Projects What era hot rod are you building and what influenced you the most?

I always tend to gravitate to the late 60's drag car look. Not sure why, I guess because I was always around old drag cars and old magazines.

I also have a soft spot for the early to mid 80's, as sick and demented as that sounds, That's when I was starting to drive, before billet and guys were almost forced into building their own stuff due to limited aftermarket availability.

Rod runs were still taking place, although were starting to be replaced by the big NSRA shows. Anyway, I am sort of stuck in that era because that is when I had a lot of good memories and good times. Also, Ted Nugent was still touring........haha.

 

40's because its the bare bones easy way to go.

 

I guess I don't understand the reasons to build a car that fits a certain era. I am building my car to fit my needs now, no matter what "era" it fits. If I find parts that I can use from a 2008 whatever model that will fill my needs, that is what I will use. If I want candy stripe tuck & roll upholstery on modern seats that have heaters and coolers in them, that is what I'll have.

 

late 60s style.
i like 60s-70s into the 80s
lots of chrome, resto rods, wild paint, mag/aluminum wheels..........
"FAR FROM BORING!"

 

Roothhawg is my hero. haha

Hi Root!

 

Now see this is my demon....I like everything hot rod and feel the need to build one of every different style. I even may mix some stuff on other builds...that is why I have so many damn projects! It is a disease.

 

I like something from every era into the mid 60's, after that I lose interest. I really like the late 40's to mid 50's, followed closely by the lat 50's/early 60's

so...I guess if it's between 1945 and 1964(ish) I like it the most.

 

mid to late 50's, early 60's. The style of American cars has never been as good since.

 

I categorize things. That's just the way I think. Sort of an in the box thinker.

I figured out a long time ago, if you build something using several different themes you end up with a confusing finished product.

I'm all for build it for you, but I just tend to try and stay in a certain era.

Just my .02 worth.


Hi Manyolcars, where you been?

 

This is one of the reason why my roadster project got put up. I wasn't clear on where I was going. 50's, 60's I really kinda confused some things.

 

pre-20's. Everything from then on is merely working within an pre-defined template.

 

That would be a wagon.

 

I'd say at the moment, early to late '50s is my favorite. I'm building my '29 roadster as if it could have originally been built as a hot rod in '59...and that's a lot harder than it sounds!

My '32 roadster is up next, and it'll be more 1961-ish. It's hard for me to pick an era that's my absolute favorite, because I like so many different styles.

Sure you can mix parts from different eras or not even try to stick to an era when building a hot rod...but in my mind if you can successfully pull off a period-perfect hot rod, you'll usually end up with a pretty special car.

Personally, I'm not so anal about it to where I absolutely have to use a '39 trans, 6 volt batteries, or all cloth-wrapped wiring...but there is most definitely a place for that kind of anal-ness. Is that a word?

 

For me coupes have to be late 50s to very early 60s. Now with roadsters, I like the post war 1946 lakes style look....

And Bass yeah, there IS such a place for that kinda anal-ness haha !!

Rat

 

I am building my '38 Dodge the way I want it - no specific "era". I don't care for a lot of billet and shiny paint but I did choose to use a SBC and a mustang II suspension. I wanted a real steel car and was lucky to find such a clean old coupe to start with. I am doing the majority of the work myself and I plan to drive it daily (even during the hot Phoenix summers). My current DD truck will just be used to haul the fishing boat or the camper.

I guess the real high dollar cars that started coming out in the late 80s and 90s turned me off and made me want something a little simpler.

 

I'm shooting for late '50s with my '47 Plymouth, with a some concessions for safety and a couple for convenience. It will be my primary driver, so I chose a a number of things based on the fact that it will have tons of miles put on it.

When I get started on the touring car roadster project, my goal is late '40s lakes. This will be the fun one. ;-)

 

I like the Pre-War, and just Post-War era...and then the 70s into the very early 80s era, with not much in between!

Ha Ha...either a stripped-down lakes roadster with no windshield, no headlights, mechanical brakes, banger or flathead mill...

...or a rod that borrows a lot of influence from 70s "Street Machines" with chrome mag wheels, white lettered tires, 70s/80s era bolt-on speed parts, 8-track players and WABX stickers!!!

To me, it seems easy to do a dedicated "era correct" car in those two favorite time periods...but most 50s and 60s "period" builds tend to blur the lines to some extent. Not to say that there aren't cars out there that've been built right-on-the-money for an authentic 50s or 60s look, but most seem to be more 'retro-modern' in execution. Nothing wrong with that, but it just happens...newer engines, automatic transmissions and disc brakes find their way into the project and kinda...'dillute' it sometimes.

Finding authentic stuff to do a late 30s to mid-late 40s era car isn't that difficult (with the exception of some rare speed equipment)...as things like mechanical brakes, stock frames, closed-drive axles, and other stock 20s and 30s car components are often removed and discarded by builders doing cars from more modern eras.

In the same way, locating gennie 70s stuff isn't too hard, either...from drivetrains to accessories, wheels and speed parts...it's still widely available and affordable.

Get into a dedicated 50s or 60s era build, though...and you gotta watch yourself a little more. It's easy enough to say things like "Yeah, this 1980 Chevy 350 engine looks kinda sorta like a 265 if it's painted right", or "Whos' gonna know it has a 700R4 in place of the 'Glide?" and things of that nature.

It takes carefull hunting (in competition with a lotta other builders), a higher budget, and lotsa discipline to really nail a 50s or 60s car today...but when someone does it, the results are usually pretty impressive...even if they ain't my preffered eras!

 

Man I would like to say that the early 50's are the cars that influence me the most but i think that I am influenced by more then that. I think late 30's european sports cars as well as post war Hot rods are the things that get me going. But then again, when I see a no bullshit Hot Rod from the 60's I get influence from that too. I would say I pick up something from everything.

 

It's a toss up.....
I really like early dry lakes type cars....late 30's 'till @ 1952. Someday I'll build one

But the car I'm building now is a late 50's-early 60's look....kind of a street brawler style with some show car flair. I just love the bright, candy colors, the chrome, the wild engines, cool wheels, all of it man....
That time period was exploding with so many innovative and "interesting" ideas, that it "allows" today's builder more freedom in building an "era correct" car, yet still incorporating your own, original ideas.

 

Late '60's because that's when I first noticed cars. A guy in the Studebaker club had a '54 Starliner with a 365HP 327 Corvette engine and 4-speed. He described it as "the car I would have built in high school if I would have had money". That's how I'm doing my Daytona, as if it was 1967 or 1968 and I was in high school. A mix of hot rod and musclecar.

 

But the car I'm building now is a late 50's-early 60's look....kind of a street brawler style with some show car flair. I just love the bright, candy colors, the chrome, the wild engines, cool wheels, all of it man....
That time period was exploding with so many innovative and "interesting" ideas, that it "allows" today's builder more freedom in building an "era correct" car, yet still incorporating your own, original ideas.[/quote]

I'd like to see what you're up to,
I think you just said what I always thought.
SHOW ME SOME PICTURES PLEASE

 

I built my 40 ford because I like the body style and I had a 41 business coupe in high school in 1962. Right now I'm building up a 64 dodge to the style of the S/S drag cars back then. Also thinking about doing a 62 pontiac.

 

For me I like mid to late sixties drag inspired. Nothing better than huge blown hemis spindle ounts and wild paint.
Mat

 

Circa '58-61 Bellflower / Lakewood / Downey mild custom with some early drag influence.

Nice custom paint and mild body and trim changes, very low stance with rear slightly higher, chrome reverse wheels with whitewall slicks, a hot 392 under the hood with plenty of chrome (anyone got a straight-stack Hilborn injector? ).

Eventually. This is not a cheap car to build, hahahahaaaa

 

Very nice MoPar GotGAs....what colour are u thinking of painting her? Tell us a bit more abour her?

Rat

 

I love to mix it up. I think (just my opinionated opinion) you can borrow from different eras successfully as long as you keep an overall image in your mind, or on paper. I read somewhere, or heard somewhere, someone said to build not only to an era, but down to the day from that era to really make the car "correct". I can see the point, but that also isn't what building MY hot rod is all about. That would be what building SOMEONE ELSE'S hot rod is about. ....like, JOE HOT ROD's hot rod from Aug. 5 1949.....
In fact, I'd like to add to whom ever said the above, by saying, you should also pick a specific locale where this "hot rod" was built to further insure a DEAD-NUTS period-correct project.
The scales for guys of this mindset are a little heavier in the historian side and lighter in the hot rodder side. I think it's safe to say most on the HAMB slightly lean more to one particular side or the other, but are generally pretty well balanced.


I love hot rods from all the eras, but really like the 60's, both BH (before hippy) and HP (hippy period) right into the AH (after hippy) 70's and beyond.....right up to just a second before the first COAST to COAST '37ish lumprod.
Color, mags, slammed but raked bitchin' hot rods.

We have the great advantage of hindsight and so TODAY, we are building simply, the BEST CARS EVER.

 

Jeem is a poet.

 

I like it all, but since my car was built in the early 60s, I'm shooting for an early to mid 60s mild custom style.

 

I think the 60' had some of the best looking cars, probably because I am partial to mags, chrome reverse wheels and early chrome wires. my 57 currently has a early 60's vibe with its chrome OE's but i want a set of halibrands (cast finished) for a later 60's look.

My woodie will be a mix, more like JEEM talked about. it will have some cross over

 

I'll have to agree with Jeem & Roothawg, I like the late 60's up into the early 80's before billet craze. Car's like Kollofski's 55 & Willys, Pete's Kid and Limefire, Cal Tanaka's 33, Fat Jack's stuff....... Hell I could go on and on.
For today's I think the Rolling Bones cars are neat as well as some of the HAMB'ers like Myke, Bruce's Rod Shop and Vendetta Auto.