History The Devils in the Details...

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

The Devils in the Details...

Continue reading the Original Blog Post

 

Not sure why and I know this is nit picking, but hose clamps are my #1 pet peeve. Wittek's are out there. Just takes a little time to hunt them down. Modern clamps kill the vibe for me.

 

Man that caddy crammed in the T is a great photo!

 

I've been a small block Chevy guy my entire life, and truth be told I'm not fully embedded in the whole "traditionalist" genre, I fully appreciate the dedication of those that carry that flag, just never had the energy or resources to pull it off.
Being a Vergo and a machinist, I have been accused of being a perfectionist so I guess you might say I have an eye for it, it's just much easier to lived vicariously through others.
I never thought I'd ever hear myself saying this but I think this Caddy engine is the most beautiful engine ever.
The Jim Busby coupe always pulls me in when thinking of cars with a high level of detail.

 

Great post- details really make all of the difference. When I was detailing my '57 F 100's mill, I looked at many pics to "get it right".
You can almost see it in the pics, but, on the modern battery, I peeled off all of the decals and added Autolite decals and battery "caps" to make it look period.
And paint can go a long way.

 

Modern Clamps?

Ike Iacono 33 Ford used them-
December 1954 issue of Hot Rod

 

Fasteners.
For the members who post what should my new project look like, just send 'em here.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/traditional-images-that-need-no-explanation.1143737/

 

Great article!! Painstaking attention to the most minute period details is always the highlight of any build for me!!

 

I'm pretty proud of my 327.

 

We maintain vintage/veteran drivers mostly & after working here I've been interested in the blindness to particular things, you won't find a single Phillip's head screw in anything we do, Robertson & Slotted yes, but very occasionally you'll spot a Allen head somewhere that hasn't been hidden, & modern hose clamps are mostly a go too. It has amused me.

Love the details

 

I’m a devil in the details kind of guy. Did as much as I could to keep my build as “vintage” as possible (note the T5 exception). Even stuck with 6V. The coolant clamps comment hits home. I have a rear mounted rad (modem rad and a modern cooling fan, both of which will be hidden though), lots of copper pipe and joints. I struggled to find what I thought might be a vintage clamp. Couldn’t find any at the time, so went with a modem two-wire design.

 

Maybe I wasn't clear, but a "modern day" Ideal hose clamp do not look like that one from '53. I was also referring to but did not mention that I had my build in mind which was focused around a 1942 build date, which a "modern" clamp was not around at that time.

 

...as a nod to practicality, the throttle return spring hooked to the hose clamp. Neat

 

Close, but not quite the same as what we get off the shelf now - not that instead of the hex head our clamps now come with, these are round with only the slot for the screwdriver to tighten.

 

So, should I assume that Nylock nuts would be a hardware faux pas?

 

I am pretty diehard when it comes to period correctness, in fact I often joke that I hate the fact I have to run modern air in my tires!

However, I think some of the period correctness has gotten to the point where it has become like the A.A.C.A or the N.C.R.S. where people are arguing over whether or not someone's hose clamps are period correct….

….I was at an event where a guy was ranting and raving about a 50s style hot rod with Dzus buttons, and how they did not exist in the 1950!

I pointed out W.W. II aircraft were loaded with them, someone else got their phone out brought up photos of open wheel cars (Midgets, Sprints, Sliver Crown) and drag cars with Dzus buttons.

I am building mt Model A for vintage oval track racing as period correct as a can for the early to mid 60s including running a 261 Chevy with points, a Sun tach and transmitter a 48 Ford transmission and drums.....

My car-


The Ray Kennedy 261 powered Pontiac coupe, 1966 NYS (dirt mile) Fair winner Larry Nye driver.


however, for the sake of the rules, safety, and handing. I have made some concessions.

For example, I put more and used heavier D.O.M. in the cage...


...but the rules require the use of a single carburetor....


....and using modern gas charged hiem joint end racing shocks, but I disguised them with Tie Rod End Conversions and will not running them upside down as modern oval track cars do for less unsprung weight.


...for display I built (with help from a few friends) I build race car wheels the old way using widen Buick rims and stock Ford wide 5 centers (I need one more center for the right front wheel)....



and picked up a pair (again look for a right front) I am going to groove.

 

I tried to stay pretty true to my "1957 build" date on the whole car. I think the engine captures that era of flathead/show car builds.

 

Robert,

I was simply stating what I'm a stickler for, in this case hose clamps, as the title of the post states the devil is in the details.

If not having Wittek's on a '40's-era car keeps it from being on the road, then that would be silly.

Will the average guy pay $100 for 4-6 #2 Wittek fuel hose clamps, maybe not. It was something I wanted and I do notice that level of detailing on other similar style or era builds.

I wouldn't look down upon a guy for using modern clamps, but I would sure appreciate the car a little more if the guy or girl went the extra mile and sought out the period correct stuff.

Make sense?

 

on the sidelines w/ popcorn---this starts to seem 'tempest in teacup' ...

 

Haha. Yeah, I'm going to bow out for this very reason. No need to start raising my blood pressure over hose clamps.

 

It's not a bad thing to temper the minutiae in cars like this. I'm with 'bomber in that some things get overlooked or the builder has no reference or is just ambivalent to certain things. I call such cars confused. We can make a case for a lot of things, but when there's a vintage engine fitted with more modern Holley carb and Earls braided hose and fittings, well that's confused. Hose clamps? When in doubt you should hit the restoration suppliers. Sadly the good looking gear clamps (that's what I call em) are gone. Used to be you could get em with a short slotted area and the rest plain or smooth. I'd get em a bit too big and cut the excess slotted area. Give a clamp that's smooth and not full of gear grooves. For our beloved Fords and flatty motors? Just get the restoration clamps. Not dressy enough? Chrome em. Wittek thumb screw clamps are kool, but not for $50 each. $600 for radiator hose clamps? "Keep looking you can find em cheaper." Sure, lemme know how long that took.
I've covered my modern wire harness in lacquered loom. Where it shows, fuck it. Form must always follow function. Maybe a lifetime in restoration has lent a slight edge, or indeed made me a bit snobby about certain things. And at the end of the day who or what are you appealing to? I have a Powergen. It's getting wrinkle black and an old Autolite tag. Starter too, black wrinkle but no tag. That's personal, I've done senior series Packard models from the mid 30s forever so it's a tip of the hat to them as they too were finished that way. Slotted screws where it makes sense and looks good. Aligned of course. My vacuum gauge says Aug 1952 inside under the light. My coil is a Holthouse, was brand new in the box, sealed up, from 1954 according to the paperwork inside. In today's vernacular that's kool as fuck. I just hope it works for a long time. Sort of a focal point on the motor now. I'll probably think of things and pop back into this topic, but if you want to be inspired look under the hoods and such of restored heavy American cars like Packard, Lincoln, early Cadillac 12s and 16s, and of course the mighty Duesenberg. Want detail? Want kool hardware? Want 'how it was done'? Simple utility mixed with what might be an art form all its own.
A short splash of pics, I'll find some more later

 

I understand and I am picky things about things to, I have a self imposed no parts newer that 1965 (other than safety) on my car.

The point I was making is the whole reason I got into period correct hot rods is because it was about low key fun and affordable and I the time a became interested in the late 1990s a a rebellion against the high dollar tweed and billet, arguing whether the period correct weather striping was used in the windshield.

So many people have come into period correct hot rodding over the last 25 years who only care about the look not the history.

For me it is all consuming the look cars, the parts, the companies, the people etc....It has gotten to the point were it has very much become what the Hi-Tech Street rod scene was in the 1980s-1990s and why I have been drawn back into oval track through vintage racing.

It's is a very small nit group we help each other if one person has trouble everyone jumps in to help, lest we myself and others jumped in to help one of the tube chassis drivers who had gotten in the wall and flipped repair his car enough to and then load it in his trailer to get home.

 

I just love a finely detailed hotrod . Especially with all the small bits that show how far the builder spent time on the details. A simple hose clamp ,wire ties, electrical connections and fuel fittings just a few I look for and make me smile and say wow.
@banjorear I’m a Wittek nut but getting harder to find at a reasonable price

 

A Flathead in a deuce roadster I did about 20 years ago that is now in Portugal. Krylon32/Gary at Cornhusker.

 

The old mopar style are ez

these type look better than the normal band type

I like the safety wire style

 

My merc is my first “period” kinda build. Not for any other reason than I like old parts. I could care less how someone enjoys their ride but looking at old parts in old cars makes me smile.
So far so good. Vintage carbs, intake, valve covers, old trans …….
Lots of old parts out there. It did take a while to find some old 2G carbs that matched here locally. Having an old speed shop nearby liquidating was nice.
I’ll keep mine cheap and simple and probably just use the Mopar style clamps or round up enough of these

 

ttt

 

@anthony myrick I'm not sure what those are called with the screw in the top. I call em "tower clamps" because they create a tower when pulled up. They're OEM on lots of stuff thru the 70s. Packard used em in the 30s but the screw was a ¼-20 fillister. Fillister head screws are made in most common sizes. An Old Uncle Jocko trick, get the new ones from Natl Parts Depot, get some standard thread square nuts and stainless fillister head screws. Put that hardware in and 'Viola!', proper period screws. Yes, I like the double wire style as well. Shermans are a nice go-to as well and may be still available in bulk from industrial suppliers like MSC or McMaster-Carr.

Now that's just clamps. Check out these plug terminals. Common fare on ACD cars, these from a Cord L-29. The other engines are a 55 vette and a 35 Supercharged Auburn. The Auburn was nice but not perfect. The vette is rt on. Picking stuff from such things and adding it to our hot rods? Thats what our "founders" had to work with.

 

@theHIGHLANDER I have never seen them plug connectors very cool look and forgot about the plug wire and it’s connectors. I know Packard made a connector assortment of terminals along with Rajah.

 

Cool.
Building old has an EZ formula.
Use old parts or parts that are made like old parts

you restoreation guys can struggle finding those.
Hot rod guys can mix and match between whatever
Wiring is another issue
My rodent cruiser uses the plastic split wire loom stuff. No very attractive but cheap.
I’ll probably use the cloth style in the Merc or similar.