Just wondering about the rules of hot rods. It seems to be getting quite restrictive these days building cars. We all want to create or actually RE-create cars that thrill us....but all these rules keep popping up. Very few of us have the real deal....cars that were built in "the day" and never changed or updated....everything else is a recreation and I don't understand the rules about what is allowed, and what isn't and why. Some double standards seem to be getting normal....for example... Rudy's truck had fake patina of sorts with the whore house deco on the doors. Everybody liked it and when the truck was sold and the new owner "defiled" it by changing the door logo's and everybody freaked out. Next we see kustombuilders truck with a new "old" paintjob and the shit slingin began...what is the difference??? Here's how I see it. Either you have the real deal or you are doing nothing different than recreating "the look", whether it is with new or old parts...where is the line in the sand drawn?...If we were actually doing concours restos, we would know what is proper...very strict rules and documentation to decide what is right or wrong. But, this is hotrodding and the gray areas are getting confusing. Generators, not alternators, but what about cloth covered wire as opposed to modern wire??? Where does it stop? To be a "real hotrodder" today, I think we should be using the latest technology, not the oldest, but we arent't. So....what are we???....Universal Studio artists??...just living in a fantasy world???...maybe we really DO need a rulebook.
My rules are for me alone. I don't give a shit about how anyone else does it (and might still like your car even if it doesn't follow my rules). Cloth covered wires Bias ply tires 16 inch wheels Generators Drum brakes Banjo rear ends No tilt cloumns No electric fans THREE PEDALS and on, and on, and on... JH
Original hot rodders broke the rules, then made their own. And they evolve as years go by. I dont like rules. Dont want someone telling me what to do, how my car should look. I'm building cars for myself, and my wife. I make concessions to her tastes as I want her to be interested and enthuastic about this passion for hot rods that I have had for over 40 years. If someone else likes it thats great, but aint gonna hurt my feelings if they dont. Besides, rules are made to be broken.
Hatch, As far as I see it, there are no rules, and that is what makes it interesting and fun. When rules are interjected, it just drives the "Personal touch" away...and ruins it all. Each one deserves his or her opinion... Glenn
Oh boy...there's a can o'worms spillin' over!! I have to say that I can relate to some of your points...one guy gets blasted for doing what another guy got worshiped for...and there seems to be no set pattern to indicate just what is cool and when! Often, the first guy to try a new technique that wins favor within his peer group is elevated to RULER status, while others who do the same to their rides are labeled as Followers of some hip new "trend"! The same in all cliques, but even more evident in our world it seems! To me, it seems that there exists a fine and hazy line between what is commonly called "traditional" and what is actually "era specific modeling", for lack of a more clearly defined term! Guys will crow about this or that part not being "traditional", when what they MEAN is that it doesn't fit neatly into the time period being replicated by a certain vehicle in that person's perception! The subject is a familiar one to me because I dabbled in model railroading...a hobby strictly bound by the "rules" of era specific modeling! You don't DARE try to sneak an Amtrak Genesis train through the heart of your steam-era layout...lest you be shunned and ridiculed by your fellow modelers! It trains one to be ever conscious about each little detail visible in the overall picture, and you get to where you can spot a 1/144th scale Ford Taurus parked in the driveway of a house at the rear of a 1960s themed layout and yell "Ah-HA!"!!! So....are we to liken ourselves with MODELERS??? Trying to perfectly re-create exact REPLICAS of a cars that MIGHT have existed decades ago with feverish attention paid to the last little detail so as not to "spoil" our fantasy? Well, you COULD....and that would be a fun and interesting challenge in it's own right...but I'll leave such anal retentiveness to my MODELING pursuits, and enjoy my cars with a little more carefree attitude! I think it's okay to take a few "creative liberties" with an old heap to make it suit you and your sense of what you think it ought to be...and it follows the tradition of the pioneering rodders who came before us! They strived to build cars with what parts and means they had available to them and they employed various newer items when they could. It's an eveloutionary process, to some degree, in my opinion! EFI and 20" billet wheels on a "traditional" rod? Nah...but an alternator and radial tires doesn't HAVE to be the Kiss of Death, does it??!! In the end, what is "cool" is largely subjective and although certain tastes and characteristics can encompass a group of people involved in a given hobby...it still comes down to an individual's ideas and vision. That is why we don't all dig the same chicks, or wear the same clothes....or build our "traditional" rods exactly the same! There is a collective consciousness that helps to guide our perceptions and boundaries, however fickle or illogical it may seem at times, but the final word still rests within each of our own hearts as to what "does it" for us, and what just looks "wrong"! Who writes the rules? We all do! And when you average the sum of the group's input, you gain a rough draft of what passes for "cool" or "gay" within that group, but there can be no set-in-stone RULES that apply evenly to all parts of the equation...just too many damn variables!!! Use the word of your peers as a guide...but use your own tastes, abilities and judgement as your Rulebook!
I don't know nothin' about anything. I just know what I like. I see the advantages to using "modern" (1970s-era, really) components to build a fifties flavor car, definitely. I really dig a full-on trad build, but I know they're expensive and not entirely practical in a world where carburetors haven't even appeared on production vehicles in twenty years. I do know that smoothness, billet and electronic fuel injection belong on a modern Lexus, not a pre-WWII car.
i dont really think that there are rules..there are just people that do things, they are in their garage working,doing things, hanging out,sometimes alone,sometimes with buddies,some times thinking, sometimes drinking beer, it depends,sometimes they come up with ideas.........,some times they dream of new ideas that have never been done before,some times they come up with ideas of shit thats been going on forever. its hard to comprehend at times,,, we all have our idea of THEE perfect hot rod,but of course our ideas,talent(or lack of) and money(and lack of too! the main factor) comes in to play and we have to sacrafice... i dunno ,i wish i knew tho....
I don't play by the rules...never have....I just don't understand why we seem to be the purveyors of regimentation in what should be a "free thinking" hobby....
I say build it how ever you like it. If you want to put 20" wheels and billet everything on an old rod, then do it. Sure, everyone's gonna give you a hard time, but if that's what you want to do... I'm not saying I'd go do that, cause that's not what I'm into. But I'll look at anything. I'll just spend more time looking at something I like. "Traditional" or not.
I have a few cars both old and new. people talk shit on my glass bodied `27t on A rails, other people talk shit on my `59 Galaxie Kustom having door handels. As far as the new cars I own people talk shit on my `03 2WD f250 being lifted 7" and all the fast and furious hate my `04 G35 Coupe with a goddam AMERICAN flowmaster exhaust... the long and short of it is, I think that whatever you build just build it for yourself and what you like & dont give a fuck what anybody thinks. it's your time and money...
To be a "real hotrodder" today, I think we should be using the latest technology, not the oldest... [/ QUOTE ] What about the import crowd? Are they hot rodders? They swap in bigger motors for more power. They use axles from one make, a trans from another... and mate it to a still different engine. (and only run 13's...) I think anyone who modifies a car for performance (or even looks) has a hot rod, regardless of what they build. There are many different types of hot rods... just enjoy yours because its yours.
How about this approach: 1. Buy a car that you like. 2. Take off everything you don't like. 3. Put on things that please YOU. 4. Paint it (or don't) a color you like. 5..Choose wheels and tires that compliment your mental vision of the car you want. 6. Trim (leather, plastic,blanket) to suit your budget/taste. 7. Install engine and drivetrain to suit budget/preference. 8. When you run out of things to do or money (which ever comes first) stand back and take a look. Does the finished product please you? 9. If the answer to no. 8 is yes, YOUR DONE. Fire the son-of-a-bitch up and don't look back. Now after you've got you pride and joy on the road you may encounter someone who might give their opinion of your efforts. If its a compliment, thank them and be on your way. If it is criticism of your ride you have two choices: 1. Ask to see his car (critics rarely have anything they have built themselves) so you can return the favor. 2. Back up and run over the bastard. Either way you'll get a feeling of satisfaction. Frank
The car that won the " Jive Bomber " award at billetproof this year was a custom built peice of shit. The guy built the car out of swap meet crap and had time to put floor boards in it and fix the bent front axle, but didn't. "For Effect". Is this what hot rodding has come to? When a Kustom Krapper takes the trophy over a car that still had the origional paint and a motor that barely ran, Leaking oil and coolant because the thing limped the whole way there, rather than looking like it did?
There are no rules. Everyone just has an opinion and LOVES to state it on the internet, especially when someone disagrees. Half of the people stating those opinions don't have a project that runs, and I dare to say nor will they in the next few months or years. I think a "hot rodder" is someone who builds a car their own way with all their passion and creativity and drives the hell out of it. Yes thats a broad definitition but it fits the bill? Everyone else just needs to focus on becoming one and finishing their projects. I swear some people around here just collect projects but never produce anything... Whats the point of acting like a hotrodder and giving hotrodder opinions, if you drive a late model and have a pile of rust in your backyard. I'm pissed off when my car doesn't run. -Dane
Hatch, HotRodDrummer has that cool patina'ed truck in Michigan that your referring to. The one that has Ionia Hot Rod Shop on the doors which advertise his shop, not KustomBuilder. Unless, of course, Mike has built something in the last couple of weeks that I don't know about
the problem as I see it is that in some ways we have become as intolerant to changes as the "restorer" crowd.
It has to have been touched by ALEX SHIFTER, and it must have a SO-CAL SPEED SHOP sticker on the WING WINDOW,, germ
I agree with 53 210., build it the way you like it. It's your rod, screw the rest. Flip If at first you don't succeed, change your approach.
I liked Cole Foster's comment a while back. There's really no rules, but don't 'change' something just for the sake of changing. Not to be a suckass or anything, but he does have a point. Kinda like the KISS method... Keep It Simple, Stupid! So I guess when people get to changing shit around just to be different or unique etc it can really fuck things up in a car. So that's the only rule I follow, now. Travis
i picked up a hardcover hotrod book the other day, just to take a peek inside and see what the author thought a hotrod was, or is, or whatthefuckever... saw iskedarians, and all the other classic hotrods... and something came to mind... while these classic hotrods look so cool to me/us/somebody today i really wonder if they were all that worried about what anyone thought when they built them. Or did they do just like most of us do today,,, just modified the damn thing with what they either had, could steal, buy or beg, from what was available at the time... i would lay you odds, that every damned one of those builders of days gone by would have used a 500hp small block whatever if it had been available,, i mean shit... the flatty ford had a lot of shit available for it back in that era. Everything else was exotic or had nothing available for it... They just built with what they had... period so now to say that to be a "hotrod" it has to be vintage iron, flatty powered, and all that blah blah blah is just so much bullshit.. and i think we all know it. i am not taking away a damn thing from those that do build in line with the classic design's but to me that doesnt make them "hotrodders" any more than their car's are "hotrods" if anything these are fine examples of copies of the originals, or variations of the originals... and that too is ok... and i admire all that have either done so or are planning to do so.. now for the rest of us,, can a 54 ford be a "hotrod" hell yes, it can in my book. Just as a stude, chev, buick et al can be... just build your vision,, that is in the true spirit of "hotrodding"!!! Now Ricer's are another story... dont get me started...lol bob
all my life I have been oblivious to rules paid the price a few times to many too I like that there is some amount of stucture in my life today a sense of instructions is what i like to call it some instructions can be altered to get a desired effect but I dont like to go off the road like the old days the bumps on those roads hurt sometimes
Coupla years ago I wrote down these rules, which were clearly understood by car guys in my part of the world circa 1957. I hasten to add that I didn't make these up; I'm merely reporting what was: The Rules In the late years of the twentieth century, it appeared that many of the Old Ways, set down in the time of Eisenhower, were not remembered. A brief review of these basic rules may help to restore our cultural traditions as we proceed in the new millennium. - A girlfriend always rides in the middle of the front seat. A girl who is not the driver's girlfriend, but is even halfway cool, will ride in the middle anyway. In a Thunderbird, she can sit on the console unless she is tall. - The driver may ride with his left elbow on the doorsill or his right arm on the seatback, but not both. - If three people are in the car, they must all ride in the front seat. If two guys and one girl, the girl rides in the middle. If one guy and two girls, there is only one possible arrangement: Girls don't drive guys around. (Note: in certain seaports, three guys in the front seat are described as "sailor love". Avoid this.) - If two couples are in the car, the guys sit in diagonally opposite positions. - Weather permitting, all windows are rolled down completely. Rear windows which only roll part way down must be left closed. - It is not acceptable to have rear windows down with front windows up. - In a convertible with the top down, all windows must be down. Having the rear quarter windows up with the top down is inexcusable. - If a car loses a hubcap, the other hubcap on the same side must be removed immediately (best to remove all four). - Blackwalls and whitewalls may be mixed on the same car only if the rear tires are larger than the front, but they must be the same side-to-side. - A car with fender skirts may be level or lower in the rear, but never lower in the front (does not apply in California, where skirts became extinct ca. 1954). - If a car is driven without bumpers, the brackets must also be removed. - If pressed for time, it is more important to wash the car than to take a shower. - If really pressed, clean the windows and the whitewalls. - If pipes are uncorked, driving at idle and part throttle are OK. Full throttle must be used very sparingly unless smoking the tires or actually racing. Revving in neutral is disgusting. - A lumpy idle is always correct. Brakes or choke may be used to enhance lumpiness. - It is sometimes necessary to blow the horn, but it is never cool. Tony Miller
i think the #1 rule is you should be able to drive it, and drive it hard. there are so many cool looking cars and bikes, that I know can't be driven realistically. (not just around town, or slow speeds) if you are making a specialized car, like a dragster or monster truck, I can understand engineering extremes. I can't believe the amount of time, thought and money, to make basically artistic paperweights. the funny thing is, those are the cars and bikes, that get all the show, and all the magazine coverage. yawn travis aka zibo
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