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Hot Rods I was out of step when everyone else was building street rods

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Jun 18, 2019.

  1. I always liked the look of the old cars and really didn't change them that much, I suppose at that times what I was doing was similar to the restorods but without all the add ons, I was drawn to the simple styles and without any conscious thought I was leaning toward the gospel of the traditional style of cars.

    When all my fellow club members were raving about independent front & rear suspensions I was dragging their cast off spindles,wheels,wish bones, axles and rear ends home, I was building my hot rods from their

    When my pal Randy told me about the Hamb I realized I wasn't the only one that didn't get caught up in the, tweed interior-ed, Easter egg colored, silly graphic splashed show boats of the era, rather I found guys & gals that liked the old simple way of building and enjoying hot rods & customs. HRP
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2019
    norms30a, 47ragtop, 32SEDAN and 27 others like this.
  2. LAROKE
    Joined: Sep 5, 2007
    Posts: 2,079

    LAROKE
    Member

    I too favor the older tech. Some of my friends have streetrods and that's okay but I love the old seat-of-the-pants driving experience.

    This feeling is especially strong as I scan the 9,289 page service manual for my o/t daily driver Caddy ATS-V. It's a wonderful two-door, three-pedal fast mover but I still like drivin' my '37 Chevy "Utility Express" pickup more.
     
  3. I'm with you Danny
     
  4. stubbsrodandcustom
    Joined: Dec 28, 2010
    Posts: 2,273

    stubbsrodandcustom
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Spring tx

    Yep, and in a sea of LS swaps, Bags, M2 Kits, the old tech still stands up and stands out... Driving such to a show or road trip is a badge of badassery that can't be bought in a box of billet cupcakes or replaced by a flaming hambster wheel chrome plated.

    Kinda glad that street rod fad died off some... Couldn't stand to see another pink 57 with heartbeat graphics, 15" wide mickeys, opps sorry Pro street tangent there... hard to differentiate.

    Fads come and go... At least you got to scoop up some cool parts HRP.... Most everyone who guts anything these days thinks the used parts are gold or platinum....
     

  5. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    It didn't go that way with me. For quite a while I was into having the newest latest trick of the week and doing the latest thing to my truck (reason it never got finished) I finally hit hot rod burn out when I started to not like a lot of the fad things or could not afford them to keep up. Parked the truck in the back and bought a sailboat and went cruising to the San Juan Islands and other interesting places on the Salish Sea. A few years later I hooked up with some hard core traditonal car guys in BC and followed along with their group for a while. One of tMB em kept saying "On the HAMB they said" during answering some questions and I investigated. I found a group that right off the bat made me comfortable. They embraced the old hot rods and customs I had fallen in love with in the 50's and 60's in my pre and early teens. If it weren't for the Kitsap county bookmobile coming around to the school I would probably have been a scientist.
    Anyhow I found out that I didn't have to make annual changes with my wheels and tires to impress these guys and customs ran white walls and hubcaps just like the old days. Finding the right part for the traditional look gathered a lot more respect than having the latest trick part did on other groups.

    The first Billetproof my wife and I went to she remarked "this is just like we used to do in the 70's when we started". Meaning the cars were closer to the hot rods from then and the people were probably more relaxed than you see at a lot of events now.
     
  6. I walked around looking at that type of fad and thought to myself, what are they thinking? heart beat pink graphics, cry dolls, couch upholstery in a car and hideous loud colors, those were dark days for old cars. HRP
     
  7. Automotive Stud
    Joined: Sep 26, 2004
    Posts: 4,304

    Automotive Stud
    Member

    My dad bought his model A in 1963 and built it up with a hot flathead that an old racer had tossed aside for something more late model. My dad loved reading the little books in the '50's so by the time he was of age he was probably a little behind the time, putting together a car the way he saw them in the mid to late '50's. By 1966 He had updated the car with a hipo small block ford and a 4 speed, and he enjoyed the hell out of the car until the '80's when he put it away and it needed to be redone. By the '90's when I was a boy my dad started redoing the car, and he decided to put it back to the way he first had it and originally wanted it, before giving into the trends of the time. He was ahead of the traditional curve and didn't even know it. Then again maybe tradition never really went away...
     
  8. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,814

    BJR
    Member

    I really hate the digital dashes, to me the coolest part of an older car is the original dash and gauges. Which can easily be made to work on 12 volts.
     
  9. low budget
    Joined: Nov 15, 2006
    Posts: 5,566

    low budget
    Member
    from Central Ky

    So you are saying you were Country when country wasn’t cool?:D
     
  10. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    If you want to see dark days for cars in general Danny, just take a look at a lowrider event with the chrome and paint and velour and fuzz along with the stupid looking little wheels and cars that hop around and do all sorts of strange gymnastics.
    Then check out a gathering of Donks. :D
    Dark days, it doesn't get much darker than that. :D
    What's really sad is that on top of it all they have the illusion that they are really cool. :rolleyes::D
     
  11. It seemed like the street rodders really HATED old cars. They changed everything that made an old car an old car. I love old cars and I'm old enough I remember what it was like to drive in 30's-50s cars. I loved the old car's smells, sounds and the way they felt. I don't want to change too much of that. My hot rod has original style suspension with cross springs front and rear, floor shift, real light bulbs, carburetion and analog gauges. I'm even thinking of doing the interior in old mohair upholstery...
     
  12. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    So true, I also love old cars. If I wanted all of the modern comforts I can (and did with my new 2018 F150) buy a new vehicle and have that.
    I don't need to strip the heart and soul out of an old car or truck to get that.
     
    dirty old man, C69A and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  13. Rocky, you had me until you got to that darn scratchy,itchy and sometimes smelly mohair, a simple look alike velour (not crushed) sewed in the original pattern would look and feel right. HRP
     
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  14. prpmmp
    Joined: Dec 12, 2011
    Posts: 1,129

    prpmmp
    Member

    I have said this before when this topic comes up every once and awhile,It does not matter to me what car a person builds and drives. If and when I go to a show or cruise night I park anywhere, meaning next to a new vette or a tuner, we talk about each others cars and have fun(I don't want their car and they don't want mine) There cars and we have the same interest,(some are jerks and some are not just in everyday life). And I guess my interpretation of a street rod is different, to me many cars on this site are street rods,(mine included)and there is nothing wrong with street rods, Our mentors created them! I believe street rods save our hobby back in the seventy's(after market jumped in when Detroit was struggling with high performance) Lifes to short!! Enjoy!! Pete
     
  15. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    I built my '32 3W in the early '80s. I was fortunate to meet a great guy at Pomona and bought the body from him. Been driving it since '86 when I took my Dad to the LARS. The engine comprises of parts from a C/Gas '55 Chevy that I raced at the '67 WinterNationals, 4-speed Muncie and a '58 Olds rear axle. My '32 Roadster was an old race car that I bought from an old fellow who had attempted a back yard restoration. I sold off the B motor and driveline and put in a '57 283, '39 25 tooth gearbox and a Columbia. It runs great and I participated in the last three Pasadena Roadster Reliability Runs. My '55 Delray was from the original owner and I installed a '57 283, Richmond 5-speed and 3.08 gears. All three cars are reliable and no billet, graphics, weird paint, etc. I drive them all and don't plan on changing anything. At my age the fads I've seen have come and gone, I'll never run an LS or a auto trans. A clutch pedal in an old car was meant to be.
     
  16. GordonC
    Joined: Mar 6, 2006
    Posts: 3,141

    GordonC
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I am a live and let live kind of guy but I surely do lean backwards to the old style hot rods!
     
  17. One thing: I've spent some great miles behind the wheel of a ZO-6 'vette with a pro-charged LS motor/6 speed. I have a LOT of respect for that engine and some days I kinda wonder how one of those engines would pull my light little 34 arou.....never mind.
     
  18. topher5150
    Joined: Feb 10, 2017
    Posts: 3,338

    topher5150
    Member

    I never cared for the monochrome smooth look with the conversion van interior. I think these old cars, especially pre/post war, were some of the most beautiful cars ever with lots of great little details, and I think most of these cars can get away with not to much to get it looking real good.
     
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  19. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,138

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    I wouldn't be all that offended if people called my roadster a street rod because there are far worse things they could be called, such as, RR, classic car, dune buggy, and the worst would be "Kit car", that will definitely generate a less then desireable reaction from me.
     
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  20. WB69
    Joined: Dec 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,958

    WB69
    Member
    from Kansas

    Me too!!
     
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  21. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    I never got into that 'street rod' thing...Friends belonged to the Bay Area crowd, I wired some of their cars...(won awards, owners claimed they did it)
    Their cars were getting 'adorned' more and more, (mid '60s) one had Jag front and rear. Couple of 'em came by my house to see my '27 hiboy roadster, the flathead was on a stand...a 2,000 CC BMW 4 banger with DeLorto sidedrafts and a cleaned off aluminum cam cover, all aluminum was polished, only the block was black...
    "What is it??? An Offy???" Yeah, those guys were the 'rodders'...
    Consequently, I didn't want to go that way.
    The engine was for my 1600 BMW, HA!
    A friend found the old Amaral 'Nose Job'... '22 'T' roadster with bustle, on a Model A frame. Halibrand V8 Quickchange, chrome filled-and-drilled hairpins, SBC, 'recent' flathead car...black, dropped Bell Tube front (real Bell, not 'super')
    He wanted to join a club, so he went to a meeting. The prez and some 'higher-ups' stated he'd have to 'update' the car, some paint, etc.
    So, I finally got to see the body...Hayward painter did his 'magic', it was GREEN with ribbons in blue, yellow, gold flake, and UUGGGHHH! I said, "We'll build a chassis, then paint it black."
    He thought the club was the group that 'knew'.
    Lots of guys went through the peer pressure deal...Guess I need a 'Lone Wolf' plaque.

    Found the HAMB when we had a leased computer. Someone said, "Hey, ''Jalopy Journal...old stuff, like you like..."
    Glad to find it, was beginning to doubt my sanity. You know, like the movie where the guy returns to his old surroundings...and everybody's dead...
    or old, and married.
     
  22. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,709

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    Shoot me, but I don’t mind looking at a nice street rod. I can appreciate the work and dollars put into one, but I could never build anything that nice that I couldn’t drive because I was afraid of getting the undercarriage dirty. I don’t care for pastel colors or graphic stripes though, glad that fad died out pretty much. I like polished aluminum, but not to the extreme like a lot of folks do it. Same with chrome, a little goes a long way.

    Living in the humid south though, AC is about a necessity. Nights and early morning drives are ok without it, but mid day temps, especially if you’re in town, will roast you. Folks back when these cars were new weren’t used to having AC at home and at work like we are now, so it makes a difference.

    I like my stuff to have bumps and dips like it came from the factory, no smoothed firewalls or frames for me. My stuff probably would fall into the resto mod category, mostly stock with later model drivetrains and improvements. My favorite time frame is the 60’s to early 70’s, before smoothie boydster types had came along.....
     
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  23. Black_Sheep
    Joined: May 22, 2010
    Posts: 1,446

    Black_Sheep
    Member

    By the time I could afford to play with cars my sense of "style" was pretty well established. I avoided the trend of the month rabbit hole altogether...
     
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  24. Fortunateson
    Joined: Apr 30, 2012
    Posts: 5,331

    Fortunateson
    Member

    I believe in "to each his own". However, there's is fashion and there is style. Fashion is transitory while style endures. I appreciate style way more than jumping on the latest craze.
     
  25. lostone
    Joined: Oct 13, 2013
    Posts: 2,820

    lostone
    Member
    from kansas

    I like them all, rr, street rods, pro street, low riders etc. Anything that keeps people building and learning and teaching and most importantly handing that knowledge down to the new generation.

    The low riders with all the hydraulics and wild paint ain't my scene but I appreciate the time, effort and skill in the paint jobs and if I keep an open mind I may even learn something or see something I want to copy.

    I love the original trend rr, not the newer crap, I've walked around those and seen small intricate details and pieces that amazed me.

    Street rods, yeah things I don't like digital dashes, extreme billet but some of the subtle body work changes I admire, filling in a few body seams, smoothing some lines, I like.

    Every faucet of the car genre has something I can learn from if only I'm willing to keep an open mind, and I found that when I met others in different auto types that had the same mind set I had found a new friend in the process :)
     
  26. If you want a Lexus buy a Lexus. A 57 will never drive like one.
     
  27. I think some has misinterpreted my thoughts, I can appreciate a well built car but I have never been a guy that desired to own a car that is like a prom queen, it's the simple cars that still speak to me.

    Sometimes restraint on the builders part gets lost in the one ups man ship with in todays high end street rods, I don't knock them but again, to me less is more. HRP
     
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  28. Did anyone else read the title and immediately hear in their head "Out of Step" by Minor Threat?
     
    chevy57dude and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  29. Guess I'm too old, I've never heard of minor threat. HRP
     
  30. Ford52PU
    Joined: Jan 31, 2007
    Posts: 519

    Ford52PU
    Member
    from PA

    "Guess I'm too old, I've never heard of minor threat. HRP"

    I was thinking the same thing. Never heard of them. Next stop Google.
     
    The37Kid likes this.

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