Folks Of Interest Traditional Rodders and Custom builders stand up and be counted

Hey Beaner,how about re-asking the question as "is it important to you that your car would look at home in the 40s/50s/60s (circle as applicable)?"
Or have I completely misunderstood you again?
Paul

 

Or alternatively,you could do what I did the other day when I started the thread asking how many people were with me in not understanding perfect 50s restorations let down by disc brakes through five spokes and then got accused of interfering with people's right to do what they want. Just get a mod to delete it because it causes more trouble than it's worth

Paul

edit; Let me make it quite clear that I was not moderated, I asked the mods to delete the thread in question.

 

Bob Hirohata? You mean the guy who paid Barris to build his Mercury?

 

Paul,
You type faster than I think. Its not fare. Look back a couple of posts.

I have yet to figure out how telling someone the truth is interfering with their inallienable right to do what they want. Never the less there are any number of historical figures dateing back to the beginning of written history that were accused of the same thing. Count yourself in good company.

Oh an one other thing I doubt that any self respecting rodder would admit this but Dunlop and Pirelli were pioneers.

 

I like/own old steel cars and trucks with old engines and trannys and banjo rears and bias ply tires on old wheels...and drum brakes.

and non silicone boobies

 

I like boobies.

Welcome to the club.

 

I think I might qualify
Here is a picture of my first hot rod, a 1931 Chev coupe. It has a 261 chev 6 in it. This was in 1954, do all my own work. Body work I hate, every thing else I like.

 

My brother and I build cars. . . from the chassis, to the paint, to a simple interior.

Some can build them, some people can't. Some people have the time, and some people don't. . . that's ok with me.

 

Well i think a lot of us severely lack as much talent as, lets say, the guy building the replica's Lit Up, etc. Very little of us are that talented to be able to do that kind of work.

With that being said; let's admit it, hot rodding is no longer a cheap hobby. Back in the day in the 50's and early sixties when hot rodding was created and celebrated; cars could be bought cheap. Today; roadsters are "considered" to be worth an arm and a leg. today; No blue collar working man could afford a decent starting point with a roadster...that is unless you find it in the barn and get it for a steal or find one somewhere and get it for good money.

Back in the day kids were buying and building these from people who thought they were junk. model A's and T's were considered old news to anyone other than hot rodders. Kids building 30's, 40's and 50's cars were building them because it wasn't just the cool thing to do with their buddies; they got their hands on these cars because they were affordable to them in one way or another.

As far as doing your own work; etc. Just like today; many people involved in this hobby didn't have deep pockets. They did what work they could do and then hired out the rest of the work to someone they trusted. Most car clubs, especially those in CA, had their "favorite" builders who they entrusted with their cars to do the work they wanted.

It's no different than kids today who save their pennies to buy the vehicle they want whether its a rice burner, jacked up truck, mustang, etc and they fix it up the way they see fit to make it appealing to their friends. Most kids couldnt afford a hot rod or a starting point for a hot rod and most hot rods are not economical enough for kids attending college, commuting to work, etc. They buy an economical, appealing vehicle for themselves and then they fix it up to reflect their tastes. what work they can't do themselves...they save their pennies...and hire it out to a professional.

Not everyone has the talent to do it all from the ground up. Some people dont have the time. Some people don't have the money to waste on learning to do it or to pay someone to do it all. In our instance we just didnt have the cash to hand it off to someone else and so we did it all from stripping, body work and paint.

I do have more respect for someone who does do it all themselves

Like i said before; i think the word "traditional" hot rod has a lot more to do with the overall adherence to the way cars were built and looked in the 50's rather than who did the work; how they did it, etc.

 

Maybe there should be a social group for the more hardcore, traditional-minded folks? I'd be interested in something like that.

 

I'm blessed with having a really good friend who does wonderful bodywork/paint and he doesn't do mechanic work at all..he's as helpless with engine/tranny/brake stuff as I am with bodywork so we have an arrangement...I do his mechanical stuff and he does my body work! Last Friday nite I pulled the Q-jet apart on his shortbox chevy shop-truck and fixed a sticky needle and seat while he rebuilt the right A-pillar on my 34 coupe.
I do all the other stuff except machine work on my engines. Ok, ok..I also have another good buddy who owns an upholstry shop...but I can only afford to have him do about every 3rd car I build. He recovered the grand-am seats for my 34 in tan leather. I'll have to do the rest myself.

 

create a group here no the HAMB. Im ok with whatever anyone wants to do. I look at it this way: we are all members here because we share one thing: a passion for these cars and preserving and building them under the traditions (whatever they may be) for many generations to come. It's not just a hobby in the big picture. no matter what; there will be things here that not everyone agrees with and wants to see....and thats fine. everyone has their own idea as to what traditional might be.

 

You are only a cpule of clicks away from a social group my friend. I'd join but I think you'll find that I will drop the ball on some minor point or another. Like for instance I will probably use an early 8 3/4 housing stuffed with a 9" differential in my Gas Coupe as opposed to the correct Olds rear.

Most of the fellas that can't even own up to being a traditional rodder won't know the difference though.

I probably will get shit for pointing this out just as I did when I pointed this out and it got me thinking we should take a reconning of who is or isn't a traditional rodder but in all actuality on the HAMB a forum dedicated to traditional Rods and Customs there should be no need for a social group dedicated to that purpose.

 

"truth is interfering with their inallienable right to do what they want. Never the less there are any number of historical figures dateing back to the"
Hey Benno...did you have to look up "inallienable" or did your know how to spell it? I think I'd have to look it up or mispell that. [where the hell is my smiley face when I need it?]

 

I'll think about it. I think it'd be nice to have an "all"-traditional group though, with guys actually building their car to a certain era intentionally, not just some cool old car with disk brakes and blah blah blah.

There's a lot to learn in an environment like that, because you don't get a mass of people congratulating you and patting you on the back for bringing back some old tin, you get some straight shooters about what is and what is not traditional. Now of course you're going to have to make some compromises, but I think most guys can agree on what a traditional car is and is not in most cases.

 

I always thought that social group was the Hamb.
The newest things on any car should be rubber and wire. At least in my perfect world.

 

I think Im a no-rodder.

 

The thought crossed my mind as well, but it just isn't so. There's too many softies on here that whine when traditional folks point out that a car doesn't belong on here... and yet the threads remain open.

It's ruining the demographic of this fine place, so I was suggesting creating a social group for the real crazies to just go into a smaller group, with a life of prayer and dedication to the automobiles of yesteryear.

 

I hear ya. I'd be there.

 

I learned that word in diversity training once. One of the more learned fellas said that diversity was your inalienable right to be your self. At the end of the training the teacher asked me if I agreed with that statement and I said sort of that diversity was your inalienable right to be yourself as long as you fit the mold.

But in order to spell it correctly I had to use spell check.
BTW I misspelled a lot of words in that post. I didn't use spell check.

 

Beaner you did open a can of worms here. I'v seen this issiue get real hot on this site. I love the hamb for what it is, a wealth of knowlege that guys are willing to share and help others build there cars. I have built cars for fifty years, did what I could or wanted to do at the time, I"v learned more on every build and could do more the next time, and thanks to hamb I"m still learning. I hate labels, if my 36 is lower in the rear is't a custom if its lower in the front it's a streetrod? Bull. Lets all forget labels and injoy the hobby, and the hamb. Some of the threads on hear are pure art, I could never acheive. Becuase I drive my car, and run I-5 from washington to california to shows I run radials, so what. I build for me and what I like, if someone does't like that, kiss my ass.

 

You guys shoulda joined the party sooner.

 

I do all my own metal work and try to get working engines and trannys until I can learn enough about that sort of thing to feel confident enough to do it too. so far so good but have been told that I am far from traditional lately...but next build will fit in the traditional slot...only becouse thats what I have in mind for that build.

 

Did I?

If you hate labels then why would you join a site with is criteria?

"The HAMB is dedicated to spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and kustoms to hoodlums world wide."

It seems that some of you fellas want to make it an issue when it is just a simple question. No one asked anyone to defend their position at all.

 

Maybe you missunderstood me, I love the "traditional" movement, and getting back to the basic hot rod. I think thats what I build, but others label it as somthing else, simply because of radials or some other criteria that fits there idea's.

 

"I built it for me, I don't need anyone else's approval""build what you like, it's your car who gives a shit what anyone else thinks"

to quote Jack Nicholson "you want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"
To bastardise Humphrey Bogart "of all the hot Rod boards, in all the world, why did you walk into this one?"
This is not directed at anyone in particular.
Paul

 

Amen. this place can be great. I would never have done some of the things I have done without the research on the HAMB

 

No one really cares if you run radials, they have pretty much been accepted. If it makes you feel any better the Ol' Man was running Pirellis on his roadster pretty close to the time you started building. That would have been when traditional wasn't traditional yet.

This isn't the actual topic of discussion but just to clarify there is a difference between a tradtional hot rod and a period perfect hot rod. It is a very old discussion and those who don't know should do a search of traditional hot rods to learn the difference.

That said unless it is someone 900 miles away that is bad mouthing you I learned a little trick when I was still a young man you normally don't have to do it very many times for it to take effect. If someone says something you don't like feed them tooth soup. Once or twice and pretty near everyone takes the hint. That is of course unless they are telling you the truth and you recognize it as the truth, then thank them instead you just learned something.

OK that was a rabbit trail but no charge for the extra information.

 

Never gonna get any of them done but....... I build as traditional as my wallet will allow!

 

Agreed there is a differents, but as someone back in this thread brought out, it's sounding like the restorer verses hot rod thing.