History Bring Back the 60s Wacky Show Rodz?

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

Bring Back the 60s Wacky Show Rodz?

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Steve Scott, builder of the Uncertain-T is active on FB, I've had several conversations with him. Not sure what happened to the original car.

 

I too loved the over the top featured customs from the fifties and sixties. I don't think that the economics are the same today that would support these show cars. Remember, there was a nationwide circuit called ICSA that paid appearance money for these cars. Then there was the independent shows that paid too. Throw in tee shirt sales and royalties from model car sales and these things made money for the builder. Thanks to Galpin Ford, a lot of these show cars are being brought back to their former glory.

 

Here are a few from Oakland and Sacramento. At the time the Hot Rodders thought they were silly, but the Kids loved them and they sold a lot of tickets at the door.

 

Did anyone notice the rear tires on the baby carriage rod, How did they get them rolled into the wheel like that and how did they hold any weight? I see the fronts are like that to,

 

Locally, a drivable stage coach appears on the roads
And it does bring a smile to the face

 

I just have pictures , you have the real thing.......Fantastic Collection!

 

He was on here and it was a train wreck

 

A few more.

 

Now that you mention it.. I seem to remember that. I'll definitely say he's "interesting" to talk to.

 

To me what would make it hard , was the skill level of building then as what it is now
Back then it was " Look at that" , do that today it would still be "Look at that" but in a different context

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203255476564

Here ya go.

 

I wanna take the Zingers that @Moriarity owns and make them RC cars.

 

economics and the demographics today just wont support those cars. When you look at the top tier show cars today, you dont see alot of radical customs and by radical I mean mods that change what the car looks like and make it harder to figure out what they started with. Yeah they can be chopped, sectioned, etc to get classified as radical, but it still looks like they car they started with. A good example of this on display was a couple years ago at the Boise Roadster Show, we had Taboo there and right next to us was the 57 Nomad called "Showmad" its a modern custom tons and tons of work, but it still looks like a 57 Chevy and the crowds were drawn to that and scratching their heads at Taboo.

And as far as the appearance money aspect, in todays world only way your getting paid to bring your car was it was built or featured on a very popular tv show to Youtube channel and the picking are slim for those old 60s show rods and customs, traditional rods and 50s customs have a bigger following again as they still are recognizable shapes of cars. It doesnt help the ISCA is a shell of what it was in the 60's and really only favors the east coast shows. Before covid threw the monkey wrench in everything, the west coast big shows were setting up to split off from the ISCA due to being looked over for years and rising costs that it just didnt make sense to stay.

 

I was a kid then and I loved them. I still do.

It's kinda off topic but I remember a ton of cool trikes also but they have all seemed to have disappeared.

 

FAR OUT AND GROOVY MAN
gotta love the talent and imagination that went into some of these cars

Sent from my SM-T510 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I just went and looked up that Nomad. It looks like they were trying to erase any character that a 57 chevy had from the factory, yuck

 

Really good points! I wonder with the rise of Motor Trend TV if they could do a 'Builder Show' around the subject?

 

Let's not forget Carl Casper, he built most of my favorite show rods

 

Quoting @Jive-Bomber
"So I ask you, where are the crazy creations now? Not just the 60s versions restored or cloned, but all-new creations. Who makes the nonsensical, laugh out loud, bonkers show rods these days?"

They are right under your nose...and you HATE them.

Back in the days of Chrome, candy panels, murals etc. these wild show cars were built to "shock and awe" you...not really drivable...but entertaining to look at.

Today, in the age of patina and steampunk they are called Rat Rods, built to "shock and awe" you...not really drivable (or shouldn't be)...but entertaining to look at.

It's funny how you could love one and hate the other. JMO as I'm not a big fan of either style...just here to "stir the pot"

 

where's @Plowboy when you need him? atomic punk indeed

 

Is that a Pontiac 6 in the Red Baron?

 

Exactly what I thought!

 

This was Mine, over heard comments ranged from really bitchin to what a pile of _____

 

@dreracecar i love that thing! practical, not at all. but damn its cool!

 

I for one have zero desire to see the return of 'shock rods'. True show rods, yeah, I'd love to own almost any of the cars Moriarity owns (he has excellent taste) but when I looked at the shock rods in their heyday my first thought was 'What a waste of parts'. While the best of the show rods were built by guys who had actual artistic vision, too many were built by guys who lacked that (or had run out of it) and substituted shock value for design. 'Cars' based on plumbing fixtures, farm/garden implements, furniture, rustic buildings, phone booths (do those even exist anymore?), or anything originally pulled by horses that had little or no connection to cars. I'll give Barris a pass on the last one, he had a paying customer request (the Munsters TV show, and to his credit they actually would run/drive, something few of the others could claim), the rest just jumped on the bandwagon.

I'll lay most of the blame at the feet of the show promoters, closely followed by the model kit makers. The show promoters wanted an increase in gate traffic, and after seeing the first wave of show rods clamored for more from almost any source. The kit makers started commissioning cars, designed to appeal to their core market of prepubescent boys and it devolved from there.

There's been a handful of true show rods built more recently, Moriarity's 'Futurian' for one and the 'Atomic Punk' for another. But motorized outhouses or hemi-powered lawnmowers? No thanks.... Just a waste of parts.

 

Please don't