I have one of each. The 'soul' stuff is bullshit. It's the driver who has the soul, not the car. They each have their attributes and distractions. My coupe only has history with me but I think it's cool as hell. The roadster is brand new and I'm building the history each time I drive it.
does aftermarket steel have soul? henry didn't make it,so,i don't see how thats anymore real than a glass car.
wasnt trying to go steel versus glass here, my point is i always wanted a nice 32 or 34 ol timey lookin coupe. but...........the old pocket book dont have what it takes to buy one. i cant build anymore cause i live in a retirement community with a bunch of rules. those that have seen my car{24 Track Roadster, Flat powered} know i am the "real deal". I am 65 now have Hot Rodded all my life , have owned about 50 Rods. Now i just want a reliable driver, thats cool looking. Thats why i am considering glass. If i had 75 k to spill it would be a different story.
After the last 3 cars--including the 56 chevy I'm doing now--glass is the next car I build. I have done sooo much rust repair, that I smell rust in my sleep.And on my high-mileage 37 ford coupe, some rust is coming back up--after 25 years--it just never stops!!! So--my next car is a 32 roadster--and I think I'm gonna do one of the Australian bodies--looked at lots of bodies and those look best.
I'm a fan of 'glass. I think the look, and the spirit of the build is far more important than the material the body's made of. I'll be DONE with this for the average price of a well worn steel body. I've seen dorky steel cars, cool 'glass cars, and vica versa. Make sense?
I never said I agreed with aftermarket steel cars either... I just like OLD stuff. You know- with that musty smell and real patina. You can't get that with a new car. You know, the stuff that adds character- that takes years and years to obtain. Thats what gives it soul. Everytime i get in my car i think of what this car was doing, who was driving it, and where it went 40 years ago.
Man, Ed Roth sure did make a lot of "soul-less" cars. The soul of a car comes from the builder. It doesn't matter the medium it's done in. Steel v/s Glass is about the dumbest thing that could keep a person from building a Hot Rod. Build what you can, man. It'll have soul the first day you spend sweating over it.
Roth built cars from scratch using chicken wire and plaster. Thats not the same as picking up a catalog and ordering an Outlaw body and having it shipped to your door.
you know I've acctually seen some repop steel bodies that arent too expensive. I would rather do that cuz working on fiberglass sucks, my dads 33 roadster that is almost finished is glass and certain things have kinda been a pain in the ass.
I'm building my Bantam from an old drag racing shell. God know's when it was moulded, could be vintage... Tons of work, doors from scratch, 3'x4' hole to fill in the roof, steel substructure inside... Everything but the frame done myself. I'd call it a hot rod Groucho, your car kicks serious ass!!! Flatman
I may not like FWD, but it wouldn't stop me from driving a Cord 810. If I ever build a '32 roadster, I'll just toss some old blankets the neighbors dog has been sleeping on under the front seat for that musty smell . I bought my 'steel' Studebaker in CA and hauled it back because rust repair sucks. I saved thousands by buying a rust free car. A fiberglass car follows along this way. Most come with the chopped roof molded in already. The cost of a Welcott body can be justified by the costs saved in not having to repair rusted floors, doors, etc., not to mention rotted wood in those cars that use it. If cost was no factor, I'd probably go with a reproduction steel body over fiberglass, but for most of us, cost does matter. Heck, even rusty roadsters will bring over $15,000 sometimes. That will buy a nice glass body. As mentioned, I think the soul of the car comes from the builder.
fuckin around on a 61 ranchero and building a HA/GR dragster with stuff that people are throwin away.
tell ya what ....anyone got a nice steel driver in So Cal area for a reasonable price PM me ............and i wont buy glass.............LOL
I hate these glass vs. steel arguements... I've seen nice examples and crappy examples of each. Just cuz it's old doesn't instantly make it cool... I can take you to a local cruise-in and show you a half dozen "real steel" cars that are total POS's. I've also seen guys totally dig on a 'glass car until someone asks if its steel and are told its not, then all the sudden its not cool anymore. I never could figure that one out. My car is 'glass and you can tell its glass immediately if you know anything at all...I make no secrets about it, but the fact remains that if you're ASKING if it's steel or not, then what difference does it really make? Would I rather have a real deal original steel 32? Sure, who the hell wouldn't?, but if the option is to either have a glass 32 or no 32, well, glass it is.
I'm gonna do a 33-34 Ford someday and I bet it will be glass, and I will Love it, and Kiss it, and Hug it as if it was Steel so you steel snobs can eat a fat one...
My body is glass and it fools 90% of the people 90% of the time....iy often fools very experienced rodders......living on the East Coast but having a California frame of mind, I built my car as an homage to the early dry lakes guys who started this great thing we call hot rodding.......I am retired and just cannot afford a steel Deuce 3w coupe of either Henry steel or Brookville steel.......take a look at my coupe and see what you think...... Brucie
hey Brucie..............ive always drooled over your car another year gone by and we still didnt meet..........maybe next year in my new glass car .......grins
I personally like steel better, glass is pain, but i wouldn't say it's soulless, my uncles got a glass duece from the 80's that has plenty of soul, we bought it at the police auction it said homicide in the front window. Tell me that don't have a soul. oh does any one know who makes a good steel model a sedan body? i have yet to find a reasonabley priced original one that is actually workable, and hard to find one here that isn't just a stain on the garage floor.
I always hear steel is so expensive, but I see bodies normally going for around the same price as the "good' glass bodies. So it needs work? still beats the hell out of a replica! Only ones that seem to go crazy high are the 3 windows. I have 500 bucks in a 34 5window body, 1200 bucks in a 32 5window body. My 33 3window cost me a lot but its a lot less than what I see on ebay now. Ive gotten all of this stuff in the last 2-3 years too. I dont think i was lucky either.... I just looked around.
Who gives a shit. Just drive it, don't pray in it. Here's the deal--fiberglass is a ton of work. Spend the money on a great body. Look it over closely. Some things about my car I absolutely hate, and it's because I didn't look close enough, and now parts of it looks plastic when finished. Getting past the plastic look is hard. Look at the doors around the rear/front windows real good. Look at the firewall. All these things vary greatly. The way the fiberglass industry works, is you buy someone elses fiberglass car, and then build a mold off of it. Since very few are made off a steel car, the stamping lines around windows and doors goes plastic looking. It's a sad day in hell when you get done, and you're not happy with the look after deciding to go cheap, and not looking close enough during body prep. Best you can do is just drive it for a couple of years, and then do over the plastic looking errors.
Who cares ... This is pretty lame and a waste of time ... because no one here is going to change any one elses mind. If you have STEEL ... you say " I would not own Fiberglass " AND IF you own Fiberglass ... " You say steel is overated ... glass is GREAT ... " Buy, build or trade for what you like ... At night, when you lay down and go to sleep ... no one else's opinion matters ... I see stuff on here ... I would not haul home 10 miles for it ... BUT I think it is great that someone likes it/wants it. I can appreciate their workmanship ... and love for their project. Not everyone wants or needs a 32 Ford ... Some need something larger, newer ... or more 50's/60's That's cool too ... Hot Rod and drive ... what ... YOU ... want ...
Glass is ok as long as you get a good brand , we did a wescott 39 ford convertable. The body and fit was perfect, cheep glass bodys are not too good. You get what you pay for. Build what ever you can and have fun.
Smooth as glass. I have wanted one of these since the first time I saw Stone-Woods-Doug "Cookie "Cook at Pamona in the `60s. How can anyone not like a streetable Willys?
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