History Why don’t I see Plymouth/Chevy Hot Rods?

In this area I'd have to say that they just didn't survive. You find one sitting around once in a while and used to find body parts out in the sage brush but as a complete or almost complete car they weren't even around in the 60' when I was looking everywhere for something to build a hot rod out of. They may have not survived the WWII s**** drives either. People were still patching their Fords and Chevys back together and driving them but when a Mopar broke there was a bigger chance of it hitting the crusher.

 

Here's my buddy's 29 Chevy coupe. Ignoring the T5, the next newest major component is the 55-59 Chevy truck differential. It's been on the road a couple of years now in hot rod form. It had some issues with the wood, but has been shored up well enough for now. It's all Chevrolet: '48 216, '40 truck rear axle with the Task Force truck differential, dropped AD truck front axle, Bendix drums front and rear.

 

Here's another buddy's Dodge. Early hemi... I don't know all the details.

 

One of my best friends, Larry Barnett (RIP) 100% Chrysler hot rod, 383 Plymouth block, 727 TorqueFlite, 69 Dodge truck front axle and 8-3/4 rear end out of a B-Body, 65 Plymouth front bucket seats etc. Car is incredible and very well built.

 

I am always going to be perplexed on people who have street rods or hot rods and they don't get in them and drive them except to events, The same thing goes with the muscle car crowd or the mini truck crowd or even the Japanese tuner crowd. Part of the fun of the car is getting in it and driving the wheels off it as soon as the show season is done if it's a really pretty car it's time to put the rock chips in the paint but then again I don't own anything nice everything is what you would call driver quality at best and sometimes a few of them might even be considered toilets and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

My b

My buddy Gary W has a saying "it's not what they're asking, it's what they're paying"

 

Now, this is something different. It’s just is screaming to be saved…

 

Parts availablity. I've been looking for replacement steel front fenders for my 33 Dodge coupe for a decade, no luck. I'm running a set of gl*** ones but even those are hard to find any more.

 

I always loved the look of the Dodge truck '33? Was in street rodder. Nice at***ude

 

33'-35' but 33' & 34' had suicide doors. I suppose some of the 34's could have been sold as 35's but most 35's had conventional doors with the 33' & 34' cab.

 

Hello,

We all want to be “different like everyone else…” ha! So the search for old cars that no one or only a few hanging around was a great game to play prior to making a commitment to the long drawn out build. So, at the time of the photo of the 35 Chevy sedan hot rod, the same style truck was not as rare as an metal shop teacher who could not weld a nice bead for demonstration on welding.
The 1935 Chevy sedan was a rare build, with the majority being Fords. But a 1934-35 Chevy truck was definitely a rare hot rod platform to say the least at the time.

Jnaki

Perhaps, the shape and styling points were part of the reason very few if any built hot rod old Chevy trucks as the hot rod project.

As I began to draw the top truck as looking at a 34-35 Chevy sedan, I noticed the front top of the roofline was different. The edge shape was slightly squared off and when changed to a smoother shaped curved edge, looked different, but, better… IMHO

With the usual load of stuff in the back, it takes on the shape of a low stance, until some air shocks come into play. Or, a cool lowered rake to give it some at***ude… YRMV

A Hot rod Chevy dash...1935 Sedan


Lots of Ford hot rods everywhere. But, only a few Chevy Coupes and Sedans were selected to make into cool hot rods during those early years. We found one in Oakland, but it was in a historic car show. So, in reality, it was located about 70 miles north in a small college town.

When we saw the 1935 Chevy at the Oakland Roadster Show, we talked to the owner. At the time, only Model A Fords and 32 Fords were the popular hot rod builds and any other makes/models were hard sells to the public and finicky editors.

 

For me the suicide doors were what set the cars apart from all the rest of the herd.

 

Agreed. I picked up this '35 Olds about a month or so ago.

 

In my opinion a '32 Plymouth PB coupe has nice lines and looks as good as a '32 Ford and appears to be chopped from the factory.

I am a die hard Deuce nut but I love the Plymouths also. HRP

 

To my eye, putting the wood issues aside, many of the other makes have awkward or “frumpy” styling points. The rear bustle too long or too short, wheelbase too long, odd visors and/or grilles. Some models got it right like the ‘35 Chevy 2dr sedan and the Dodge pickup above, but most miss that “Hot Rod” look and look like an old luxury car with hot rod parts bolted on.

 

Ok... so some of them aren't quite as pretty as others.
Kinda like that girl you dated who wasn't quite as pretty as some others. But she had really nice big... ummm... eyes. She was a lot of fun. Didn't mind gettin' dirty. You know you liked her.

 

Just finished building this '40 Deluxe 2dr sedan for the friend of a friend. '54 331 hemi, 200R4 (will I get banned for mentioning this modern ******?!), Late model Mustang 3:54 rear, A/C, R&P steering (NO WAY to fit conventional steering around that hemi!). Adapted '40 steering wheel to GM tilt column. Fun drive!

 

@willys36 Beautiful! 46-48 tail lights?
@bchctybob I think part of the 'looks funny' is due to seeing the same Fords over and over and having them as a baseline.

 

Yes, the Plymouth taillights and third brake light/trunk handle are not '40 items. The old gentleman who owns the car requested those Plymouth 'upgrades' 'cause he likes the look better than the original. He was adamant we use those rear wheels, that don't look quite right to me, because of sentimental value. Hemi was his dad's, car was his granddad's. Was adamant about the Plum Crazy paint too! Fellow is legally blind but still sees pretty well, and walks with a cane, and this restoration/rod has been a life-long dream. I am honored he trusted me with the job.

 

Not sure if this is supposed to be yard art or not. lol!