Besides being a mechanical object,which we love for what it is,it is also a piece of sculpture that we can share with everybody,not confined to a room or a garden.
Ok, just to still the pot (cause I like to) what I read and what I see here on the HAMB is sometimes in conflict. The Comment Piece talked of the Hot Rodder experimenting with what is available to make the rolling lab that is now/then a 'Hot Rod'. The conflict? On the HAMB it seems to me that experimenting is a four letter word and rather the read/builder must confirm with the straight and narrow vision that is a Traditional Hot Rod/Custom. Always? No And I can hear, "If you don't like it here move along". The HAMB is not what it was 10 years ago, it had evolved both forward and backwards, is that possible? So lets embrace the experimenting that is possible, the T-5 trans is now 'traditional', and other things can also be, Just food for thought
"At least he not hanging out with the wrong crowd and I pay him for helping me" these are words my mento told my dad when I was 11 years old. I learned a trade that served me well all my life. Frank
The way Hot Rodding affected me was to buy a cheap car that not many wanted and change it into something that was fast and/or cool looking. I think the principle still applies today just the available cars and the prices have changed.
So much of what we "traditionalists" do is recreation of old styled hot rods. And since there is not a lot of perfect condition old stuff, we need to spend more time actually restoring the old stuff then modifying it. We are more restorer than pure hot rodder. If we were a "pure" hot rodder we would take the cheapest/fastest car we could find and begin there, instead of a rusted out 30's Ford that costs more than a brand new car. If you want to hot rod your Honda, go ahead, but I'll stick with my rusty old Fords. I do think the efforts we put into our hobby are still worthwhile, but not what Wally is really talking about.
First, I'll comment on this: "The conflict? On the HAMB it seems to me that experimenting is a four letter word and rather the read/builder must confirm with the straight and narrow vision that is a Traditional Hot Rod/Custom. Always? No" I believe the "traditionalist" experiments with parts and products from his chosen period. So, slapping on a Mustang II suspension or a T5 are not welcome. Yea, a few get a p***, but they have to live with that. Now, as far as that article, I agree heartily. I first loved Hot Rods, but it was easier to get into Muscle Cars because when I was a teen, they were everywhere. **** I paid $600 for a '68 Camaro on a used car lot. Paid cash and drove it home. All I had to do to make it cool, was bolt on the latest **** from the parts store. I was just changing a few things the factory did. Muscle Cars are still cool, but they're just "old cars" with **** added to them. A Hot Rod is home built, usually. I don't care if you hunt for parts at a swapmeet or a catalog, it has to be ***embled and it has to be done right to work. From the ground up. That's what it means to me. Taking my vision, doing the research, building it and driving the hell out of it. I also believe the cut off year for a Hot Rod basis is 1948. But that is another debate.
Why? for me it's usually the desire to take raw material that at one reason or another became obsolete due to age,a wreck or a combination of both. Like a artist that works with clay,Hot Rods are a way for gear heads to take the old and battered parts and create drive-able art. I think like a artist that works in mixed mediums his work improves over the years,the same goes with hot rods. HRP
I read Wally's article twice and came away with mixed emotions. After the first read, I thought it sounded kind of like a lead in for a Henry Gregor Felson story, then I went back and read it again. This time I came away with the feeling that it was definitely written in a different time and wondered if some of his observations still apply to the boys of today! Just my thoughts, Carp
How 'bout this time of day? Regarding the leaflet, it reads like propaganda to me. A period effort to sell the movement to the "squares", while flattering and encouraging the faithful.
Good Eye, A second read tells me, if from the Fifties, prob a push for Korea. If earlier, Forties -mid WWII propaganda. Regardless, whether intentional or just the times, it's a primer for the Opies to swing their interests from sling shots and hot rods to fighter planes and just being a Great American. ****, the government had its fingers in that deep, even back then? How surprising (irony).
The article slightly glosses over the the idea that hot-rodding is fundamentally rebellion. That has always seemed obvious to me but I do encounter people who have never thought of it that way; I'm not sure why. The obvious rebellion is against the idea that high-performance motoring is only for those who can afford exotica, but I think it runs deeper than that. I'm working on a theory that all dissent is ultimately about control of practical structure. In South Africa we're getting "service delivery protests", ostensibly about stuff like flush toilets and running water people were promised back in '94 and which have failed to materialize over 20 years later but, I believe, really about people being pissed off with not having control of the practicalities of how they live. One of the major things that happened during the "traditional" era in the US was the mobility regime getting changed into something unrecognizable to a lot of people. The legacy of the New Deal included the development of structures which left people with a far greater dependency on vehicular mobility than before. (Put places far apart, sell people cars, and then - at first effectively, later expressly - allow only a very small minority to make cars.) I believe that hot-rodding was at least in part an unconscious attempt to resist this loss of structural control, by wresting back control of automotive technology, or at the very least giving rebellious expression to the desire to do so. An interesting irony is, while this rebellion is (I believe) the character of the "traditional" era which appeals to (at least some of) us, the fact that we call it "traditional" evokes Madison Avenue's knack of cooking up centuries-old established conventions out of thin air in the space of an afternoon. It turns the rebellion on its head, making it an expression of conventionality. I'm really sure Ryan has no such agenda, but the thought can stand some unpacking On the other hand, G. K. Chesterton says somewhere that all revolutions are intended to be restorations. And I've long held that everyone is conservative when it comes to the stuff they like. My apologies for wading into the political.
I don't think hotrodding was ever about social rebellion, I think it was about the need for ingenuity and curiosity, some people are natural tinkerers. Dudes back in the day kept their hair cropped and ate their wheaties. IMHO the first significant social rebellion here in America was the 1960's peace and love thing, even Ed Roth tells a story how the guys in his shop didn't like Robert Williams because he had long hair (subtext being peace/love =unAmerican). The only other significant moment was 1977 "Never Mind the Bullocks, here's the *** pistols" and everything that followed. I would bet my left arm most here do not like/understand hippies, I'll bet my right that they dislike Johnny (subtext punks, etc) even more, just mention the word "rat rod" (punk on wheels) and see what happens. Traditional hot rods are the coolest thing around, but it's a yearning for the good old days, apple pies and what not not any form of rebellion. Of course there are a lot of people who like hot rods w/ caches of guns and ammo who don't want to pay taxes but that's not what you are talking about.
I paint, carve and draw. Build custom furniture for a living sometimes. Even still i find hot rodding is the ultimate art form.
The need for ownership is a nasty part of our nature. Whether arguing a Shakespearian quote or challenging an existing set of norms, the whole thing always comes down to recognition and validity. I know saying so is an end-all copout, but in the grand scheme of it all, none of it matters. So much of what we discuss and debate (of course not all) is done to simply occupy time and validate this confusing existence. I've heard that sharks never stop swimming. We are too similar as a species. Now, back to Hot Rods - Hammer Down! Pork
I thought I was bordering on one of those outer realms of society when I read that thing. I didn't care for the references to the military, didn't care for the way "...regulated..." was inserted. I got something along the lines of getting a small and uniquely individual segment of our society to conform. And with the replies above I can see I wasn't out there at all. Hippies? News flash, everyone on this board is a "hippy" in some way. And I don't know about the rest of you but I sure did see a bunch of hippies at the drag strips and in Hot Rod mag coverage of events elsewhere. Nobody likes to be kept in a box or labeled to ease social ills, but something Mr Parks never broke through, national or even local news coverage of professional drag racing. Sure, ABC's Wide World of Sports covered the occasional big event but as far as tracking it like Indy or NASCAR? Never unless someone got seriously injured or killed. Unless you have cable TV it's the same today. So the reality, ya ****in hippies, is that we're still in the outer strata when it comes to our old ****. We simply STILL like it and our involvement opens it to newer and younger generations of hippies that like it too. Ok, some of you are old enough to be beatniks and I'd be morally corrupt not to include y'all as well. And we are also "punks" and gang bangers and many other forms of non-conformist social elements. Our common core is these old rods and customs (kustoms), our spirit runs deeper than Mr. Parks understood back then, and a****st our own we find a comfort zone of sorts that's simply not possible elsewhere. I submit that a better more modern Mr. Parks started this joint we hang out at in our new virtual world. I also submit that our limited numbers in the grand scheme of things just ensures how exteme of hippies we really are. Oh, and beatniks too...
Why Not ? Everyone needs a P***ion for some Activity/Sport/Hobby/etc. We are the Lucky people, we found it , enjoy it, Life is Good !
Beatniks never had cars. Not the real 'Beatniks'. The movement was defined by the word 'BEAT'. "I'm beat, man...no use to compete any more..." Eric Norde fathered the movement, Roth cashed in on it, sawed off a sweatshirt and grew a goatee. Sad...reminded me of that flashy character Mike whatzisname..."The World's Fastest Hippie." It is or it isn't. (was or wasn't)
Mike, that's the trouble with labels. Personally I could care less about the real definitions of beatniks, hippies, punks, gang bangers, et al. Using them in a metaphorical context though, hey I'm a proud hippy punk beatnik gang banger with some really kool old **** man. I don't particularly care to conform to "regulated" social strata. I know well how 'we' got 'here' and have no plans to go elsewhere any time soon. As the question, "Why Hot Rod?" Because we like em and have the vision and desire for something unique. Last comment, in all my years of cruising and street racing and generally hangin out with folk like us I always saw one thing. Cops and society always looked down at us. Here's a **** ton of sober, talented, gainfully employed people, all having a desire to build something fast/special/unique and creating a multi-billion dollar industry in the process that spans the globe. A local town dedicated nearly a dozen police one night to "clean out" a Dunkin Donut location. It was those same sober folk I mentioned above, not a bunch of violent gang members or hood rat dope dealers. We never did anything it that town except engage in local commerce by frequenting a specific location. People were arrested, one guy peppered for asking a question, cars towed, all in all a disgusting display of abuse. We didn't leave litter behind, we'd have charity events, and yes indeed some of us did street race but way out of town. Yeah, why Hot Rod indeed?
Being 80 years old, I remember this leaflet. Back in 54, a hot rod club I was president of, The Lehigh Valley Timing ***oc., used this theme on a leaflet we handed out to the public to get support to get place to hold drags. We finally got to use an abandoned air strip built near the end of WW2 in Allentown PA., We ran there in 55 & 56. In Aug of 55, the NHRA held their regional championship drags there, Hot Rod Mag Nov. 55. I've been racking my brains out trying to figure out where we came up with this theme ever since I seen your post, then I read the rest of your post. Thanks for the memories and putting my mind to rest. I hope every one that looks at your post takes time to read the whole post, history. **** Lobach
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