Sorry dude,but this is a Traditional website and those Caddy taillights don't cut it here!!!! Might as well put a billet,tilt column,leather Honda seats,and a CD player in it too...
You know bob I hope you would never think that I would put foreign crap on my car. I looked all around for vintage tail lights that I could use to get the look I was trying for and there just aren't any. Even the caddy lights are a compromise, I am going to have to cut them down and heavily french them to get them to compliment the lines I am looking for. I've looked into forming my own, but I just don't know. It looks like it might be beyond what I can do.
Hey sixgun, as a fellow intelligent, progressive Oregonian, don't let the shortsighted, narrowminded traditionalist get you down. Some might say their cars all look the same. Remember if it wasn't for guys like Sam Barris, Jimmy Summers, Bertolucci and Valley Custom who were doing cutting edge work incorporating late model parts in their creations, these neanderthals wouldn't have traditional cars to worship!!
I know a guy who took stock Shoebox taillights and turned them verticly. It looked really nice! Much better than those will ever look. Don't use them! I might have a pic... Look at the lights on the one closest...
Shortsighted...narrowminded.? Putting late 90's taillights on a chopped Shoebox isn't "cutting edge". It's being a fucking follower! Streetrod follower! Making you OWN from scratch,would be cutting edge! Sam Barris and Bertolucci built cars in the 50's and used parts from other 50's cars! They didn't build a 50's car in the year 2000 and use modern parts. Maybe you should THINK before using famous builders to compare to todays builds. Who's narrowminded now huh?
With all of the work you're putting into your car you should try making some tail light lenses that you want instead of settling on a light that's "close". They're not that difficult to make. Your car is looking great so far. Nice
great work ive been thinking about choping my 49 ford 4 door ans doing a 4 door hard top before i scrap it
i see this all the time on the hamb people saying build your car the way you want then bitching when you build it the way you want, do what you think looks good. any ways the car looks good hope to see it around pdx soon
Nope...never heard me say that! Cause it's a STUPID thing to say! Of course he's gonna build it the way he wants. I lean towards the traditional style...which is why I joined the HAMB. Hate to see a bitchin build turn into a half-ass'd build. In my opinion,of course,hahaha!
I got to agree with Bob on this one, the car looks great those tailights would be way out of place. Some homemade lights in some bumper gaurds would look clean without looking 90's
I like it. Do what you want. Model A's look stupid to me. Traditionally, we wouldn't have the internet and people bitching. So really, this site should not even exist for everyone to be traditional. Put away the MIG/TIG welders, recip saws, grinders and digital cameras. Keep it up! Let's see that thing on the road.
I don't try to prove anything. The HAMB does it for me. By the way...most people on here are traditional.
I am probably not gonna run a back bumper, just go with a rolled tail pan, I did however see a totally bitchin shoebox with no spears who totally omitted tail lights and instead had little ones (about the size of a quarter) built in to the overrider. I really liked the look of that. The main thing I am going for is super smooth and minimal. I don't want to go with something line '60 desoto or '53 chevy built in to an extension, I wanna keep the rounded simple shape of the tail without the spears, but at the same time I want something that accentuates the shape as well. I dig the vertical shoebox lenses that bob posted, but I really want something longer.
Bob...I don't think he intends to use them just as they are. He said he's basicly using them as a lens behind a custom shaped smaller opening...just long. He's also rewiring the lamps for full illumination AND has rejected any thought of LED's and the like. I'd be shocked if he DIDN'T do a nice job considering what he's managed so far...
Yeah, that is the Idea, I may try the hand blowing tail light thing, but in the end I am just using the caddy lights as raw material. I certainly am not going to french the lights in, shaped as they are.
Sounds cool. There are some custom ones I saw in a magazine that were about 12" long and shaped like a spear head. They come with the buckets too. I think they are meant to be use horizontally,like on the rear pan of a 33-34 Ford,but you could turn them vertically,i'm sure. Check out these ones that slddnmatt made for his old Merc...
Rather than trying to blow glass I would just go to tap plastics here in Portland and get some thick red plexi and shape it however you want you will have to build a bucket to hold the lamps but it would'nt be that hard
O.K. now we're getting some where. See Bob, you do like that new high tech hand made stuff. These lights have a good shape that fits the fender well. The bumper & the license guard balance the rear very well. Your other example looked like an after thought. The tail lights were too low and small, they added nothing to the overall balance of the car and the recess box for the plate was exactly as you say STREET ROD.
Spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to hoodlums world wide... Building your lenses will definitely bring it up a notch in the awesome scale. And allow you to get it juuuuuust right!
\ Sounds to me like now your being critial just because bad Bob posted it. Quit Hijacking the thread... "Spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to hoodlums world wide..."
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