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Hot Rods My Personal Glass Car Debate

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by CAHotRodBoy, Feb 24, 2020.

  1. BoogittyShoe
    Joined: Feb 18, 2020
    Posts: 330

    BoogittyShoe

    Maybe I missed something. Just not sure how your last sentence fits into the conversation. Perhaps you could enlighten me.
     
  2. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,709

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    Simple. He said he wanted to take a trip and talk to people across the country. A 63 Galaxie or a hot rodded coupe will generate much more conversation than a bellybutton econobox car you see 10,000 of every day........
    If you don’t understand that, well I can’t help you.
     
    hotrodjack33, Blue One and chopped like this.
  3. southcross2631
    Joined: Jan 20, 2013
    Posts: 4,413

    southcross2631
    Member

    If you worry about being socially accepted then I would go get a Subaru Wagon like all the liberals drive.
    Be brave ,be bold and not give a shit about what other people think and drive the car you have now.
    That Buick V6 will tote you around just as good as an old Hemi would and you can get parts for it if it breaks down. Try finding parts for a Hemi in the middle of nowhere.
     
  4. jim snow
    Joined: Feb 16, 2007
    Posts: 1,807

    jim snow
    Member

    This is the best advice your gonna get. Don’t worry about it being a glass car. If someone asks tell them what it is. Most won’t. Have a great trip. Snowman
     
  5. This debate will likely go on forever. My '40 is a Henry steel car and my '32 is a Wescott bodied Roadster. I enjoy both equally and when someone asks if the Roadster is "kit" car I tell 'em yep, it came in a little box with a tube of glue. They usually walk away offended and that's fine by me. 2013-10-22 13.06.45.jpg 20181006_094353 (1).jpg 044-vi (1).jpg 329-vi.jpg
     
  6. BoogittyShoe
    Joined: Feb 18, 2020
    Posts: 330

    BoogittyShoe

    Let 'em say what they say.
    You know they will anyway.
    At the end of the day
    they don't know fra.
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  7. It's just a fact, everyone wants a real steel car.
    Trying to find what you want and what you can afford is another matter altogether.
    I bought a glass shell (not cheap) and had to fabricate or dig up all the rest of the parts
    to build my gasser style street car, same as any other guy.
    To me it's the building and to hell with the nay sayers.
     
    verno30 and Splitbudaba like this.
  8. CAHotRodBoy
    Joined: Apr 22, 2005
    Posts: 458

    CAHotRodBoy
    Member

    Wow, 340 HP is pretty cool. When I first got the car I did some quick research on the engine. I knew it was the same one they used in the mid 80's Grand Nationals and they got a ton of power out of them with turbos. I think I read that they used special blocks for those cars though. Or maybe just all different internals.
    I was thinking a 5 speed manual behind the 231 would be fun and as you said, light motor/light car. I have no idea what trans, bell housing and clutch combo to use though.
     
  9. CAHotRodBoy
    Joined: Apr 22, 2005
    Posts: 458

    CAHotRodBoy
    Member

    You're killing me here, Rocky! :D I love your car and the way it is set up, despite running a SBC (ha, ha, just kidding)! So that's another question, which is cooler, a steel car with an SBC or a glass car with a 392? :eek::p
    Anyway, I guess if I sold the Galaxie, Corvette and this car I could probably afford a steel car. Or a steel body to set on this chassis.
    I had a steel car before but had to sell it ten years ago. If I had been able to sell all my other stuff back then instead I would have kept that car. So if I think, "would I trade this glass '34, the Galaxie and my Corvette for my old car?" I'd say yes to that. So maybe that solves my dilemma.

    164-6436_IMG.JPG IMG_0016.jpg 168-6817_IMG.JPG
     
  10. BoogittyShoe
    Joined: Feb 18, 2020
    Posts: 330

    BoogittyShoe

    Screenshot_2020-02-25-09-25-11.png
    I have a Borg Warner T-50 5-speed (rare, can't get parts) in the car now with a 196 ci (only made in '78/'79) Buick out of a '78 Monza. You will need what they call an "eared" bellhousing to fit the block. That refers to the ears at the top.
    I have an S-10 T5 that will go with the 231.
    The Vega and Monza both used a cable for the clutch. I've read some negatives about hydraulic clutches. True, there is no "feel" to them, but I had one put in my '39 and it's really smooth. That would be a way to solve linkage problems easily. View attachment 4588058
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2020
  11. This little RPU had a 4.3 V-6 in it with a 200R4 behind it, wold buzz down the interstate all day long @ 80/85 with out any problem. Drove it to LARS from Oklahoma a few years ago with 8 other cars and lead the pac all 3 1/2 days Who shives a git what it's powered by. Just get out der and enjoy the trip. 32RPU IN OKC.jpg
     
  12. I met a guy last fall that has built an absolutely stunning mesmerizing awe inspiring 33 3 window. He had nice steel 5 window but wanted a 3 window. So he sold the 5w body, kept the chassis and built a FG 3w on it.
     
    Desoto291Hemi likes this.
  13. Surprise!!! That's not a SBC....My car runs a 57 Pontiac 347, punched to 370 cu in. backed up by a Muncie 4 speed and a winters quick change......lotsa fun!!!
     
  14. BoogittyShoe
    Joined: Feb 18, 2020
    Posts: 330

    BoogittyShoe

    Not true, my friend. Haha. I loved my '39 at first sight, and with all my sweat, but if someone offered to trade me a chopped, channeled, 'glass '32 (or even a '33/'34)
    (We both keep our engines) I'd say "Show me the title."

    On second thought, it took a year of legalities and $1000 to get a title. Never mind.
     
  15. CAHotRodBoy
    Joined: Apr 22, 2005
    Posts: 458

    CAHotRodBoy
    Member

    Damn! Now I like it even more. Wanna trade a Galaxie, Corvette and '34 for it? :eek::D:D
     
  16. Pat Thompson
    Joined: Apr 29, 2012
    Posts: 256

    Pat Thompson
    Member

    Ours is glass. Been driving it since 2005 and not one spot of rust.... Just drive it and don't worry about the rest. I didn't build it to make someone else happy... One more thing, if you are broke down and I go by, I'll stop to help you rather it is steel, glass or wood.
     
    Splitbudaba and jim snow like this.
  17. pirate
    Joined: Jun 29, 2006
    Posts: 1,024

    pirate
    Member
    from Alabama

    This debate goes on and on about what’s real and what is not. Fiberglass versus steel. Is a original steel cowl with the rest of the car made up aftermarket body panels or parch panels as real as an original production body? Fiberglass doesn’t bother me, but to each his own. I guess to me if you have to ask permission to own a fiberglass car you have missed the whole point of owning a hot rod/street rod or however people want to describe cars on this site. Hot rods should be as original as the owners and if it makes you happy no one else’s opinion matters. You have a nice car if it doesn’t make you happy get rid of it as for what others might think or say tell them to $@&* off.
     
    HotRod33 likes this.
  18. HotRod33
    Joined: Oct 5, 2008
    Posts: 2,570

    HotRod33
    Member

    I have a couple of steel vehicles... a 33 pickup and a 30 model a sedan... I'm building a fiberglass 36 pickup right now.... I'm building it to drive and I really don't give a shit what anybody thinks.... I'm the one paying for it... Build and drive what YOU want
     
  19. BoogittyShoe
    Joined: Feb 18, 2020
    Posts: 330

    BoogittyShoe

    It's all a matter of personal perspective. We all see things through our own eyes. The problems arise when one man thinks his perspective is the only way to see things. Yes, Von, it is about the building. The work. We're men. Men work.
    But men compete. It's a silly, human pride thing. "If I win, I'm #1. Better than all of them." Twenty men start a foot race. The fact is that only one will win. It doesn't mean that the winner trained harder, tried harder, prayed harder, (was a "better" man).
    OK, back to cars. The competition thing has been here as long as cars. Those who could afford them got the "best", and everyone else got what they could. I had my Vega as my only car from '79 till a little over a year ago. It got smashed from every corner, and it was up to me to pull and Bondo the dents. It was about doing the best with what I had. I bought, rebuilt, and installed the V6 living in an upstairs apartment. Think of the logistics of that. (Start with removing the 4-cylinder without a hoist) I was proud of myself for doing it, but I realized that thousands of guys have done the same thing.
    The "Mine is better than yours." thing has gotten totally ridiculous. A judge at a car show looks at every square millimeter with a magnifying glass and says "Oh no, I see a grain of pollen in your metalflake. Sorry, loser."
    So much for others judging others.

    *"...almost two years..."
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2020
  20. wvenfield
    Joined: Nov 23, 2006
    Posts: 5,580

    wvenfield
    Member

    I think you are overthinking a road trip.
     
  21. 32Dan
    Joined: Nov 22, 2017
    Posts: 137

    32Dan
    Member
    from Chino, CA

    IMG_3261.JPG IMG_3772.JPG
    Glass body and grill shell. I built what I could afford. Still cost quite a bit. I do have some original Henry Ford items; grill shell insert, drums/backing plates, steering column, and headlight bar. And I like to tell people it is a steel frame, makes them think...!
     
  22. Kan Kustom
    Joined: Jul 20, 2009
    Posts: 2,739

    Kan Kustom
    Member

    Totally agree with everything except the it ain't real part. Hotrods ain't real Henry Ford originals either. They have been updated with later engines, Wheels, Tires etc.etc.etc... Fiberglass is just another change added at a later date in the early Ford modification line. Some people are just stuck in a short window of this ongoing hobby and want everyone else to be stuck with them or be called wrong. I will never understand this line of thinking or need for control of others but it has been going on since the beginning of time. Live and let live and enjoy your car any way you want. No one's opinion can change the joy of having your own car your way unless you let them. Build your car and be content with it. It is a waste of life to build your car to please everyone else.
     
    HotRod33 and lothiandon1940 like this.
  23. KoolKat-57
    Joined: Feb 22, 2010
    Posts: 3,073

    KoolKat-57
    Member
    from Dublin, OH

    I was at a show last year in my FG '32 roadster, parked next to a guy who had a real deal Henry '32.
    He had bragged how he had well over $100,000 in it and even put mirrors under it so you could see where all that money went.
    It had an over the top paint job and interior, blown small block Chevy, and more billet and chrome than I ever saw on 1 car!
    The funny thing is my FG '32 with the dual quad 392 hemi and mostly home built everything else had more people around it, than Mr. Money Bags real deal showboat!
    Just an observation. IMG_0153 (Edited).JPG
    KK
     
  24. BoogittyShoe
    Joined: Feb 18, 2020
    Posts: 330

    BoogittyShoe

    Nice wheels/tires/ gloss/ pushbar/taillights
    That's a real, nice rod.
     
    32Dan and 31hotrodguy like this.
  25. 31hotrodguy
    Joined: Oct 29, 2013
    Posts: 2,698

    31hotrodguy
    Member

    This guys hasn’t been around the H.A.M.B. in a few years but he took a street rodded FG car and turned it into a nice Cadillac, 3 spd powered hot rod. IMG_5031.JPG IMG_5037.JPG IMG_3069.JPG


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    32SEDAN, 32Dan, kidcampbell71 and 2 others like this.
  26. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,013

    belair
    Member

    The only real question is can you live with a glass car? Will it scratch the itch? It will probably not sell for as much when the day comes to sell it, and you will have to deal with the snobs all over again. On the other hand, it may cost a lot less to get into on the front end, so you can come out ok on the dollars. You will wind up selling it to someone, who, like you either couldn't find or afford a steel car, and will be dealing with the same issue you are now. And by then you will have the answer to your and his question-"Do I want a glass car?" Good luck-in the end it's all about the fun and what you can live with in order to have the fun.
     
    31hotrodguy likes this.
  27. fourspd2quad
    Joined: Jul 6, 2006
    Posts: 908

    fourspd2quad
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I understand the value in a steel body vs a glass body. One benefit of a glass body is that you at least know what you are buying if it comes from a known supplier. A steel body could be a mish mash of half rotted panels held together with copious amounts of glass and bondo. Buyer beware.
     
  28. Nostrebor
    Joined: Jun 25, 2014
    Posts: 1,278

    Nostrebor
    Member

    If you already own it and you already plan to take a road trip and it's already together, I don't see what the big deal is? Stop worrying about what I think about your car and just hit the road and have some fun. When you get home, change your car into whatever you want. My 14 year old would look at you deadpan and say "YOLO!":D

    There is a whole lot of not HAMB friendly on the car I am currently building. I am not planning on loosing any sleep on that any time soon. I chose to build what I wanted, within my means. As soon as someone else walks up with a giant sack of money, I'll get started building what they want.
     
    Kan Kustom and CAHotRodBoy like this.
  29. CAHotRodBoy
    Joined: Apr 22, 2005
    Posts: 458

    CAHotRodBoy
    Member

    That car sure came out nice! Love that it has exterior door hinges. I could live with a glass car that looked like that. Gives me hope for mine to go from this:
    IMG_5220 (Small).JPG

    To this in either gloss or satin with door handles, trunk handle and maybe door hinges, no hood sides because of the Hemi valve covers sticking out but run a hinged steel hood top with original grill, maybe black steelies instead of the TorqueThrusts. (Thanks to Moose for these renderings.)

    gloss (Small).jpg blackjl (Small).jpg
     
    31hotrodguy likes this.
  30. goldmountain
    Joined: Jun 12, 2016
    Posts: 4,442

    goldmountain

    Try to find a first generation Corvette to make a road trip in. Fiberglass, genuine, old, gets lots of attention. Win, win.
     
    31hotrodguy likes this.

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