Hot Rods So, are all your cars traditional?

flux capacitor, your 55 Chevy is super nice just the way it is. If it were me I'd leave it alone and drive the wheels off it. Does anyone really care if it traditional or not?
Gary

 

I feel hot rodders have always updated their cars for better performance as better parts became available. with that being said as a example if its 1965 and a guy has a 64 max wedge is it traditional to step up to a hemi engine. then later in the year hack up the chassis and make it a altered wheelbase car? then add injection or a blower and nitro? then the following year go with a tube frame? at what point is it no longer traditional to step up and stay up to date with current technology? I have no problem with efi ; disc brakes or radial tires etc. are we as a hobby defining tradition by a year with no parts allowed after that pre determined year? if so then we are becoming nothing but a bunch of copy cats because its all been done before. opening a little pages hot rod magazine and limiting your build to what you see there its just that. copy catting. copy catting was not traditional back in the day. the guys were constantly looking for a performance advantage and moving forward. I think a better term would be era correct for the time frame chosen. I have a 66 chevelle I bought in high school. it looks the same today as it did back then exept for a few things like elect ignition and alum heads. the hot rod has all kinds of modern things but looks like a mid 60s fuel coupe. efi; lenco;bruno; hot heads. I like them same.

 

Spoken like a true racer.

 

The 48 and Model A will be pretty close to traditional with a few changes to make the more practical for serious long distance driving for two old people. I'm just not as tough as I was 40 years ago when it comes to long distance cross country road trips.
I've got one in the planning stage that will never be seen on here though unless it in the form of a "what the hell is that" in the background of a photo. About 100 lbs, 16 valves, 130 hp, 5 speed and Fi. Mostly using the left over engine from my OT daily driver that got wrecked last year. Low, fast and fun.

 

< My 49 Willys 2wd pu is almost 100%, the only thing on it that's not vintage is the cheap speedway air cleaner, and a modern battery. The old flathead gets her past the original 45mph, but not too far past and a good thing with the original brakes.
I am building a 40 chevy coupe that will be traditional, although it's traditional 70's steet freak!

 

You and me both.....

 

I think that is where the rubber meets the road.

For the most part if you can't see it and don't tell about it the 5 speed would pass, most of the fellas are not going to stick their head under there. But in the strictest sense it would be a traditionally styled car not traditional.

The overwhelming majority of us (me included) build traditionally styled cars. We don't spend every waking moment looking for the exact piece made in the era that we are shooting for. It is highly unlikely that you will ever see one of my old cars posted in the Traditional Hot rod forum. The spirit of the build will be there but not the letter of the law.

 

My current build isn't H.A.M.B. friendly either. Sure it's a original 30 coupe but I snuck a 6.0 LS in it but converted it over to carb and run a distributor. Has a 700r4 too and a narrowed late model Dana 44 axle out of a new jeep.
HAMB friendly, NO. Will it drive and be reliable. Absolutely.



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Keep in mind, I am not trying to decide what is traditional. I have a handle on that. I'm just wondering how many folks dabble in cars that are not Hamb friendly.

The reason I struggle with the next build is that I am reaching a point where I want to drive more than I wrench. I have been in some sort of a build since 1982. My wife is ready to see the open road and less of the inside of my toolbox. So, I am thinking of building a really fast, really modern car that handles well while retaining the outer look of a traditionally styled car. It's way outside of my comfort zone. I feel like the old wooden spoke guys that won't give it up for those new fangled overhead engines......

 

I think that a newby asked what traditional is.

 

Don't get to post much on the HAMB anymore because I've been "labeled" un-friendly. By the HAMB standard my first car, a 52 Chevy with a straight six, split exhaust, and dual Smithies may have been considered "traditional".

My current is a 49 1-ton AD that I pulled out of a lean to that had sat for 30+ year with 31+ years of rat turds in it. I brought it back to life by putting it on a reconditioned and upgraded S10 chassis, it has a junk yard 350 TBI in it, and I did all of the work myself. I don't think a bolt has gone untouched on it. I've had fun putting it together and once had a friend once refer to it as a kit car without the kit.

I wasn't around in the golden years of the hot roding but if I did something similar back then would my truck have been labeled traditional, non-traditional, friendly, in the spirit of hot roding?

Edit: It was like an epiphany..."The HAMB is about doing that normal hot rodding stuff, as it was done back then, with what was available back then. It's not about doing normal hot rodding stuff with what we have available now."-squirrel

 

When a tradition is just starting, it's not yet a tradition. That takes time. So it would just have been normal hot rodding.

The HAMB is about doing that normal hot rodding stuff, as it was done back then, with what was available back then. It's not about doing normal hot rodding stuff with what we have available now.

 

heh...it only took me about a dozen years to figure it out

 

That´s a tough question... I always tried to build my cars in a traditional way, because that´s what I dig... but to every rule there´s an exception...
The most economical and reliable car I ever had is my 55 Chevy, 235 with 3 speed and overdrive. I have put 22000 miles on it in 2 years, and it cruises at 75 mph, gets great gas mileage and it rides smooth and quiet. It has dearched rear springs , cut coils and radial tires, that are the only alterations. So, if your question is: can a traditional car be reliable?The answer is: yes.
My 65 Riviera is all stock, and it also rides like a brand new car and even has 710-15 bias plys.... it only gets half the milage the 55 gets, but it´s got a 425...reliable : yes. Cheap to drive daily? no.
My 56 Bel Air is a mild custom with a 11.7-1 cr 327. It drives very well , gets good mileage, buts it´s got airride ( availible since about ´58) , but it´s also got disc brakes and viar air compressors... think it´s traditional in the way of looks, but not trad to the bone.
The 62 Impala is all stock , the only alteration are 14" cragar S/S, I think that qualifies as tradtional.
The 34 Ford has a 56 312 Y block, a 32 frame, 40 brakes, a 56 Chevy rearend and it will be built in a traditional way. But it has a WC T5 , that is not traditional...I was made in late´75 , so the driver is definitely a non traditional item, hahhahaha

 

Traditionally inspired yes without getting too anal. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

Thanks G Man, as s kid I loved it with the 327 ,4 speed & red oxide primer & no interior. But truthfully it currently has a tacky dated mid 1980s gm looking light grey cloth interior material that was done in anticipation of Porsche red exterior & after it was stitched up, the old man thankfully switched to gypsy /shoreline colors & it never sit well with me. Since I can't stand the looks of the interior it'll have to go . I'll keep the underpinnings untouched but will loose some of the tacky trinketry like the digital dash , etc. underneath it's stock 350 / th400 with a narrowed 9 inch. The front 6 way power seat is out of a mid 80s big olds & is cut down to stock height. But if I ever come across a stock oem bench I can afford it's going back in. I'm a no frills "plain" 150 series kinda mindset & dad is opposite & likes the cushy convinces. Currently it's 100 degrees plus here in N east Arkansas today & a pal come by work earlier today in his no a/c , 57 hardtop soaking wet with sweat , sooo I'm definitely keeping the a/c ! It's all about compromise. Flux

 

I own nothing that is HAMB-friendly. I do own a pretty-stock 1967 Impala SS convertible w/327 that is mostly restored and a 1967 Impala SS hardtop w/396 that I owned for 30 years. I refer to the last one as my "own personal barn find". Plans are a nut-and-bolt restoration.
I come to this forum to learn from all you folks.

 

I believe my 52 is, aside from radials and the radio being converted to FM.

 

Like many, count me on the Traditional Appearing list. True by the book traditional doesn't fit what I want from a car, and I'm not much for other people's definitions of how I should build a car. To me a Hot Rod by definition is an individualist endeavor.

To me a "true" traditional car is a period time warp, taken out for a Saturday event, or Sunday afternoon cruiser. I want something that looks like 1951, but is capable and reliable to make my 35 mile commute to work in any weather, in modern traffic, whenever the mood strikes.

I respect the efforts of those with true period correct traditional - it's just not for me.

 

I wonder how folks got to work in 1951

 

I like to drive mine alot ,it has a modern 1965 v8 and 4 speed mopar with mustang 2 front end handles like a go cart. I feel it is a traditional hot rod in that I built and drive it alot 5 states last year 3 more this year

 

The same people put trailer hitches on those 1951 daily drivers and towed race cars to INDY and the Bonneville Salt Flats. Bob

 

I could care...but I'm not deeply passionate about about something only built with 1950 and earlier parts, I like this place because I enjoy the build threads...out of each thread I read, I see a thing or two that I'd want to do.

If that means at times I have to save some pennies and buy a repo air cleaner lid for 25 bucks, instead of spending 200...I'll do it.

Every car/truck I've put back on the road ( I won't say built), is one that I know will get me from point A to point B and back again, if that means using a fuel pump from a 92 Honda, I'm good with that, I just won't bring it up here

 

No, none of them, traditions were made to be broken.

 

no
I drive an old school bus everyday
but I plan on my Merc build to be

lots of non trad folks seem to be here
the tech stuff here transcends styles of builds
lots of great info and ideas exist here that can be used on many types of builds and on post 64 cars.

 

That one kinda through me for a loop. You usually have a lot of insight, compassion and great comments.

"Couldn't caring less" about traditional hot rods and customs", is not the same thing as 'not' having one that live's up to the standards of this board.






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For me down here its a definite no,,, fibreglass roadster and a imitation 32 frame. Sure it has 3 carbs on a FE and a 3 speed box with crossplys. I have never said it was and never will. I got embarrassed once when I got asked to put it in a Traditional section at The Blowout. To me its about how I saw hot rods at indoor shows as a kid in the 60's in Sydney. But I like the HAMB and the folk that make it all worth while, the stories of the old days and the advice, cheers

 

Nothing I own is HAMB friendly, and they will stay that way.

I cannot drive on yesterday's roads, with yesterday's drivers, for the average annual mileage that was driven then.

When I bought my Falcon, it was 53-years-old, and had the same mileage on it as my then 7-year-old VW.

If I drove it, un-modernized, at the rate of the VW, it would be destroyed by now.

It is off-line for body work and and engine swap, but before it goes back on the road, it will likely get the largest pair of front discs that can be wedged inside of the front wheels, replacing the smaller discs it has now.