Event Coverage Why do the T.R.O.G. rules lean towards old Fords?

First off I,m an old Ford nut, every hot rod I,ve ever owned has been a Ford. My current project is a single seater that at this point has sheetmetal from a Dodge roadster, 40's and 50's Fords and a few chevy pieces. My motor choice is a Dodge flathead six.
So for fun I was looking at the rules and it seems that races are geared for the Ford 4 bangers and flathead v8's. If I were to take my car out there with the Dodge power plant I would be in an exhibition class(not that I would ever make it to the sand). I understand that the Ford was the original hotrod but I've seen some vintage hotrods that were not Fords. These races are held for fun correct? So why cant a guy run a car with a Ford banger motor against a say Chevy four or a flathead v8 against a Mopar six(they are both around the same displacement)?
I.m not bitching by any means just wondering why the rules are set the way they are. Enlighten me.

 

Non Ford engine are welcome in the vintage engine classes in LSR. I see no reason not to run one. A Chevrolet 4 with an Olds 3-port head is definately correct and Rich Fox has sure done a lot with using the vintage Dodges.

 

Events run bu FAST or other Ford centered interest groups, will be for Ford owners. You wouldn't expect to see a class for SBC cars at the HEMI nationals would you? And Jim, I ran Plymouths. The Montana Dodge boys are holding up the Dodge Bros. banner. It looks like, and I hope that what was my roadster and Dodge OHV conversion, will make the El Mirage May meet. Under new ownership.

 

Anything can be hotrodded including bicycles and valve covers but traditional hotrods were always Fords because of the Model T which changed EVERYTHING in the world. Fords were the most commonly available car and they were low cost. Its no surprise that Ford dominated. The hotrod world changed after the 1928-1948 antique cars were no longer produced and people began hotrodding modern cars that had independent front suspension, overhead valve engines automatic transmissions and air conditioning. The hotrod magazines made it clear as recently as 2001, that hotrodding was divided into the pre and post 1948 cars. Cars made after 1948 were called street machines and could still be called hotrods but traditional hotrods were always Fords made before 1949. The factories started making muscle cars about 1963 and that pretty much killed the traditional hotrod until interest in pre 1949 cars was revived about 1971 with the introduction of streetrods. Street rods appearance was a good thing but a lot of the stuff like billet was not well received by the guys who preferred the traditional way of hotrodding old Fords.
In recent years some guys seem to want to re-write history by calling any and every brand a 'traditional' hotrod but brands like International Trucks were never ever used as hotrods

 

What? there is something besides old Fords? Seriously, I think the whole event was dreamed up by it’s promotor with the ideas of what he and his friends enjoyed. I don’t think anyone thought that it would grow to the size of what it has become with people and cars from everywhere. It probably makes it easier to select the limited number of cars to compete too


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Back in the day (20's-30's) a lot of different make cars were run. Today it is mostly Fords. The raw materials are plentiful, parts are readily available and the cost in both time and money almost within reason. We at FAST send our rules to our insurance company and they come back with a price. It works out well for us. We get several races covered for a very nominal fee. Our rules state pre 1934, 4 cylinder, one car at a time on the course and a timed distance of 1/ 10 mile. This works out very well for us. Up here in Northern California we would love to have more participation. With more entrants would come more spectators. Win-Win! Our next hill climb is Saturday April 28, 2018. Go to www.hotforhotfours.com for more information and a full copy of the rules. See you there!

 

Anyone who is with TROG or has been a part of it want to chime in?

 

I totally agree with this! I'd love to see an old Plymouth flat 6 running against the Ford V8's. But they actually do have non-Fords in the event, at least they did at the Pismo Beach event. There was even a fenderless 32 Packard roadster with straight 8 out there running against the Fords. I don't know if it was an exhibition class or not, but what does it matter? The idea is to have fun running in the sand. I didn't know anyone was taking it serious and going for a trophy.

 

Of course Fords dominated the scene, due to the over whelming sheer numbers. But the idea that nobody hot rodded other makes is silly. I'm sure there were plenty of hot rodded Chevy's and Plymouths and whatever old car the family passed down to the teenager, or whatever he could buy with the money he saved from his part time after school job at the grocery store or gas station. You've tried to make this argument before, and it doesn't hold water. You should just drop it.

 

The true answer will come from the organizers of TROG.The rest of you are just speculating.

 

You have to remember that TROG was created by guys who learned about hot rodding from a book. This is not to slight them at all, just that most books about traditional hot rodding are written about Fords.

Yes lots of other stuff got built, and even the really hot Ford bangers were running chevy stuff like cranks and the like. I think events like TROG are cool, maybe a little slanted but cool. The guys that got it rolling are just men not much different than us, there is no reason in the world why someone else couldn't start an event along those lines that was a little more all inclusive.

Note: it will probably not be me, I have way too much food on my plate as it is.

 

Lots of Vintage racing going on in PA, where it started with the Jolopy Showdown. Folks from all over are traveling to these venues. Lincoln, Beaver Springs, Circle M ranch, Williams Grove all have Vintage racing.


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Traditional is based on an era or a time not a car manufacturer. Yes Ford was the go to car to hotrod because of number of units made. But there were many other makes being hot rodded as well.


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We drag raced on snow in a small field last weekend. Didn't take much room to have fun.

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Yep it don't take much to have fun if fun is what you are about.

Years ago I lived in an old farm house for about a year down in the Ozarks. We had the First Annual Ozark Field Race while I was there, was basically a loosely organized party. The farmer had a 1.5 acre hay field fenced off next to the house and said that we could ride out bikes out there. So we all get pretty loose and raced our choppers in the field. After I left the farmer let the guys ride in and party and race in the field every year for several years.

Never got into a magazine or any news coverage, never got any real promotion just word of mouth and was always a blast. The only rule was you had to race your everyday bike. No trophies just fun. The way that it should be.

 

Everything is cool twice and you can be cool twice if you just stand still long enough. When it was cool the first time then when it comes around again.

 

At one point there was a bit of talk here on the HAMB about doing a non-sanctioned event out at El Mirage. Lot's of folks showed interest in that, and then it just died. Somebody mentioned that they were contacted by some crew or car club who was looking into organizing an event (was supposed to happen last fall), and everybody just went silent on it, like nobody wanted to tread on anyone's toes or something. I don't get it. How about a HAMB get together out at El Mirage this Spring? Could be either on an SCTA weekend, or not, it doesn't have to be IMO. The lake is big enough for us to find a spot out of the way of the racers and have our own fun. Not sure I'd want to do a top speed thing, that's probably not a great idea; but a short 1/8 - 1/4 mile run would be a lot of fun. A wild cat event, no rules, no officials, run what you brung. Challenge races. Bangers vs bangers, flatheads vs flatheads (or OHV inlines), OHV vs OHV. Or mix it up anyway you want, I don't care. The idea is to just get the cars out and drive them.

 

Street Machines??
I have only seen that term in print ( Street Rodder magazine quoting show rules circa 1992) never, never have I heard that term in actual use.
" Hey....nice Street Machine Man!" " You are correct sir. I can't hot rod my 50 because it's 2 years past a mystic date that a big car club ruled on so I'm street machining it."
TROG....
Sounds like fun but really it's just a reenactment group driving old cars instead of running around with muskets. Like reenactment groups participation and interpretation is done by the founders/organizers. More often than not the first casualty is historical truth.

Tongue in cheek history. If you want to play with them....got to go by thier rules.

 

This may or may not be something the BLM ranger will be happy about. Especially on an SCTA weekend. We pay good money to put on Speed Trials. Not sure how somebody running another event in with the sand sailors would go over.

 

I think its all about the "time period" . I have fond memorys of hanging out at a dirt race track on friday nights as a kid. The rules were nothing newer than 1953. That fixed it "no chevrolet V8s" although i do remember every now and then this GM big six came from another town and just blew everyone away. Found out years later it was a 322 Inch GMC truck motor!!
The race of gentleman fits that mold ....

 

I grew up camping out in the So Cal desert, including many, many weekends at El Mirage, both on race weekends and on non-race weekends. There are hundreds (thousands?) of people out there riding every imaginable vehicle, on the land and in the air. I'm not really talking about an event, I'm talking about some folks showing up and driving their preferred vehicles. Folks do it with dune buggies, with motorcycles, with ATV's, with sail cars, all over the lake. Why would it be different for a group of guys in early 30's Ford's (or other makes)? The lake is something like 6 miles long by 2 miles wide, even with all of the activity that goes on there, I've never seen it so full that you couldn't find a spot to do whatever you wanted.

Still, if it's an issue, do it on a non-race weekend. I just think some folks would like to see the races, AND have some fun with their hot rods the same trip.

 

I prefer the way the VHRA does it at Pendine Sands:
http://www.vhra.co.uk/VHRA/Pendine_Sands.html

 

Yea but there were olds V-8s and caddy pre '53.

One thing to remember is that hot rodders and racers have always been looking for that edge. It was not always a small block Chevy but it was not always the ford V-8 either. looking at old scrap books yu saw some off the wall stuff, Caddy V-8 and Lincoln V12 flatheads. Blown inline motors from where ever they could be sourced. Some GM stuff, some off brand stuff.

Perhaps the leaning toward ford @ T.R.O.G is more of a way to keep the brand competition to a minimum. No real brand consciousness no rivalry. Just a bunch of guys out to have some fun, good lo tech fun.

 

Ahhhh El Mirage,,,, SCTA is hanging by their finger tips to being able to race on the dirt. It was not a good year last year. We shall see what we will see,,,,

 

NO overhead valve engines at TROG, I believe. Ford 4 and 8 cylinder motors are probably the most available and easiest to get parts for, ergo, LOTS of Fords ( but not ALL) It's more of a get together of like minded people having fun on the beach. I think Mel's done an unbelievable job keeping this going with all the enviro- types that must hate it. This will be my third time going .


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I guess My new ride will not be raced at TROG. Will they leave a 2-cycle race?
Sorry no info on that pic. I just found it on the net somewhere

 

I don't see what the issue is,
it's a Ford meet.

if the shoe was on the other foot,
and say,
it was a '53 and older overhead only meet
you wouldn't hear all the Ford fans crying now would you?

 

I started this thread, I stated that Im a die hard Ford fan and am not bitching about the rules. Just wondering how the rules were thought up.

 

I went to TROG the first three years that it ran. It's a fun event, but I think Uncle Buck hit the nail on the head:

TROG isn't supposed to be the definitive example of late 40's racing. Just an inspired event for like minded people. I know that for at least the first 3 years, the rules were fluid and influenced by each year. For example, the first year, they said they wouldn't allow the same car to enter twice, but I've seen the same cars there more than once.
There have been non-Fords, and non-Ford powerplants that have raced down the beach.
But to keep the actual bracket racing competitive, some lines have to be drawn. In our world, the most available engines across geography are Ford bangers and flatheads. They also tend to be relatively competitive with each other, engine to engine wise, so there's a banger class and a flathead class. There's also an exhibition class for other motors.
The whole thing is straight heads up racing with a timer. There's no body classes or handicapping, because it's all for fun and bragging rights.