Is it wrong to "borrow" ideas when building cars?

I've often wondered, when building a hot rod or Custom car, is it wrong to "steal" other peoples' ideas? For example, if a custom car has an awesome headlight treatment or grille treatment, and you happen to be building the same car....is it wrong to copy their ideas?? There's so many cool customs and hot rods that I see that I want to "borrow" their ideas but often pondered about this.... what do you guys think? Should there be a limit to the copying? or is it considered a compliment to the builder that someone else is copying their idea? For me, I wouldn't care because more than likely I've borrowed that idea from somebody else already...haha

speedy

 

No, as long as you incorporate it as your own style. Just dont copy verbatim

 

everyone borrows a little insperation sometimes....then you have to make it your own

ideas can come from most anywhere. there really isn't anything new

take a look at a `57 chevy..the hood has gun sights. the front bumper has breasts..i think God designed breasts

 

its funny, cause this kinda ties into the "art guys making money ff your car " post, in the way that you built it, and its unique, and you should be getting the credit for it . . . ect . . . bur as long as you only use the idea, and the ques, and not completely copy it, i think its fine and dandy.

keith

 

My mother wisely taught me that "imagination is the rearrangement of experience." Copying is inevitable, but it's coolest if you disguise it a bit.

 

I don't really think it's that big of deal. If you look at most custom cars you'll see design elements that can be found on previously built cars. Just do what you want. As long as you make the overall style your own. If you get asked where you got the idea though, you should definately give credit to the car and builder that inspired you. How's that old saying go... "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery" or something like that.

 

i think when you understand why something was done, as in, it improves the cars lines or makes it look more aggressive then you can apply what other people have done. but knowing the reason for something, you can also figure out your own shit too.

 

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. or somthing like that. I dont think there has ever been a entirely pure idea one of pure and nothing but creativity. I think everything is inspired by many other things. nothing comes from nothing.

 

Well, look at it this way, many of us chop our cars. Who was the first ever person to do that?? Had to be someone??
Most everything has been done in one way or another just put your own style to it. I know for my current project I wanted a certain look that I had seen before, kept a pic of it as a guide and did it my way.
If I copy anything 'verbatim' I will happily acknowledge the original builder.
Doc.

 

I think it's good to always try to come up with new ideas (that look good) but sometimes you have to do something you've seen before. Some cars almost everything has been done to them already and then they're are cars now that everyone's building the same way. It's ok to borrow ideas just don't copy someones car.

 

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery

 

well i am not sure how to answer this thread without saying something that someone else has said(sound familiar). do we not go to car shows for the enjoyment of the hobby as well as insipration? the wheel has been invented long ago. we can only hone it to our liking, whether someone guided us in the direction we chose by doing something that looks cool. anyway how many chopped and channeled model a's or t's can you get in one show. chances are no one will really notice that two cars have the same customizations done to them unless they park next to each other. gotta go wonder wheels is on.

 

Yes It Is Wrong. What If I Or Someone Built A Car Using Your Ideas? When You Got Around To Building It Yourself, You Would Be Using Their Ideas! See Where I Am Going. I Know I Wasn't The First One To Put Olds Headlight Rings On A Shoebox, But Damn I Have Seen A Few Since Mine! I Wrecked The Car And It Sat For 3 Years. Now That It Is Going Again I Hear, "you Got The Same Headlites As Soandso!" Those Idea Bandits Got Me When I Was Down!

 

I think there are "standards" that just can't be beat. Like 45 fin Buick drums, kick-ass multi-carb set ups, and deuce grills. There are none cooler, and etc. etc. I think it's a combimation of mixing the tried and true, and then what's close to your heart. Like: I would NEVER put Cragar SS wheels on any of my rides! Maybe it's because of where I grew up, I don't know for sure. But, tons of people love 'em, and thats fine. I think almost everyone on this board know's what not to do (at least I hope!). I could name several cars that have knocked my socks off, and yes, I will be borrowing some ideas, but thats ok. And I think a lot of it comes from what parts you have laying around or what you score at swap meets, and so on. If you can take some random part and incorporate it into your car somehow, maybe in some way it was never intended, that's killer! Sure, most of us won't be re-inventing the wheel, but if you do what your gut tells ya, you most likely won't go wrong. That's not to say you won't change your mind a few times along the way!

 

do what YOU like no matter who did it before.

 

I plan on BARROWING a couple of ideas from your car for my own.

 

Incorporate into your personal mix. I also like to give credit to the guy that
"inspired" my use. There's a few original ideas popping up but hell the HAMB seems to be about keeping the tradition intact. There for you have to borrow to re-create.
Rod

 

very well said...along with everyone else's thoughts of course

 

50Fraud's mom said it best...
"imagination is the rearrangement of experience."
You can't build or even own a car that doesn't have someone elses' idea incorporated in it in some way. It would b like trying to typ this sntnce without using the lttr "e"

 

I'm really glad you feel that way Thomas...oh yea, and thanks again for all of the ideas I've stolen from your '39!
LSM

 

I think it's only wrong when you copy someone else's truely unique idea and then pawn it off as your own. Made worse when " Pro's " do it and then profit from it.
Obviously we all are influenced by somone or something and it's only natural to incorporate "some" of what we've seen - but I sorta feel like we should also try to put a little of OURSELVES into our projects as well.

 

The (pro's) call it R&D --Research and Duplicate ---------FEDER

 

If you follow the history of auto racing all the greats copied winning features of other cars and improved on the design.

 

Lets talk about evolution a little bit----No, not the Scopes Monkey Trial stuff, but the evolution of design. I am a design engineer, and I design prototype machinery for a living.----and not one damn part on the fancy stuff I design is totally a "new" idea. If it was, I'd be living on my own Carribean Island with hot and cold runnning maids. I take ideas from a thousand machines that were built before I come along, and combine them into a new machine that never was built before. Hot rodding is the same way----Oh yes, every once in a while somebody will come up with a totally new idea---sometimes the result of this new idea really sucks. But sometimes the new idea will look really good, and people will like it so much that they copy it. Have you never heard the saying "imitation is the highest kind of flattery"??? Cars as well as machines evolve. Somebody builds the first one, and someone else likes it, so they build one just like it, but they add a "little something" to the design to improve it in some way, and then someone else sees that and copies it, and adds a little-----well, you get the picture. I think its perfectly acceptable to copy something that someone else did, and you like. Thats the way the world works!!!

 

There would only be ONE chopped 54 Chevy, One car with shaved door handles, One Model A with a Deuce grill, One Roadster without fenders, One car with a Desoto grill. ......................... There is ALMOST NOTHING you can do to a car today that someone else hasnt already done somewhere!Some people even build EXACT copies of the whole car!

Do what you like to your car..... Its how you mix-n-match all these other design cues that sort of makes it your own!

 

Don't worry about it. There's almost nothing new under the sun. 99% of what we do now has been done by someone sometime in the past. It might not have been in a magazine or even at a car show, but someone somewhere has done it before you!!! LOL

I think all anyone ever asks is that you don't directly steel someones idea or design and then say you came up with it on your own. I like to believe there's an un-written rule of hot rodding, copy all you want...but give credit where credit is due.

I'm always happy to tell people where I got some of my ideas. Sometimes they are completley my own, sometimes I use an idea from a car I saw at a show or in a book from 50 years ago. Just be honest about things and you'll be ok.

Matt

 

guys,if you're working on a 50 year old car and you're "doing it up 50s style" odds are you're not really going to do anything to it that hasnt already been done by someone at some time or another.and if you ARE copying someone flat out,i think it's ok as long as you dont make the same EXACT car and then slap the guy on the ass and say "look at our CUTE matching cars,buddy!" hehe...also,i believe i read somewhere that one of the barris' was thinkin about copyrighting the whole idea of a cut down caddy grill..i think GM had the edge on that one though..
creepy

 

I think it teaches us what looks "right". In some cases you see new stuff that kicks ass but most of the time the stuff we really like is copied over and over. Would you change the grill on your car just to be different even if it didnt look as good as the grill every one has? Just do what you like, more than likely your car will be different enough from your neighbors that no-one will be upset...And if I saw someone with a car that was similar to mine Id want to be friends with them anyway.

 

I think it's okay, as long as it's not a blatant rip off of the whole car, but then again, imatation is the sincerest for of flatery right? Heck Speed, I was thinking about stealing some of your idea's for my '40

 

I think it should be a compliment to the builder. I don't think I've ever seen a kustom that had ALL ORIGINAL ideas on it. Concentrating on what has worked in the past together with your own flare will make your car unique. For example, I'm running '46-48 Lincoln door buttons on my '49 Ford coupe. It's been done before, but to my knowledge I don't think anyone ever recessed the button into the door. It a variation on a theme, but still different. Some things have been done to death though. They did make other hubcaps besides '57 Caddy