Nothing grabs you, or has a more visual impact than a nice car with a well executed flame job,.... With that said, it has to be the right car and the right flames and colors,..... if any of these are out of order it can be a disaster. There are two cars that always come to mind when I think of great flame jobs,.. one is the McMullen roadster,..... the other is Pete's "California Kid", They were both unique and individual to the cars they were going on and not a clone or copy of another flame job,..... Even though I have been guilty of some times using other peoples styles when doing a flame job, I believe the best flame jobs are ones that are designed with the overall look of the car taken into consideration,..... unique to that car. (IMHO) And one more thing, sence when has "Flaming" become a question on the HAMB ?
They Could Die if they run any more stupid TECH articles like the one in the new Rebel Rodz mag i thumbed thru. A GOOD Flame Job is Priceless !! But the Rattle can Bullshit people think are "KOOL" can really Kill a good thing !
i like when people get creative and put the comin from the back forward. or flaming window tints. flames engraved into the chrome is always cool too. and who doesnt love a nice set of "tribal" flames!
They better not be dead or I'm in trouble! Very few styles I care for but when it came time to pull the trigger- I couldn't think of anyone better than Dennis Ricklefs to lay down the licks on mine. That's Dennis next to my car at LA Roadster Show a few months ago. It was finished the day before & you could still smell the paint.
Flames are dead and gone, in my book. When you can get anything you want flamed, (think: mailboxes, light switch covers, PT Cruisers, sneakers, and worst of all, underwear), it's time to give it a rest. The sad part is, I LOVE flamed hot rods, but let's go for something different for a while.
i personally love flames- but my favorite are the bullet hole stickers(gay)- those are bad ass and the tribal flamed car seat covers for your 90 geo metro(extra gay)- i fuckin hate all that shit- but true old school flames will always live!!
I like flames too. I fall into the "mini truckers" using flames on late model trucks. But I will say that they can easily be overdone. Mixing styles is something I see in the "mini trucking" community a lot and I just can't stand that. I may be a bit biased too though.
I always wanted a chopped Merc. And when I had the money,I HAD to flame it! Couldn't help it...It's exactly what I wanted! Now,does anything look good with flames? NO! Do ALL flame jobs look good? NO! Do I think YOU should flame your car? NO! For every flame job I like, I see plenty that I don't! Wrong shape,wrong color,too many, wrong color pinstripes,etc. But then,what looks good to me isn't what looks good to you. There were some guys who told me not to flame my Merc, but when I would go to shows,five or six black,chopped Mercs! To each his own...
Been flamin' since I was a kid in school in the 60's & 70's on notebooks, book covers, on my desk. on blank pieces of paper for friends. scipples and never get tired of drawing flames. My daughter and her bridesmaids flamed their toes and nails for the wedding. My Dad flamed, my brothers flame, we all flame. Flames will die out only among those who copy them because they are the current trend, not because they love them as a hot rod and custom thing. Just like traditional pinstriping, flames may change styles every so often but they will remain in the hearts of hot rodders. I've had people tell me flames are dying out right now, ten years ago and even 25 years ago. That's okay with me. I've already lived through all the stupid trends like heartbeats, real fire, stripe decals, bold graphics flamed tats and other junk styles and designs. I'll just happy to keep on doing what I've always done the way I always do it. Mikey Did it
Flames have always been a part of hot rodding and I believe they always will be, but like everything else some people try to evolve them or take them to the next level. There's the Ohio flame look and the tribal look and the latest and greatest, the "real" flame look. Like most people, I can look at 10 different flamed cars and have 10 different opinions about them. It's all subjective......it boils down to what you personally like. I'm still not 100% sure I like the flames on my 40! But the one thing I believe you can count on is that flames will never die. Some of the crappy newer styles will fade, but the true traditional flame job on the right car will always be in style.
I love 'em...except for anything Alloway does, flame-wise. Talk about your one trick pony! Yeeesh!!! This is my '68 on October 22, 1979. It was stolen from where it sits in the pic around mid-night that night. But the flames were pretty cool if you ask me! Bill
This is proof that flames will never die...sometimes they might dim a bit due to stickerfied pt cruisers and "ghost" flames on 1/2 ton silverados and f150's but when it's classic and tasteful like Bad Bob's Merc then flames are eternal...damn I want that car
Was Kelly Petillo the first to have flames on a race car in 1934 on his Indy 500 Gilmore Red Lion Special?
Flames are hit or miss. It all depends on the car and the execution. Here's one of my favorite flamed cars
The Jalopy Journal
