is "the look" more important than the driveability ???

WTF good is a car you can't drive and enjoy driving? That's what a car is ostensibly for, to drive it.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's comfortable; race cars don't have AC, stereos, and cupholders and they're a hell of a lot of fun to drive.

 

the answer to the question is yes.

stiff suspension with minimal travel, chopnchanneled cars, customs you can't see out of. it doesn't take much to hurt driveability to make something look cool.

I recently spent some quality time in a 40 Ford truck. lowered a tad, but sat pretty level. i'd give it some big and littles and a nice rake if it were mine. this would make the already uncomfortable seat more straight up, and it would be harder to see stop lights. give it a 2" chop and the driveabilty suffers even more.

 

Haha PnB, I hear ya. I finally broke down and called about having AC installed in the house because my better half has been miserable.

I know my example is a bit extreme but I look at it this way.
Lets say I have some disposable income to do with as I please. I can buy Kevan Sledge's merc or a brand new car with 0 miles and all the bells and whistles. The new car WILL drive smoother, have many more creature comforts and I'll be able to drive it when the snow falls. It WILL function better period. I'm buying that merc. Why? because the form of that thing is stunning and I'd be the coolest kid in town (which shows how cool that merc is 'cus that's quite a stretch). In this case it's all about the form.
$.02
Jer

 

I like comfort to a point. I can do without AC and accept driving somewhere 3 hours and arrive sweaty. Showing up with a leg cramp or my back out of whack is another issue. My stock cars had to be comfortable for 100 laps to be competitive at the end of the race.

Now with my recent car accident induced back injury (hopefully not permanent), I have to be well-supported in the seat and be able to get in and out of the car with ease.

Bob

 

The link, she no worky for me.

But if by, THE LOOK, you mean "body dropped", ass dragging, cliché, schitbox, then no, there will probably be some HEAVY sacrifices in drive-ability.

 

Ha,
In the '90s I took a job doung HVAC work because I needed the cash. It was hot enough that summer that in the evenings when the missus came home we would take her late model T bird and drive all the way around the metroplex on the outer loop with the A/C on. She really doesn't handle heat well. It was a 4 hour drive if you minded the speed limit.

One saturday morning one of my co-workers and long time friend shows up @ 5:00 AM and says its your day off lets put central air in your house. he had an old unit he had pulled out of someone elses house and a new luine set in the back of his truck. By 9:00 AM we had the house cooling and we sitting eating breakfast.

Now of someone would just show up with A/C for my Willys.

Jeem,
The link was to a video of the junk rod that Hot Rod magazine compaired to the new lambo this month. I guess they kind of fixed it up for a promotion, but it is billed as a car with an SBC of unkown origen with two marine carbs on top and the car itself is a total piece of bovine excrement.

I guess it would be OK for cruising if you didn't have anything else to get around in. but even the fellas at hot rod said that to drive it you had to stick your head above the windshield header.

 

That is exactly my sentiment, to the letter! Even the same vehicle. I didn't build it, but I won't make a major change, because it's a survivor. It may put a pain in my ass, but it puts one hell of a smile on my face.-MIKE

 

I see where you are going with that, but I have to disagree. In this particular case (talking about a car), "function", to me, means how it functions as a car.

To "look good" is not a function, it may be it's purpose, but it is strictly in the realm of form.

I agree that in a pure racing application, form should follow function, but in a hot rod I believe form should mostly follow function. I do think there are aesthetics to consider because I personally like a "good looking" hot rod that drives well and goes fast. In other words, I want the car to go like stink without looking like ass. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the art is in achieving a good balance between these two, in a traditional way.

Feel free to argue the point.

 

Now that's a hot rod

 

I have not seen many traditionally built hot rods on trailers but have seen many many overdone "street rods" on trailers.. If you don't want your hot rod to have the look than why bother.. Just because a hot rod has bias plys, no air and older steering or motor doesn't mean it's unsafe or can't be driven to far away shows.. Coverage of "reliability runs that I've seen rarely feature "street rod" types.. So I'll repeat my first post, "It's all about the look" and I approve this message....

 

In my case I built a Gasser...so it does drive rougher than say a stock 57, But I added disc brakes to the front so it stops better than say a stock 57. Overall I would say its safer than a stock 57 but not close to the ride comfort! If driveability is the end result...it drives as good as a stock 57 but IMHO looks way way cooler!!! Give me the look anytime....if I have to squat down more, lean out to see a stop light, shift in my seat more to relax the butt muscles...than to have a cool look..that is a sacrifice I am willing to make!

 

When the guy who built my engine finished my car, he told me he took it for a test drive before driving to my house to pick it up. As I drove back to his place, he started telling me a list of crap I need to do, in order for it to be a nice car. Keep in mind, my cars a T Bucket.

First he said the seats were hard. He suggested some hi-back buckets out of a Camaro or Mustang. Then he suggested that he could rig up power steering. Then, a Mustang II front suspension. All this shit, piled on a T Bucket.

My response was straight forward, yet tactful. I reminded him what the car was and why it was built the way it was. It's a hot rod, not a f'n Cadillac. It never will be, should or could. He still didn't get it and probably never will.

That's one reason I got away from street rods. A/C, power brakes, power steering, power windows? To me, rods that have all that crap aren't hot rods. They're for people trying to fit into a certain niche and not get hurt. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them, but they seem to have forgotten what they represent. Stripped down, bare bones, in your face motoring. Anything else is a sheep in wolfs clothing. A poser.

The new car commercials coming out love to show some $50,000 sedan scooting around, spinning dust circles and in the background noise, they play heavy metal music. They're trying to promote a luxury sedan as something that it's not. A hot rod. And in my world they fail.

 

Hot Rods have never been known to be the most comfortable cars to drive,,through the years I have had quiet a few and some were considerably more comfortable than others.

Most of the Model A's I had were marginally comfortable but were a joy to drive and had the look.

I have owned a plethora of 40 Fords and they had the look and you could ride for hours on end without being tierd.

Then enter my Deuce obsession,,I build them for the look I like and use all that I have learned with my other cars what works and what doesn't and apply that to my current stable.

My '32 truck rides a little rough when low on gas but looks cool but my 62 year old body just can't take the 600 mile one day road trips anymore,,there is not enough room in the small cab for a long legged ol fart like me.

My sedan is another matter,plenty of room and rides greatmalthough the suspension is too street roddy according to Shaggy.

The '54 Wagon on the other hand was built to hit the road,it's comfortable,looks cool according to my peers and rides great,,plus air conditioning don't hurt.

As far as these cars that are chopped within a inch of there lives,,I've had a couple of chopped cars 30 years ago when I was as flexible as a Chinese Acrobat at the Cirque De Soliel. HRP

 

The question is moot - if you want driveability, go out and get a new car - they drive well, they're comfortable, economical and reliable - basically everything our old cars aren't.

Does that mean I want to dream about new cars?

Hell no!!

Why the heck do you think I spend so much time trawling through the HAMB?

Car porn wins every time.

Yeah!!!!!!!!

 

Bottom line. do you what to drive it, or look at it?????

 

Edit... OK... that wasn't very nice ( sorry... mister evil came out )

let me re-ask the question this way then...

is it more important to most of you, that all your buddys think you have the coolest car, even if you can't stand to drive it across town, than it is to have something that you love to drive around, but your buddys think your car isn't as cool as theirs ???

 

If I enjoy mine more- it is cooler.

 

Dude... if you're talking about the car in your avitar... I drool on the little pic every time you post... you got a bigger picture... it looks awesome

 

Doesn't really matter to me as long as they think my tail lights are cool. That's about all anyone ever sees anyway.

 

Well...since all of my friends drive your basic everyday car, mine is definitely cooler even though its in pieces in the garage!

 

The question is.....Are you happy? If my friends don't like my cars, they can drive their own. I build to suit me, not the coulda shoulda woulda bunch. Build what you like and don't try and mimic the latest fad.

 

If you have been into old rides a long time, you would not even think about that or be asking that question.

I drive only old stuff as dailys for 20 years now, my newest vehicle I have owned since then, is 42 years old. I use oldies because I like the way they work, and feel, but I wish they were invisable. I'd really like not to be stared at most of the time. Maybe I should put a S10 body on a vintage ford chassis with an olds motor and topshift buick trans

 

5'-10 1/2" is average white male in U.S. today. 5'-7 1/4" for Americans born mid-nineteenth century. According to Wikipedia, I'm short at 5'-8".

 

yes... I'll admit I'm an old car newbie... I've had a couple H.A.M.B. friendly vehicals over the years, but younger & too many things to do, I always got rid of them...

Been driving my 38 Nash for a couple years now, & I really like driving it, I'm doing little things to try to make it as driveable as possible... but Like the Alabama Song "I'm in a hurry" I've always wanted to go faster... the Nash is a nice relaxing cruise... I like the "feedback" I get from the antique car, but I guess I also have the need for speed... hoping I can cure some of that with my "ugly" truck project

 

That's actually a very interesting point. That 3+ inches of height differential can certainly make the difference between dis/comfort in a cramped hot rod or kustom. Makes me wonder if our hot rodding forefathers would've built them much differently back in the day had they (on average) all been a bit taller? Things that make you go, hmmmm......

 

Multiple hot rods cure what ails you......

 

I can only speak from my own perspective, not to what's "right or wrong". In a perfect World, I'd be driving a 1937 Chevy Coupe set up like a Nose High Gasser with Air Conditioning, a late model Chevy Crate Motor and a 4 Speed, something set up for cruising on the Street and Highway use....Whatever that means, I'd own it. I like looks and comfort and am not a slave to Tradition......It's about Safety and Comfort for me......I don't like breathing fumes, Burning up in the heat, or having my teeth rattled out of my head.......You asked, I answered.....

 

That right there is a gem, my friend! I think you nailed it.

 

yea, thats the ONE bonus us shorter guys have in life. We can enjoy chopped channeled coupes, t-buckets, and channeled T-roadsters with short windshields. Take THAT Stretch, hahaha!

 

Fortunately, I fit into Model As, '32-34 trucks and coupes, and Cobras.