of it anyways.

Jay

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Yes!
You just rephrased in your words what I meant to communicate to you.

And, I was going more on this opening sentence in the text "Been thinking of doing an ongoing article for my club newsletter that would cover cars that had an impact on hot rodding and customizing in the 50's-60's and even the 70's." rather that trying to read the exact meanng of the .... abreviated title.

 

Billy's coupe may have done everything you guys say, but it was built by the late Don Thelen, not Pete Chapouris.
Mick

 

Glad we agree.

PS I get your sig line too.!

Jay

 

is the norm wallace roadster the one that larry hook drives now?

 

How about the first RATROD built by George Barris ??? thats right the Beverly Hillbillies Truck

 

Permit me to expand the hot-rod definition just a bit, DrJ, and add to the list some Kent Fuller cars, cars that coalesced a few good ideas from some other pioneers such as Micky Thompson and Bob Rounthwaite, and codified effective and safe slingshot dragster design that would guide the industry/hobby throughout its golden years and influence construction techniques that would continue on into the next couple of decades.

Earlier in this thread someone added Tony Nancy's cars to the list, and it's important to know that the second Model A "22 jr" roadster, Tony's first with a Buick, was built by Fuller, as was the gorgeous '23 T-based M/R that followed it, also called "22 Jr."

I'm including a picture of Fuller's personal favorite, and certainly one of the handsomest nitro-burning hot rods ever built -- the Stelling & Hampshire AA/FD. Fuller built this car for himself. His eye for styling is at least as good as his engineering talent, and for this car he designed the chute-pack tail to mimic the contour of the fins on his '58 Cadillac Brougham that was his tow car. When Stellings & Hampshire wadded their other Fuller-built car just prior to the Nats, there wasn't time for repairs or to build a new car, so Fuller sold them his just-completed dream digger. The S&H car was a winner first time off the trailer -- as were almost all Fuller cars.

 

When I was a kid I usta ride my bicycle up the alley behind M/Ts shop and peer in to see what was being built... and get run off as soon as someone noticed me..I didn't think they were very friendle in there but thn again it wasn't my hood and the locals were mostly hoodlums in the making so well. that was a weird reminisce.

Them Fuller cars are all beautiful...

 

Yes Thirtycoup, that's now Larry's car.

 

Roothawg, if you want som real background on this history.
do your self a favor.
Take a trip to Bernice, Ok to the National rod and Custom Hall of Fame mueseum.
There are several "walls" of fame there. Each inductee of the Hall of Fame has a wall there with artifacts, magazine articles, and memorabilia from the "begining".
Barris, Alexander bros, Posie, Dick dean,Magoo, and the list goes on.
It is worth your time and you can spend a lot of time on research there.

Jim

 

Good post av8. I think that many here have a very narrow definition of HOT RODS. The competion end of the spectrum was the defining phase that directed most of the early efforts of modified vehicles.
I'm glad you included Kent Fuller as I feel he is one of the least recognized/appreciated pioneers of the sport. His contributions stand head and shoulder above his contemporaries during what I consider the GOLDEN age of drag racing.
How many remember his VW powered T bucket? Tom Medley's got a ton of ink but it was Kent who initiated the concept. It was an idea that I'm still amazed didn't take off and make its mark. Speedway Motors still lists the kit the last time I checked. I wonder how many they have sold since Kent sold the rights to Speedy Bill.

Frank

 

Did anyone mention Stu Hilborn's streamliner from the late 40s with his record and technology breaking fuel injecton?

Also, just contemplating... Is there any kind of race car that isn't "hotrodded"?

 

I've been following this thread with more than a passing interest and the posts have been for the most part very interesting.
There have been so many cars(and personalities)that have influenced what our sport(life;addiction;fill in the blank)has become that it would probably take a journal the size of the Manhattan Phone Book to even BEGIN to list them all.
What I have enjoyed is the diversity of answers depending on what facet of the sport attacts you the most.And I would be hard pressed to disagree with ANY of the answers.
I was wandering through a bunch of old Trend Books the other day(Custom Car and Hot Rod Annuals and the like)and there were so many vehicles that I really liked as a kid(I was in my mid-teens when most of these came out)that it was really hard to pick just one or two.
However if I had to pick just one of each(hot rod,custom,and race car)I think I would choose the following:
Hot rod:a little 25 T roadster pickup from Portland Oregon owned and built by Bud Parham.Baby blue with a red and white flame graphic down the side,real low with a flathead and exhausts running down across the doors to the rear.Featured in Rod and Custom in 55 or 56(cover car)
Custom:A 1950 dodge built by Art Bentas in Chelmsford Massachusetts with a lot of Kaiser body panels,a black paint job you could fall into it was so deep,and angel food cake pans for headlight housings.An incredible custom!Featured in many eastern magazines.
Race car:Hard to choose but the Lyle Fisher/Red Greth Spped-Sport roadster gets my vote!Anyone who has ever seen that car run will understand why.Two runners-up: The S&H Red Stamp car and Mooneyham & Sharps 34 coupe.JMHO

 

As far as race cars go, I can think of two had a big impact, but for different reasons. Bob Tindle's Orange Crate showed that a race car could be gorgeous, innovative, and fast. The chassis was completely chromed, and it had a tilt '32 Ford sedan body, powered by a Potvin front mount blown Olds.

But the car that brought a grin to everyone's face when it ran was Big Al, the Allison powered '34 sedan. It was an audacious, in-your-face tire smoker that took top chopping to a new level. Definitely HAMB material!

 

Nope, Big Al's car isn't hamb material. It's all fiberglass..

 

Shoot, Root - Busted! But since Roth's cars were glass, I figgered Al's chop would get it by...

 

Frank -- Thanks, and you're absolutely right about many here not making the connection of what the early hot rods were and how they're viewed now, apart from street rods.

Fuller is under-appreciated only by those who have recently discovered hot rods and hot rodding. With the veterans and truly traditional crowd of hot rodders Fuller is a fully appreciated and revered force, an icon whose name is on the roster of every hot-rod hall of fame on the planet.

With regard to Fuller's V-Rod (a name he's owned since he coined it in the mid '60s, and one that could cause some agony for H-D if Kent were a litigous sort), Tom Medley who is a dear friend of Fuller, got lots of ink for the concept in the interest of promoting it for Fuller.

Tom arranged a cover and feature article for Fuller's V-Rod in February 1968 issue of R&C. At the time it was powered with a Porsche Carrera roller motor -- exotic then as now. The Fuller V-Rod went through several iterations over the years, receiving a very civilzing and sophisticated upgrade a few years ago, when Fuller stretched tha wheelbase a few inches, replaced the swing axles with IRS, and fitted it with a kick-ass Porsche pushrod motor that's as economical and reliable as it is strong.

For all that, the Fuller V-Rod is one of the very best handlng and riding hot rods you could imagine. That wasn't enough to make the Fuller V-Rod a success -- nor the copy that Andy Brizio built and sold that was scaled on a Fuller V-Rod.

Fuller built and sold less than a dozen V-Rods before selling the design and tooling to Bill Smith. Bill, with all his resources, hasn't done much better.

Anyway, here's a picture of Fuller's V-Rod as it is now . . .

 

I was told once that Big Al was the first full bodied fiberglass "flopper". Anyone know of an earlier one?

Whatever happened to Al? I heard he moved to Maui.

 

This one does it for me.........and it's NOT even a 32

Neat car and the inspiration for the ZZ Top car.......and a lot of other 33 - 34 coupes.

 

How about some of the factory concept/ dream cars.

 

does anyone know what happened to pharo's 51 merc? it made a bad impression on me

 

Heres the car that influenced me the most! Milners coupe. nate

 

Jester...Brian Setzer bought the old Merc back in the 80s and had it re-done slightly. It appeared in the Stray Cats video "I Won't Stand In Your Way"...I met him at a guitar show in the early 90s and we talked cars...don't know if he STILL has the old American Graffiti Merc or not, but he owned it at one time.