They "NEVER "built cars this low in the 50s!!! LOL!! Whats with all these low riding Ratrods doing on this traditional site!!! Kidding!! I love it!!
Steve, sorry but I got to disagree with you on this one. I think it gives a function of form look. I think of it this way somebody was building a car and it needed to be low for whatever reason. Who cares where the fender was the car's now lowered. I set the bed low on my pickup for that very reason. Dreddybear great idea for a thread.
I spent about 2 weeks looking at where I was going to mount the rear end on my channeled car. The most important location is to center the rear in the factory arch. It looks really goofy in my eyes to see them ahead or behind the arch. It seems that its just a lazy approach to using a driveshaft that is too long or too short.
What about Bob Merkt's (sp?) Bob Bleed's dad's car? Or the Purple/pinkish A coupe with moons? Or Bleed's roadster? I need to look up some pics...
This is actually set lower than driving. The radius of the rear tire will be even with the radius of the rear quarter panel and trunk lid. To the exact radius!! This car is a 1929 Willys Whippet 3 window coupe with a 1929ish Chevy 2 door sedan roof shortened 5", chopped 3", and widened 1 1/2" and then filled. What we do to make things work. Actually its a 3 3/4" channel. So if the car scrubs, it will scrub the frame and not the body.
I just said aloud the same thing a second before I saw your post! Seems like a blown opportunity to me. I do like the look of a full fendered channeled car, but it's gotta have something done with the rear fender arches to balance everything else.
YEA x2 dreddybear. Mat the bed on your truck just has a small bead and pickups are very different. Your truck is one bad ass ride and honesty didn't notice the small bead.. What I'm talking about is like that blue sedan with a white top and white wheel wells. That's a bitchen hot rod , except for the rear arch - looks bad from this angle and they look even stupider from the rear especially on a sedan. Not just because its white either. That has a deep inset not just a little bead.. I notice some of the high end 32s have the arch moved . I can tell you that is a lot of work, crazy scratch your head for a long time kind of work. I went round and round with my Vicky rear arches. I would like it lower, but moving the arch on that body is beyond crazy. Also most folks couldn't exactly put their finger on it but didn't like the proportions. With some questions, they didn't like the wheel to window distance. Maybe its just something I'll never understand-
That question nails it ! That's why I hate the one in post 1 and like the ones in posts 2 and 5. Excellent observation.
_____________________________ Thanks for posting the photo. I grew up on the streets of California and don't remember ever seeing a lowboy sit so low. The reason there's a law in CA is nothing can come close to the bottom of the rim. Lowboys ROADSTERS were not seen that much in CA and not as popular as Highboys. Most of the influence came from the LA Roadsters and Bay Area Roadsters Highboys. Also, in the '50's and '60's, hot rodders were being ticketed for every little thing in California. And remember, in California everything was chrome as it is to this day. CALIFORNIA CARS HAVE ALWAYS HAD A DIFFERENT LOOK. " Real hot rods don't have fenders "
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