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Hot Rods Todays messed up takes on how hot rods were in the 1950s n 60s

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by dana barlow, Feb 28, 2022.

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  1. WZ JUNK
    Joined: Apr 20, 2001
    Posts: 1,876

    WZ JUNK
    Member
    from Neosho, MO

    I fail to understand the fascination with the flathead Ford. They were interesting, and I had a couple, but I was not excited about it. I remember getting rid of the flatheads and six bangers for something with some power and longevity.

    I do not remember many tattoos either, except some the older guys who had just returned from an enlistment in the armed forces. Never on a female, except the tattooed lady at the carnival show.

    We also had an unwritten code about the language we used in public and around females. How we talked around each other was quite different. Bad language in mixed company was taboo.

    The cars you saw in the magazines and the ones you saw at the local hang out were quite different. The local cars copied some of the things you saw in the magazines but usually only some minor modifications. There was a lot of stuff ordered from J.C. Whitney

    I do not remember a car show, or a cruise night until the 70's

    This comes from someone who grew up in the midwest. Other parts of the country may have been a lot different.
     
  2. hepme
    Joined: Feb 1, 2021
    Posts: 607

    hepme
    Member

    I stupidly asked the guru of a popular street meet/rod show held on Sat. nights about having just a pre '49 night, pure hot rods with ohv's, multi carbs, magneto's, primer, etc.
    I wasn't asked to leave the grounds, but i was afraid the white coats would come after the geezer wandering around mumbling about "hot rods"--among the cobra's, mustangs, camero's, and other so called "real" hot rods. Close call.
     
  3. Great rant, but I think a lot of it depended upon where you lived in the 50s and 60s. Every part of the country was not building hot rods the same way at the same time. California had a huge influence but not every part of the country had the same style.
     
  4. I grew up just north of Boston.......started building my first hot rod in '59......a '40 Ford coupe with a 296 FH. All of my buddies barely had 2 nickels to rub together and scraped by getting parts in junk yards, and used speed parts........no one could afford new stuff. And pretty much all of the hot rods were near-death traps, by today's standards, but we were kings in the high school parking lot!. We all learned by hard knocks how to weld, paint and assemble engines. There were a scant few older guys who had good paying jobs and could afford high quality work.

    By the mid-60s I could afford good quality stuff.......got a very low mileage '61 Impala bubble top and bought an over the counter 327/365 complete engine......by then my skills were pretty good so that car was very nice, even by today;s standards.

    Cruise nights? Non existent......we hung out at the local Dunkin Donuts.......the start of what are cruise nights today. And street raced from 2 AM until 5AM.....that's when the Mass. state police did not patrol the interstate highways. "American Graffiti" pretty much sums up my crowd in the early '60s.
     
  5. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    Quonset Huts were plentiful in WWII and after, certainly in the Midwest. They were/are a cost effective, easy to erect and self supporting construction, most commonly built by the Government and often used for grain storage.

    The word 'facade', by definition means 'false' or 'disguise', usually a covering over a cheesy, dilapidated or very dated construction style. Or, as applied to people, phony personalities.

    Because of the arched shape of the building, they commonly had hanging, sliding doors, which required a squared off support structure for the door tracks. When the Quonset was 'repurposed' into some commercial use it was not uncommon to build the facade in the shape of conventional build design to better blend with contemporary buildings.

    Quonsets were useful for both their original purpose and as sturdy, inexpensive and salvageable structures for a variety of private and commercial uses.

    Ray
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2022
  6. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,997

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Oooh goody! Another old guy rant thread!

    Did I miss anything new?
     
  7. Did someone force you at gunpoint to read this thread, or are just just jealous that you have no good stories or memories?
     
  8. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,997

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I pay money to be on this board. Do you?

    I expect that I am free to read the content here as I see fit.
     
  9. phat rat
    Joined: Mar 18, 2001
    Posts: 4,987

    phat rat
    Member

    He was only responding to your smart ass remark. If you don't like something fine no need to comment
     
  10. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,997

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I am now saying the same for you.
     
    hotrodjack33, Jones St. and Tman like this.
  11. WZ JUNK
    Joined: Apr 20, 2001
    Posts: 1,876

    WZ JUNK
    Member
    from Neosho, MO

    You are entitled to your opinion. I respect that even if I disagree.

    You want to remember that if there were no "old guys", there would not be "young guys". It would seem that this board is about a younger generation trying to copy and older generation. I have no idea as to where you fit in, and you could be from either group.
     
  12. But you don't want to hear the REAL history of hot rodding? You want to write your own? The "old guys" were the ones that built the hobby, so they deserve to be heard and listened to! I guess I missed out on being born with "all knowledge" like 'some people' were fortunate enough to.
     
  13. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 13,972

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    "I like big lights and I can not lie,
    You other brothers can't deny,
    That when a rod pulls up for an itty bitty race,
    And got those big round things in your face,
    You get sprung...
    Baby got front!"

    upload_2022-2-28_13-17-39.png
     
    rod1, redo32, hotrodjack33 and 11 others like this.
  14. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,997

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Neither. I don't copy anyone, nor do I seek to fit in. Nobody I know in the car scene is actually trying to do that.

    Following norms, copying others, and fitting in is not what hot rodding is about. I am not into cosplay.

    These threads frequently are about, or devolve into "those damned kids are doing it wrong", and it frequently extends way past just car/truck building.

    That's never going to encourage anyone to get into this shrinking hobby.

    The "kids" that might want to get into this sort of thing want to build something that makes them happy. We should be encouraging that, not just distributing the "build, behavior, and personal appearance templates".

    I get what the site is about, its a thing. It the site owner's thing. That's what we do here.

    It is NOT the only thing.
     
    X-cpe, ebs121781, e1956v and 5 others like this.
  15. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,997

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    For every "truth" that I have heard someone tell, I can find three people to tell me otherwise.

    You have an opinion, so does everyone else.
     
    hotrodjack33 and Pist-n-Broke like this.
  16. AngleDrive
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 1,158

    AngleDrive
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Florida

    You never saw my avatar or Fred Steeles car among others, now having said that the first thing I did when I bought my first car, 36 Cabriolet, I yanked the flathead and installed a Corvette 283 with two four barrels. That was 1961.
     
    saltracer219, loudbang and tractorguy like this.
  17. 210superair
    Joined: Jun 23, 2020
    Posts: 1,952

    210superair
    Member
    from Michigan

  18. I just come here to watch you guys fight. :p

    giphy.gif
     
    302GMC, 210superair, rod1 and 7 others like this.
  19. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,997

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    One of the best show cars on this board.
     
    mad mikey and Bandit Billy like this.
  20. v8flat44
    Joined: Nov 13, 2017
    Posts: 1,211

    v8flat44

    Grew up in the 50s & 60s and saw several hotrods with flatheads. Multiple carbs, finned heads etc. Trucks, coupes, & sedans are all still in my memory banks. I still love em. I do remember a few SBC powered rods, but never got excited. I even saw a couple straight 8s & hopped up 6 cylinder Plymouths that I still think were COOL. Then along comes Brent Macky & stuffs a 56 Lincoln in his "A" roadster PU. Now that was a HOTROD !
     
    tractorguy likes this.
  21. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,370

    manyolcars

    Its ok with me if the young guys want to build what makes them happy. But dont call them Traditional Hotrods
     
    36cab, '28phonebooth and tractorguy like this.
  22. A Boner
    Joined: Dec 25, 2004
    Posts: 7,808

    A Boner
    Member

    Did Don Montgomery ever do a post 1966 book?
     
  23. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 20,572

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    This old geezer stumbled on a rather large display of V-dubs some years back, not a "hot rod" in sight, saw some stuff that I had never heard of, rather enjoyed it, never once did I feel unwelcome.....odd!
     
    deadbeat, Ned Ludd, dumprat and 6 others like this.
  24. Gasser_Dave
    Joined: Aug 18, 2013
    Posts: 154

    Gasser_Dave
    Member
    from St. Louis

    I am in agreement of this 100%. I do not post on here much. Why? I am not building a period correct gasser and some of what I chose to do does not sit well with some of the folks on here. If I had unlimited funds, a huge garage and all the knowledge and tools, I would be all over a correct period style car that I would proudly show off. Alas, I do not.

    Just like all things, change will always happen. Think about the old timers when you were all changing your cars in the 40's-60's they adapted to change and right now your generation is keeping it alive, but if you keep people on blast because it is not done the way it was, will kill any interest. Our cars are getting harder to find, parts are through the roof and you cannot get a clapped out older muscle car for under 10k it seems. Should this group allow a few changes to reel more kids in? No. Bur why not another section that deals with 64-72 ( or whatever) group that old timers alike can help with. A sbc is a sbc right? who knows, they may migrate over and decide they want a traditional and sell that damn Chevelle to fund it.

    Short story here- I used to ride with a motorcycle club and was talking with some Viet Nam vets club members and they said it used to be that when the last member dies, the club was done. Realizing they wanted it to live on, they let legacy members in. Since I think the vast majority on the group is post 50 (not sure, never saw any numbers) when you decide to stop or God forbid pass away, who are we going to get to come on board and keep YOUR legacy alive?

    I am one of the very last of the baby boomers club being born in November of 64.

    Anyway, just my 2 cents,
     
    loudbang, 51504bat and gimpyshotrods like this.
  25. goldmountain
    Joined: Jun 12, 2016
    Posts: 4,708

    goldmountain

    I feel we all want to get back to a world we once knew but we can't change the onslaught of time. These kids are working with some pretty worked over raw material.
     
    X-cpe, WalkerMD, 210superair and 2 others like this.
  26. Somebody has always got to post with an attitude. Must be the lockdown syndrome in Cali.
     
  27. I see a square peg trying to fit into a round hole......maybe you could try disrupting some other thread......
     
  28. Jones St.
    Joined: Feb 8, 2020
    Posts: 3,364

    Jones St.

    eGtwOWNvMTI__o_saturday-night-live-dana-carvey-as-grumpy-old-man_preview.jpg
     
  29. hemihotrod66
    Joined: May 5, 2019
    Posts: 968

    hemihotrod66
    Member

    If I had the cash today one of those 1000HP gen III Chrysler hemis would be between the fenders of my 34 Ford....In the early days the guys with hotrods just wanted speed...Flatmotors went bye bye and OHV engines took there place...
     
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