Yes, I’m confused and guess not the first one.. I wish it was not that personal negative aproach ( to ask ) I will use most old Henry parts and speedparts and set the style I like but I love the history.
Hank If you are shooting for a specific era there are two things to consider. One is pretty easy: You only use parts that were available in the era you are trying to build. For example: if you are building a 40s era car 5 spoke magnesium wheels would not work. But reversed steel wheels would work fine. The other is a little more difficult: How were people building cars in that era? You can find old magazines for example but you may also want to find old photographs. Magazine cars or fine, but they are not often common. Common cars did not make it into the magazines Does any of that make any sense?
Didn't know he was selling it. I've seen it in person. Bought a transmission he had on the other side of that garage. Good dude
ERA: noun 1. a long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic. "his death marked the end of an era" 2. a system of chronology dating from a particular noteworthy event. "the dawn of the hot rod era…” Hello, You should not worry about era correct. It is a big arena and as small as the total number of hot rod folks around riding around in old hot rods, is still is a small group compared to the whole of the USA. But, it is one group a lot of people enjoy building, modifying and driving around in their creations. One of our friends has a nice 50’s Chevy cruiser. It has a “no-no” LS motor and set up. But, he uses is for his daily driver, errand car, visits to business associates and friends. Are we to chastise him for having an LS motor? He has A/C and that is not “era” correct, either. But he is as much a part of the whole hot rodding scene as the Flathead open roadster with three carbs. Probably cruising around a lot more than with an open roadster. Security being what it is these days. He does not go around opening his hood at every event he attends. If someone asks, he just says a powerful Chevy motor. Let them wonder what it is under the hood. If they are around when he fires up to leave, then they probably will say… nice sounding hot rod. That is the idea of building something that fits the current lifestyle and necessities to enjoy the “old times, new times” and be a part of a dwindling activity world wide thanks, @themoose This is the version we ended up with after our racing at Lion’s Dragstrip. A fast cruiser that still held its own in style, comfort and power. But, it is not in the realm of a lot of people that say it is not stock, not a Flathead powered hot rod, and not a full custom… but, does it really matter? Jnaki My wife and I have pondered several times about getting another project, but old age, no time to spend all day in the garage and with our small house, one of our daily drivers would have to sit outside. Not going to happen unless we are getting a new garage makeover or two. Even when we had a three car garage in a different huge house, one stall was for exercise equipment and the thought of a hot rod in that third stall was tempting. But , we bought a sailboat, so we could enjoy serenity and a new way to see nature, together. As we were together, my wife was an integral part of sailing our boat(s). From that first one, then each step with many versions later, had three more faster racing sailboats as we got better. We needed overnight comfort as much as speed, if there is such a tempting part of sailing. But, that empty stall still called for a hot rod. Now, that we have a small two car garage, we still thought a hot rod would have been a lot of fun with our toddler granddaughter as she grew up. But, the other parental folks decided that a hot rod is not for their daughter to drive on the So Cal traffic patterns all over the place. Again, build what you want, not what you think others want. Half of the hot rods we see are not our “cup of tea.” But, move along until you find one in a stage of build or complete that fits your style, not other folks with their own versions. Everyone is different and the techniques, the parts and build styles are not to everyone’s liking. That alone will make others a little irritated, but we are all our own directors of life and it goes the way we decide…not others. If you have a purchase, then go for it. If you can build and have lots of time and facilities, then also have fun. It is not the end of the world if one does not have a hot rod in completed stage or even a hot rod like you see here on the HAMB. Make it your own, and there is no specific era correct in our funky activity since the dawn of information. It is what you like. Not what others feel is the correct or right way to enjoy hot rodding. But, the HAMB DOES HAVE RULES THAT IS GOOD FOR THE WEBSITE SPECIFIC. If other styles are so important… then there are millions of other websites that welcome talk of all kinds, rumors and innuendos. YRMV Note: Walmart sells a powerful Chevy motor and would get chuckles here on the HAMB. But, who wouldn’t want it under the hood of a 1965 Chevelle two door station wagon, with A/C? Yikes!
Just build what you want, the way you want it to look, with whatever parts you want can get. Your building a hot rod, which is as much about individuality as anything there is, and not what others say you can and can't do, or should or shouldn't do. Don't get too immersed in a nerd's world, your head will likely explode
Pick a set of starting/ending years for the general era of the build style you like. The easy part is the parts - if they were available and commonly used, then assemble the whole hoard you need to match the era. Don't put things like braided stainless lines on it, don't put cute blue/red annodized aluminum fittings on it, don't put Accel bright yellow spark plug wires on it, don't put chrome Crager wheels on it, etc.. Stick to the era you start with and don't just drop in parts from future eras . . . unless they make you happy. In the end it is YOUR car - you're the only one who needs to be pleased with the result. If you're worried too much about what "others think" - then don't even start as you'll never be truly happy. Hell, I've never completed a car and felt everything was "just right" - there is always something that could be better/different. Most of our cars are a bit of a "science project" in the end - they morph over time . . . hopefully because we're driving the damn things and learning where improvements could be made. Or because we didn't have the money/time to do everything we wanted or imagined (always the case) - so evolution was the only way to get to the "end" state. Remember, most of the "others" were not even alive in the build period you're talking about . . . all they know they gleaned from the internet, Instagram and from all those wankers who babble all day long about a time period they never lived or built anything in! Most don't even have original magazines to base their opinions on . . . so who cares what they think. Now get started . . . I think we're all about done with the conversation.
One mantra I keep seeing that irritates me when it comes to retro builds is people saying "Ford in a Ford" "Chevy in a Chevy" etc. There was no brand loyalty back in the day. One look through vintage catalogs showing all of the various bellhousing and motor mount adapters will tell you that. Reason so many Ford hot rods had flatheads through the early fifties is because they were the most common viable modifiable engine at the time as cad/olds ohv didn't come out till 49 and Ford didn't go out till 54. And then the aspect of rodders having to learn new tech. So unless you're building a say pre 49 style rod brand purity should have no impact on your engine/trans choices. Nothing wrong with same brand engine as many did match. But was not an absolute thing
Much of the time it was "what engine can I get out of the local junk yard from a totaled car - if post 49' - with an OHV in it". Very, very, very few could order any engine from the manufacturer as a "new" one. There were no "Jegs" or "Summit Racing" back in the day and the only things you could get from J.C. Whitney were mostly crap bling-bling accessories. Most of your speed parts came from magazines or catalogs - unless you lived in SoCal and could go to the actual parts manufacturers or happened to have a speed shop nearby. A lot of what people ran/built - came from wrecked cars in the local junk yards.
Yeah I read somewhere most rodders then would just grab the biggest engine they could find, stab the biggest cam they could, and put as many carbs on it as they could or were able to lol
But.....there was a common practice many seem not to know/remember. Was SUPER common to grab warranty failure engines and build. My 57 283 is an example of that. In 1958 there was a guy working at a Chevy dealership near Conway Arkansas that had a 57 Chevy come in for a warranty engine due to a failed piston from a dropped valve. What he did was replace replace the piston from another failed piston engine and replaced the valves and stuck it in his 55 Chevy disguised as the original 265. And told no one. 55 was shoved in a barn around 1960/1961 and didn't see the light of day till it was bought and LS swapped. I ended up with what was supposed to be the original engine. After seeing it had an oil filter and running the numbers we did some more research and found the backstory. And I've heard of many other tails like that. Some were less sketchy. Gm didn't require the engines sent back. Just that they be disabled. So a lot of guys would buy them as scrap and rebuild them. I kinda suspect that's part of how large bore stroker crank engines became such a big thing in the fifties
Pretty much sums of 95% of the guys! Unless they were racing at a national level, competitive at Bonneville and/or had sponsors (like a company or rich parents), they pretty much had to "run what they found". LOL
Goes back to the time period on all the flatheads not being a purity thing. In the early fifties back a flattie was the biggest readily available you could also get multi carb intakes for lol
If you had a 55 Chevrolet in 56 and wanted it to haul ass you bought a 56 Cad. 365” out of a wreck if you could get it….. same as the moonshiners.
Just continue to look at the HAMB... look at all of the cars that interest YOU. take all of the things that YOU like and incorporate them into YOUR build. Piece together a bitchin ride that YOU can drive anytime, anywhere, for any reason. Even after its done, you will see items on other people's cars that YOU may want to put on the car in place of current parts on your car. Searching for old parts can be fun sometimes. Don't try to make one of the hundreds of thousands of cars that look the same. The HAMB has some of the most talented and knowledgeable people on the planet who can offer help and experiences. Have a great time building the car. One bit of advice, a shop rag and duct tape is your friend for stopping blood when you do something stupid during the build, like we all have done.
I has never said I build this car for ’others’, but I has ask on the history ( and I do like the look ) I start to think, few or non of you read what I say and in this thread I asked on era correct parts/style ca 1950 ( as in other threads its been misstakes towards that ) but its develops to me/my build-up direct (?) My head ’will not explode’ or get ’anal’ just to ask on history. I told before in other threads exacltly how my 5W in parts coming along. I think I show picture on every parts ! Body is 1 year from the body guy and allot mechanically is under construction as engine, transmission, rearend, gauges etc etc. Most is I see it is period correct but thats really not matter as thats the way I like to see this car. So please dont’ take words out I never said. I can tell on the parts I use or get so far, but its been done. I will let you guys ’calmn down’ and I get back in a thread of the build-up later on . -Until then, big thanks on all help here at Hamb. I guess the build-up thread is 2 years off, sorry but thats the reality. I could do more threads along the road but I dont like upset people, its a hobby.
This topic comes up so often that the discussion itself seems to have become somewhat traditional.............
Ha! The guy who starts a new thread every other day asking if his parts are “traditional “ tells us to calm down.
Alchemy, I has ask on history and parts, yes but it develops to my ( personal way in the build up ) as I had wich the topics stay as asked on.
Once agian, era or period correct is a regional thing because each region had its own look so what was correct varries by what was popular in different parts of the country.
Yep Look up both "traditional" West Coast (USA) and East Coast hot rods and for the most part you will get two very different build styles.
3w hank, it seems like there may be a language issue here. You have Sweden as location, so maybe your questions are coming across as an argument. However, many people here have mentioned you asking this type of thing over and over. When someone keeps asking the same thing, it implies that they didn't like the previous answers or want a different answer, not that they failed to understand. So to attempt to build anything car, plane, or house to reflect a past era, you must first define the era as narrowly as possible time wise. Then you must account for geographic, regional and cultural differences to focus on what you are trying to represent. An immediate post-war house in Southern England is going to use different materials and building methods to fit local codes that would not be the same as a house built in the same era in another country. The same could be said for a car, especially one modified as a used car. I mentioned cultural as another variable. The era mentioned as post-war is often portrayed here in the US as young guys getting out of the service with a few bucks wanting to go fast. You also had a number of guys that were too young to be in the armed services, and some older guys who either also served and returned or stayed home that enjoyed fast cars well before the war. Racing had been popular worldwide for decades and racing was a valuable sales tool. Notice that this wide range of enthusiasts would also have a wide range of skills and money, but all of them were looked at as at best blowing off a bit of steam doing wild stuff to hooligans being a terrible menace on the streets. This brings up another way to narrow the focus. The guys who had a fast car and did various sanctioned events (racing), or the guys that chose to just build and use what they had on the public roads for fun or for illegal purposes. Whatever the case, you must do research on historical accuracy and decide on exactly what you want to build and what you can afford. Here is an image of "modest 1947 house" located in Virginia This is a "Mansion built in 1947" in New Jersey I'd say that money would be a big issue in deciding which house to recreate, and that while construction materials may be similar, style is much different.
Honestly I think periodic threads like these are good because multiple people pop up with examples etc. Seems in any era genre people in it get to where they write off stuff they think is not correct when it is and vice versa. People on these threads get a chance to discuss and provide evidence backing why they think one particular engine or modification is correct. There's even stuff I've always thought were products of the columbian bam bam fueled 80s that I've learned recently dated back to the fifties (mainly interior stuff). As to the op being from Sweden I still believe they are concerned on being era correct for the USA. From what I understand there is a massive following in Sweden of 50/60s era USA culture. Even have a few of them on my FB. One lady on my FB from Sweden basically dresses like a fifties pinup and drives a 58 t bird. So my responses have been assuming question was aimed towards the USA perspective. And an international forum online is a good place to ask similar questions
Firstly I wish I could speak Swedish as good as you do with English. (hint, deepl.com) I don't recall reading in your posts what your plans or end game is for this car. Can these early cars even be driven in Europe? As I recall the red tape is maddening, even to put an old motorcycle on the road in Germany required a TUV, a checklist of over 250 items to license it.Very strict, modifications verboten! Some rod runs over there, guys trailer the cars to a private property to drive them. I can't imagine being allowed to blast down the autobahn or M5 in a fenderless car without getting harassed.
Definitely a Traditional 60's car, Shot by Andy Southard JR (Saw the pic on his memorial post) A killer car for sure, do I see an alternator and disc brakes..?
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