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Why traditional rods and customs?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ned Ludd, Sep 28, 2010.

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  1. For me it's about the idea that people were still figuring this stuff out at the time. The "styles" we all talk about weren't styles yet; they were one guy's vision that he either realized himself or was able to pay or barter with someone else to have created.

    Now we can buy anything from a web page, and a 1000hp street engine really is easy, all it takes is money.... I see traditional hot rods as a tribute to those who gave us all the technology and "style" that we enjoy today.

    For me, this also explains why rat rods are (rightly) not welcomed here. The pioneers of hot rodding may have sacrificed looks and some safety in the interest of going faster, but nobody "back in the day" built junk on purpose just to get noticed.
     
  2. Lild
    Joined: Feb 22, 2010
    Posts: 260

    Lild
    Member

    For me its the history and some how in the slightest way feeling conected to the eras I missed out on.
     
  3. Here is the simplest answer that I can give you. Why not?:rolleyes:

    I have no philosophical reason and even if I was deep I wouldn't tell you how deep I think you should be smart enough to figure that out on your own. But the real reason is that I prefer them to other types of builds.
     
  4. What he said
     
  5. Da Tinman
    Joined: Dec 29, 2005
    Posts: 4,222

    Da Tinman
    Member

    Timelessness, hotrod/kustom/prostreet/easteregg/musclegeek/ratr*d/ whatever has its humble beginings in a tradtitional car. They were first and everything else evolved from them.

    Most things that have evolved from the traditional cars are dated or fadish, however the traditional car will always be timeless and never go out of style.
     
  6. Hot_Rod_Joe
    Joined: Sep 17, 2007
    Posts: 273

    Hot_Rod_Joe
    Member

    In addition to what has already been said, I think it is going back to a time when America was at its best, compared to other places and other times. Not that we're not great now, but you have to admit, we were ass-kickers back then. That generation of people who were making things happen in the 40's & 50's just seemed to be alot more industrious, hard working, skilled, proud, etc than your typical 20-30 something of today. And since I'm 34, I think I can say that. I see hot rodding, the music, the styles, etc, were all an outpouring of that era and symbolic of that generation's qualities.

    HRJ
     
  7. 49 lincoln
    Joined: Feb 28, 2006
    Posts: 251

    49 lincoln
    Member
    from reno

    Yeah, for me they just look better. I'm not into rockabilly or 50's culture or anything like that, but nothing moves me like a traditionally styled custom.
     
  8. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,244

    theHIGHLANDER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Old topic that come up about once or twice a year. On the face of things, I have no feeling for a 30s lookin Ford hotrod that has nothing but all new parts. To me it's a matter of $$$$$$ for them and if you have the $$$$$ you almost don't need vision. Pick one and buy it. There are some stellar examples that will slap the opinion in the face but overall most of them have no soul. Looked at a 37 cpe over the weekend, all f'glass and billet. Anybody could build it then pick yer colors.

    So check this out...38 Dodge PU, 425 Caddy drivetrain, brakes, tilt n tele column, Cad spindles weld-mated to the Dodge OEM axle then stress relieved, power steering and power brakes. We built our own 3 1/2" side pipes and had em chromed, the truck was a 1 ton with a 9' box and just for the sake of ride and usage we avoided the urge to shorten it to 1/4 ton wheelbase. It was relatively inexpensive, fast, reliable, a dream to cruise at freeway speeds. Rhetorical to ask which any one of you reading would rather have. Here's a couple old shots of it and I used it as my H.S. graduation car too. It was a hit.
     

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  9. dsr_54
    Joined: Nov 24, 2008
    Posts: 278

    dsr_54
    Member

    I remember dad always having old cars around. I grew up in my Mom's 58 ford that we still own, both my brothers had old cars a 35 Plymouth that he still owns and my oldest brother drove a 48 ford PU that he also still owns. I remember playing in and around old cars in the yard. We still have most of those old cars, and the few we have sold I wish we had back. So I guess I just grew up around the old cars and didn't stand a chance...
     
  10. Ford-Man
    Joined: Apr 6, 2009
    Posts: 288

    Ford-Man
    Member

    For me...it was about inspiration. New cars do not inspire me to think outside of the box they came in. There is no stimulation, no beauty, no flow, no excitement. There is nothing made today that flows as well as a Fleetline, inspires as many like a Merc...they just dont make em that way anymore. Automotives now are very plain. Sure they have plenty of creature comforts, but I will trade heated seats for real chrome any day. At some point, even the vintage cars deemed ugly to some look miles better than anything put out in the last 20 years!

    Besides, who can say their Hyundai Sonata will still run 45 years from now? Hell, half of em dont run today and they are barely 5 years old!
     
  11. ...because the cars from this era look the best.
     
  12. kookee
    Joined: Jan 19, 2008
    Posts: 526

    kookee
    Member

    To me it represents creativity and desire to transcend metal beyond function, to produce a personal interpretation of art. It can be simple or complex. It represents enjoyment, not only of the cars, but of driving and relationships built around them out of mutual respect.
     
  13. Baggs
    Joined: Feb 1, 2009
    Posts: 320

    Baggs
    Member

    "cause it just is"

    love that movie, my interest in this hobby/lifestyle/culture, what ever word you would liek to use. is that the cars that were built then had style, and a certain look to them. i love that those vehicles have survived so people like us can still play with them and have fun. like someone else said, its such a cool feeling when you see a custom or hot rod with the "right look" and the right wheels and tire combo. it just makes you want to say hell yeah! the other reason i gravitated to this "era" is when you put time into something that is newer than 1990 lets say, it doesnt become worth any more money then when you first buy it. with classic cars, you buy it for a certain amount, and usually, if you improve it the correct way, it becomes more valuable. The other thing i love about cars from this era is they were different every year. no one body style stuck around for more than a year, which to me is so cool.
     
  14. Checkout Ryan's "Lost Art" Blog from last week ...

    lost art thumb.jpg
    click thumbnail to open Blog
     
  15. KaddyKimber
    Joined: Sep 24, 2010
    Posts: 268

    KaddyKimber
    Member
    from Denver, CO

    Well I don't think I like customs because they are good for picking up chicks! Haha

    I've always been an artist, so I appreciate creating a driving piece of art. All of the thought the goes into the entire car, and the history behind it. Driving a real piece of steel, living the life associated with hot-rods and customs. I live for music as well, just everything about the cars and the culture. It's not a fad, it will live through the ages. I guess that's as simple as I can put it.
     
  16. conormulroney
    Joined: Mar 30, 2006
    Posts: 293

    conormulroney
    Member

    sometimes I wonder about the reality of this. I feel I left in my prime back in 1958 and couldn't get back here until '62.

    Conor
     
  17. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    Grab a brew. Don't cost nothin'.
     
  18. The hunt for the traditional build and the glory of preserving auto history. Customs simple fabrication and the heart and sole slaved away to create ones vision nothing tops that.
     
  19. For me, it's not about nostalgia, or having the new cool trend. I simply got tired of spending dollar after dollar on the trick of the week to go fast, then be obsolete by the time the trick part was bolted on. I decided to go back to the way I built stuff in high school and my early 20's. Build with what I have to make me happy, not some other clod, and not an ET clock....I'm having fun building for the first time in years..
     
  20. shemp
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 512

    shemp
    Alliance Vendor

    Nostalgia is not what it used to be
     
  21. piker
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 239

    piker
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Preserving the past,doing it yourself,designing your own car,something you always wanted but couldnt afford, everyone has their own reasons, alot of times I wonder WHY myself? Its like a time machine!
     
  22. six pack to go
    Joined: Aug 2, 2008
    Posts: 1,938

    six pack to go
    Member
    from new jersey

    I grew up in the 80's, everything was computers and shit....I liked old Triumph motorcycles and my first highschool ride was my 67 Triumph (still riding it)....natrual progression into hot rods!! I will admit that rat rods sparked my intrest until I really educated myself.....now Im a hot rodder...I like making the old parts work and fit like they did before my time......traditional I guess, I say HOT ROD OBSESSION! $0.02
     
  23. six pack to go
    Joined: Aug 2, 2008
    Posts: 1,938

    six pack to go
    Member
    from new jersey

    Also, nothing like driving a 70+ year old car, imagion all the others before you, the roads it has travelled...AWESOME!
     
  24. atomickustom
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,409

    atomickustom
    Member

  25. because america was bad ass back then.

    im sure ALL of us on here get the same feeling when a nice crisp v8 passes by you at a car show or what have you with open pipes, its unexplainable, just gets to you and gives you goosbumps.
     
  26. millersgarage
    Joined: Jun 23, 2009
    Posts: 2,294

    millersgarage
    Member

    'cause all the cool kids were doin it..........:D

    I think a traditional styled car is timeless. Fads come and go, but a traditional style car has always, and will always be stylish.
     
  27. Baggs
    Joined: Feb 1, 2009
    Posts: 320

    Baggs
    Member


    Very well put!!!
     
  28. LAROKE
    Joined: Sep 5, 2007
    Posts: 2,079

    LAROKE
    Member

    I had to find a new hobby when they quit makin' paint-by-numbers kits.
     
  29. ErikDaViking
    Joined: Aug 11, 2010
    Posts: 171

    ErikDaViking
    Member

    For me, its a lot of reasons...Most of the ones above apply. I love the machines, culture, art, and music etc. from the 50's and early 60's. Everything seemed to have more soul and be more "real" than now. The simplicity speaks to me also, everything in the modern world is so friggin' complicated, whether its a computer controlled car or dealing with the mind numbing admin of modern life. But an old car, well what you see is what you get. Most of can figure out how to make it work if we try hard enough, usually just by looking at it and thinking about it...

    I am a Rockabilly guy, whatever that means...Like somebody above said, you can't explain what that means, you either get it or you don't. The whole greaser/hot rod/rock and roll culture has never really gone away, we've been doin' our thing since the 50's. Sometimes we are popular and the "in" thing, but usually we are forgotten in the background. Which is cool. I definitely feel like the way I live is a direct connection back to the first guys that started thinking like this 60 + years ago. Sure, some things change, the clothes are a little different, the cars aren't the same, music has evolved a little, but I think Joe Greaser form 1955 would recognise most of us grease balls for what we are....

    But when it comes down to it, there is no "why". Either its part of who you are, or its not....You don't choose it.
     
  30. 29-a-freak
    Joined: Feb 27, 2006
    Posts: 285

    29-a-freak
    Member

    Cause if some was to scratch my $50,000 street rod i'd have to kill em'! :D lol jk
     
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