Projects period build styles

So I just started my 31 coupe build and noticed plenty of other Model A's on there as well. Many ask what period build style they're doing since Model A's can be done so many different ways. OK, according to Dennis Park's book "How to hot rod a Model A":
Early to mid 50's, flathead, finned aluminum heads, three 2 barrels, with a generator style alternator.
Late 50's to early 60's, Chevy, Buick, or Olds engine, Offy valve covers, multiple carbs with small scoops facing to the rear. Red fuel lines and match spark plug wires.
Early to mid 60's, SBC with multiple carbs, finned valve covers from a Corvette, Moon, with red painted between the fins. White painted headers around the cowl.
Mid to late 60's, early mouse motor, crossram manifold, velocity stacks.

No mention of body style or color. Was hoping this could be helpful to anyone build an A. Please express your opinions so this period style thing can be better defined.
Thanks, Dino

 

What about... Building it the way you like it?...
I may be an a** but I hate guide lines of what your car has to look like...
No ford motors other than flatheads? I've always liked the looks of y blocks...Not to mention that alot can be done with a banger...
I've built 2 model A's, one with a 327, all sw and mooneyes stuff, dull fendered with every thing welded and smoothed out, didn't like it but customer loved it.
Other was a sedan with banger hopped up, quick change rear, little chrome, simple, fun beautiful...

 

Thank you, sir.

 

Sorry, I wasn't saying "this is the way is must be" just putting out some info and thought it might be helpful. I'm not following anything. I'm building what I want, believe me, just thought it would be something others can add to if they want.

 

Just stay way from modern color coat clear coat and you will be fine. I have a personal thing I go by if I don't know what color to paint my car, "there are only two colors to paint a hot rod, black or ugly."

Something to think about is this, many hot rods didn't need to be painted yet so they got built and driven, sometimes they still had the stock paint on them and others they had the paint from the last guy who built it. You really can't define a hot rod period by things like color but by build and parts availability. For example a mid '50s coupe probably didn't have twin Holley Dominators on it if you catch my drift.

 

In the Sep. 2001 issue of Rod & Custom there's a great ten page article on how to build period perfect Hot Rods from the '40's '50's and '60's. you may want to find a copy on Ebay and check it out.

 

Thanks Speedgems, I'm not trying to copy any particular build, just don't want mix periods up making a mismatch of styles. Thanks for the reference.

 

Sure wouldn't want a mixmatch of styles would we? Don't take this wrong. Think about it. I don't remember a blueprint. Lippy

 

Got it.

 

Christ forbid a guy want to ask about building a period car anymore.

The best suggestion I have, and it's the same one I was given when I first got my A, is to buy a good****ortment of the old "little pages" magazines from the 40's through the 60's. Pour over those and see which cars really peak your interest and use that as a start. Then research the "period" that these cars fit into and you'll find that just because you're building a "period" car does not at all mean you're limited as to what you can do.

 

Cars were constantly being updated, so a car built in a 50's style may of eventually had 60's style wheels etc added over time.

 

This actually came up in a different discussion the other day. When the raven first built his roadster he built it to be like a '40s flathead rod that had been updated in the '50s and it has morphed at least twice since then.

I cannot even count the old heaps that I have bought that were already rodded before I got them then changed them to my liking, and sometimes my changes were*****py ideas and then they got changed again.

I think that a lot of us decide to build something and when we are done it has to stay that way. I haven't seen that to be the case in most instances, seldom do you see a real rod that is one and done. A real car is in a constant state of flux, things get changed to make them more desirable or to meet the whims of the owner or the next owner. If you want to see an extreme example take a look at the X Sonic. Maybe you can find the history on line but if not you can at least find a page of images of the car. But just as a teaser sometimes it was painted between Monday and Friday, showed on Saturday and the paint started coming off before the sun came up on Sunday to get ready for its next outing. This was a car that got driven aside from showing.

So paint it what you think you'll like today, if it doesn't fly next winter pain t it a different color. LOL

 

I agree that a car should be built how the owner wants it. I am going with a prewar flavor on my project but have a few later parts on it. It could be completely prewar with the exception of the '54 buick taillights. As long as the parts look good together it shouldn't matter. Certain things certainly make a car look like a specific era. For example a heavily chopped and channeled car looks more like it was from the 60's rather than the 40's (with exception of a LSR cars.) Modern Paint colors look off on a traditional build also. IMO.

 

Thought this thread was buried for good. A couple of guys were unhappy with the post, so I just gave it up. I was thought it might be informative to discuss build styles****ociated with certain periods using a very well known book on building a hot rod model a by Dennis Parks as reference. I guess, like some emails, it just came across wrong. I know what I'm building, and I'm not worried about someone saying those wheels don't match the build style. As I said, like another post on different chops on A coupes, just a reference discussion, that's all. I've read lots of threads on here where certain build style were used or heaven forbid it's not "traditional" There's a good argument on HAMB right now about that very subject, so I didn't expect the negative responses. Having said that, everyone is entitled to this opinion or there wouldn't be HAMB.

Dino

 

This is the type of post I was encouraging. Thanks Binger.

 

Dino
I certainly hope that I have not come across negative on this thread if so it was not my intention at all.

@Binger I think that sometimes we paint ourselves into a corner when we set out to build to a specific period. granted if one is shooting toward a specific period and has the patience to hit the mark that is a good thing. There is one thing that I have noticed about the period ending in the mid '60s and perhaps starting in the mid '50s. There was a lot of mixing and matching going on, not everyone was cutting edge on every little piece and there were a lot of little pieces by then so you saw a lot of things that got carried over. I am from that period in time so for me it is special and genuinely influences anything that I build but were I not given my patience level I would still shoot for that period.

I think that we have a tendency to think that only parts that were new and fresh in a given period were used in that period, a simple thing like a gauge set or an engine upgrade can take you from one period to the next. For us in this day and age it is much harder to go backward then it is to shoot forward.

 

No worries, wasn't you Pork.

 

The nature of hot rodding is to use what is available to make your car faster. It makes sense that cars evolve from when they were built. I like to think that a car built in the 60s would have lots of parts from previous eras. Budget dictates what parts get used. That's how cars were built back then and it's how I am building mine now. Am not made of money and am using parts I have. For certain things I definitely picked up the catalog and had them delivered. The biggest thing is that the parts look good together. Some parts just don't look good next to each other.

 

Agreed

.

 

This is just me ,but I love period style Rods 30s 40s 50s and early 60s I don't care for mixing them. But one way you can is with the right Rod build. All you need do is change da wheels . I do that all the time . JUST SAY EN. A ,T ,or 32 hi boy works fine for that

 

Yes indeed. my current build is the culmination of about 20 years of collecting bits n pieces that were cheap or affordable when we saw them. I obviously will have to buy some parts you always have to do that but the bulk if the build is from what I happen to have on hand.

Sometimes all the pieces just come together to build an era correct car, if for instance I happened to have a Colombia 2 speed and a Lincoln flatty in the garage it would be nothing for me sell some parts and chase down the proper******* and other bits to build me a hot rod Lincoln.

There are two basic kinds of builders, those who set about to make it happen with a goal of it happening within a certain set of guidelines and those who know that cars like life just happen.

Ok maybe to get back on track the aforementioned hot rod Lincoln could fall into two distinct periods depending on the engine and transmission choice.

You could build it '40s style with a 3 window coupe shell, deuce chassis. solid color maroon would be my choice deep dark maroon lacquer, Lincoln V8 or V12 in front of a '39******* with Zephire gears. Curved glass S/Ws and a 40 ford wheel. Drop axle and a mild channel, chopped about 3". 16" steelies 7.00x16 and 5.00x16 wide whites. Keep the original seat.

Now take the same basic build change the paint to Candy Red over Gold, 15" steelies with baby moons, the rears reversed. replace the 7.00x16s with 8.00x15s in the rear smaller tires in the front say 6.00x15 to replace the 5.00x16 on the front. Wide whites or black walls. Change the mill out to a Lincoln Y block in front a 3speed OD or keep the '39******* either way. Change the original upholstery in favor of rolled and pleated vinyl. Now its a '50s car.

Both are hot rod lincolns and both would fit into the song, but one is a '40s build the other is a '50s build.

 

I am in between eras with my coupe. Mostly 40s but it has 54
Buick tail lights and 50s looking headlights. Planning on running a maroon frame and fire wall with a grey body with a darker grey belt moldings and revels. Solid single stage 40s colors. It's a special coupe so it will have black vinyl of some kind on the roof. The tube header on the banger, an alternator and vega cross steering are modern things but don't look out of place. I haven't decided what to do on interior. Using original seats but not sure about material for seats, door panels, head liner and carpet. This decision will push the car more 50s or 40s style depending on if I choose vinyl or cloth. A full interior would push it more towards a later era build rather than a go job that might not have headliner door panels and carpet at all.
Long and short of it is I am building it MY era to my tastes. Doing all the work myself on it and being proud of my best workmanship. Learning and improving on skills is the true hot rod spirit.

 

What are ya, some kinda trouble maker?? Wadda ya think this is, some sort a traditional hot rod site or something? Jeez!

 

I just got one word for ya, *Mohair. I don't know why but one of my quirks is Mohair upholstery. It is a definite out of character for me for sure.

The Wife and I bought a '39 Hudson coupe that had been rodded pretty much right off the showroom floor from its original owner when we were kids. It had Mohair interior and it was just about the most perfect interior that I have ever owned, not perfect in new and showy, but perfect in every other way. I have been in love with Mohair ever since.

*Mohair not to be confused with tweed.

In the spirit of full disclosure here is another quirk that I have, I have a tendency to lean toward east coast styling more then west coast styling when it comes to hot rods. I did live my first 17 years on this planet in either Norcal or the Pacific North West so I have no idea why I lean in that direction. maybe it is just being totally away from the SoCal influence to start with. LOL

@Old-Soul I like the little books or any classic rod or custom books for ideas. But for me if I want to know what was really being done by "real" people old picture albums are the way to go. They are harder to come by but if you look into the modern magazines that lean toward real hot rods, the TRJ for example among many others, they often post old photo collections. They give a better view of what was really happening on a daily basis. They also promote my belief that hot rodding is a regional thing, so maybe a combination of the two to get an accurate idea.

 

There is a Mohair interior in my Restored '30 Chevy. I love it! The cost these days is crazy. Have to decide if that cost is in my budget. Tweed is for '90s street rods if you are building some thing period correct. HAHA

 

I am not sure what it is about a Mohair interior and I have seen lots of cars even '50s built cars with it. We all think vinyl or leather but even when I was a young man in the later '60s and '70s there were old heaps running around that still had it and lots of times they just stayed that way because the rest of the build was more important and if the seats were OK no reason to mess with 'em.

One thing that I don't recall is someone getting the interior done and asking for Mohair though, so it would be one of those things where we are recreating what was done historically. Hot rods even customs in all the eras got built and paint and interior were the last thing on the list and normally paint got done before upholstery. Cars were more then hot rods for working class Americans, show cars and dedicated race cars aside, most hot rods were daily transportation. Budget built and driven daily lots of the time driven while they were being built.

 

I don't think wanting to talk period details on a goddamn traditional site should make anyone a "troublemaker"

I think I do a pretty good job of keeping my mouth shut actually.

 

You know I'm speaking in jest, right?

 

The thing that occurs to me when thinking about Period on these cars is, that even if a car was built in say, the 40's, chances are if it was still being run and worked on into the next decade or so, that it would have picked up a few additions and changes along the way.

 

Yup!

Absolutely. I don't think anyone sane would deny that fact. I'm building my A to be an early 50's car with full fenders, whites on '40 steel wheels, conservative interior etc. I plan to have a set of black walled tires on chrome '40 wheels as well, that right there "updates" the look of my car by a few years.