A local friend of mine knew that I liked old car magazines so he asked if I wanted his collection. I thought it might be a couple stacks, turns out it was 15 boxes of magazines! I'd say 80% of them were mid-'50s-1980 and the rest was post-'80. I've been going through them and came across this article. In the Aug 1959 issue of Rods Illustrated they have an article on how to take an ordinary shopping cart and turn it into a bucket seat. Today this would be considered something that only a "rat rodder" would do, but I guess it was common 57 years ago. So if you were building a late 50s period correct Rod today, would this be frowned upon? I mean, it isn't what comes to mind when I think of a traditional rod but technically, they were doing it back then. Your thoughts??
I would make the seat, but put the wheels back on and roll around the shop holding a steering wheel and making engine noises.
I'll bet the owner of the Piggly Wiggly was missing a bunch of shopping carts after the local hot rodders got their mail that day.
Back then it was, but they've changed shopping cart design. They could be covered nicely too, not just a board and sponge. Blowing alley seats saw a second life in race cars too.
Yeah, I guess there was only so much mail-order parts available at the time and it just proves that you just made whatever you had work to your advantage. Justin
I remember when that article was published. I thought that it was a dumb idea at the time and I don't think that time passing has improved it any. I thought that putting in a bunch of work to make a seat frame out of something that didn't really fit was a poor plan. Then and now I thought that just starting with some steel and welding up a properly sized and shaped seat frame made much more sense. I guess that my butt don't fit a shopping cart.
yeah, its traditional today still. As long as you steal a pre 1964 shopping cart. Notice the differences in them from todays. 51 norm, if your butt don't fit... steal one from Sams club, those will hold a double wide butt
I have an old 1956 issue of Hot Rod and they too had an article on building a shopping cart bucket seat. Theirs was going in a Bonneville car.
I think this only proves one thing. " Hot Rodding", building what you can, with what you have (or what you can borrow), is traditional. And catalog ordering, not so much. "Rat Rods"? I think the jury is still out on that one and will be for some time.
The only thing it proves is that then, as now, magazine writers are bored out of their minds and looking for something different to write about.
No one would even know the set in that 5 window at the top of page 23 started out as shopping cart frames. Then or now....
Here's a full size image. Dang, wish I was around when the magazines were THE source for info. Guess regular folks had to do backyard stuff. My pops pointed out that the cost of speed equipment then took entire paychecks, for things that are incidental today. $1 each spark plugs seem like nothing now. He says backyard mechanics HAD ti use what they had. Only the "rich kids'' could go catalog shopping then. Someone let us know what a decent workin' mans' weekly check would have been in, say 1962.
I think the shopping cart seats may have been a regional thing as well. I remember my dad talking about them and even more bitching when they redesigned the shopping carts, no longer an easy seat. When you look at that shopping cart seat, it's almost as if a seat manufacture said "hey, we can make shopping carts out of these seat frames too." Theses are VW seat frames I lifted off the net someplace. Hope he burned his feet The guys that don't think a seat from a shopping cart can be awesome wouldn't ever think of taking a nap in a wheelbarrow either. Best damn naps I ever had were in a wheelbarrow.
A glide engineering seat frame will set you back almost 900. They are just as crude looking as any seat frame but upholstered the look great.
The difference is a hot rodder takes the frame and makes it a nice covered seat. A rat rodder would leave it with the metal grate for a seating surface and glue with plastic push handle to the dash.
My father was an electrician in the late 50s he made $120 a week. This put us at the top of the working class. Guys who worked in gas stations and stores made $35 - $50. He also told me he made $10,000 in 1953 as a union electrician on construction working all the hours God sent and it nearly killed him.
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