I was sitting in the garage last night, having a Beer, I reached up on the shelf and grabbed an old Photo Album, wiped the dust off of it and started paging through it. I joined the MSRA in 1976, back then, St. Paul, Mn. was one of the host cities to the NSRA Nationals. The event was held at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds, same place the Back To The Fifties is held every year. At the time I had a '38 Ford Deluxe Tudor (working on it ) and was driving a '57 Chev 210 tudor hardtop. Nasty little 301 with Mondello Heads, Isky cam, Holley Carb, 4 speed, fun car to drive. Anyway, we get through the gate and find a place to park and start setting up, ya know, digging out the old Aluminum Folding Lawn chairs, sitting the Cooler in the right spot under a shade tree. That done, I get to work on the bugs and dust that we've picked up on our drive down from Alexandria. I'm scrubbing away and I hear this noise coming down the street, I turned around to see this car rolling a Beer can with it's front axel! Now that ******* is LOW I said to myself, I giggled alittle and went back to work. While I was cleaning my car I couldn't help thinking about the ground clearance between that axel and the road surface. It wouldn't take much of a pot hole to tear that whole front end off of that car, say at 60 mph or so!! That was in 1977, I wonder if that car is still around??
Funny deal, you made my day. We don't need no stinking scrub line. Logic never takes precedence over cool.
The ride height on this car may have something to do with the 5 drunk dudes on the running boards and in the trunk...and maybe a couple more inside...cool as hell, that´s how to party, hahahaha
my wife's '50 Chevy pick up has won a Road Kill Express award - no bags - when time to leave that show it left some drag marks in driveway
The lowest car I ever saw was at a GG show in Indy. The guy had a package of Lucky Strikes on the ground with the top of the package touching the bottom of the axle. I think it was a '32 lowboy.
That photo you posted is awesome but it's pushing it with the apron not the axle, I'd say all the guys have something to do with that.
I had a really low '65 Coupe DeVille. We'd all pile in it (6-8 people) and cruise it. Damn it was low.
My old Pontiac was 3 and 5/8ths at the front fender. Would bang the crossmember on I-80 in the "rough" lane. No bags or hydraulics
If those cars were based on Long Island there would be no way you could drive them. Even if you could, there would be no way of getting them off Long Island. The Cross Bronx Expressway, the Belt Parkway and the Staten Island Expressway would eat them alive. Suspension parts would be ****tered all over the roadway. Looking cool is one thing but drivability is another.
Hello, We have owned lowered sedans and other vehicles way back then. My brother’s 51 Olds sedan was lowered and for long distance cruising, was slightly uncomfortable, but very cool for me, at the time. 1957-58 Later on in 1960, My best friend had a lowered 57 Chevy Bel Air hardtop with a 283/4 speed. We kept lowering it until it s****ed the ground and was illegal by local police standards. By then, we got some new springs and cut out what was necessary for the “Look” driving around. This was a lowered California Rake. But, by itself, it was low and mean looking. With several guys/girls inside, it was much lower and uncomfortable riding around. Drive-in movies? Definitely the smooth back row for sure. Those deep bumps just did not work well. So, when you have to go sideways up your own driveway to get into the backyard, it is too low. With two people in the car and you have to stop traffic to go over a speed bump of dip in the road, it is also, too low. Sure, it looks cool and wild being so low, but driving the hot rod is a big part of the equation and hindrances make it uncomfortable for everyone. The modern idea of air ride for level driving has its positives and HAMB negatives. The idea of early hydraulics on custom cars was to be able to drive it anywhere and then drop it to the ground to keep the “bad guys” away. When the event or dinner was over, up go the hydraulics and off you go onto the highways. That was the early custom car version. Jnaki Lowered cars are very cool, but have their limitations, despite the at***ude while driving around. Nothing can be lower than the lowest part of the rim… Excerpts from previous posts: Hello, I had the pleasure of riding in this T Bucket back in those days. It was my first. Jack Stewart's open 32 roadster drive was eye opening. But, this "open" T Bucket was out there with little to nothing between you, the street, and other cars. It was a little scary and thrilling at the same time. Being so low to the ground with just about “nothing” surrounding you makes you feel like you are on a fast set of roller skates, but with a lot more power. Fred Castro was a member of the Prowlers Hot Rod club since 1962. He held the member number 70. He was the first member to hold a lifetime membership to the Prowlers. Being introduced to T Buckets with a fast ride was definitely fun. After the roadster was sold to another fellow Prowler, it has made many more events and runs. Jnaki A “lowered car” POSTED Mon. Sept 3, 2018 Hello, On the way home from our son's place, today, we saw black smoke ahead of us. In Mission Viejo, off to the side of the road, was a fire truck and EMT vehicle. But, on the other side of those vehicles, was a very cool looking 55 Chevy sedan, green and white, lowered to the ground, that was on fire. All of the stuff from inside was on the sidewalk and the definite black smoke from rubber/wires/oil was rising in the air. The whole Chevy was very low to the ground, the trunk was up and the smoke/flames were coming up from that area of the car. The hood was down, so nothing was wrong up there. It looked as if the gas tank exploded and caught the whole rear section, from the rear doors, back to the trunk, on fire. It was a sad sight to see such a cool car on fire. We hope the people were OK and were able to get outside. Because it was on the curb, traffic was allowed to move by the ghastly scene. No one could stop as ***istance was already happening. Jnaki Speculation here: Having seen several lowered cars on fire in the trunk area over the years, it certainly looked like the warning from the CHP was in play. But, it could be the old story of a lowered car being too low when a flat or something s****ped the ground, sending sparks and the resulting fire. The law says no lower than the rim and there is a reason for that law. Stuff happens to everyone...
The Jalopy Journal
