Technical HAMB-appropriate parts that aren't popular nowadays

As far as notable hotrods from the period, I can only think of Dave Diaz 29 Roadster Pu, that ran wide 5's. However,they are right at home on a race inspired vehicle, such as a Track Roadster.

 

SIDE BED PIPES ON TRUCKS


Hello,

When we were growing up in Long Beach, CA we used to see plenty of modified trucks. It might be that trucks are/were working vehicles and the nearby industrial tracts/harbor facilities had plenty of jobs that required the usage of trucks. But for those that had some interest in custom trucks, those side exhaust pipes that ran from the floorboard to the end of the bed were very cool.

But, over the years, it was hard enough to load the pickup bed without having to worry about touching the hot exhaust pipe just below you reaching into the bed. So, after a few burns, perhaps the pipes bit the dust.

I remember the other version of the exhaust pipes coming out of the running board area and stopping just a little over the top of the cab. The look was taken from all of those diesel trucks that we continually heard and saw going back and forth to the Terminal Island/Long Beach/LA Harbor docks to transport the goods and wares. Those did not last long, either.


Jnaki

It might have been that our neighborhood was a working person’s housing tract. Trucks were not just show pieces, (One 1956 Ford Truck was a full custom w/o bed pipes) but daily drivers for transporting something in the back of the pickup bed area. Those shiny pipes did attract some attention where ever the truck(s) were parked. Just don’t get near the pipes.

The side pipes that ran along the pickup bed looked nice, but were a little impractical for everyday stop and delivery, or general use of the bed.

 

I don't like hearing my engines popping corn at high RPM electronic will keep firing plugs longer. I did use points in my early Hemi to trigger a Chrysler electronic box.

 

Dingle balls!

 

Thanks...@ROLLEIFLEX

Hello
As much as I searched everywhere, I knew there were other photos of pickup bed side pipes that we used to see on the streets and at the drags. Thank you, @Rolleiflex for showing a nice, mild custom, pickup truck used as a pit base, parts delivery truck and business/shop truck.

Jnaki

Check out those custom hubcaps... But, the side pipes, as much as being different, did have some situations (like accidental burns, etc) that made the side up exhaust pipes eventually go away.

 

Very cool picture Jnaki

 

Hello 61,

As much as it is nice to see such a cool old drag racing photograph, it was not me that found it or even photographed it. The cool truck with the side pipe photo was posted by our HAMB friend, @Rolleiflex, in one of his great posts. It was in the thread about the unusual air scoop of the coupe sitting in the back of the photo.

Since people had already seen the photo, I posted it on this thread as an example of those custom side pipes on trucks that we used to see in So Cal. Those truck side bed pipes disappeared after, I am sure, several unfortunate accidents or mishaps to people who just happened to walk by the truck and touched the hot pipe(s).

Jnaki

Thanks, again for thinking I found that example, but it just fit into the class of "HAMB appropriate parts that aren't popular, nowadays..." give credit to @Rolleiflex for the original post.

 

They're pretty tough on a head liner, too.

 

Denny Forsberg 1937 Chevy truck


Hello,

As a reference point of missing photos discovered in further research, for the Fourth of July.

The red, red/white and blue...

The two custom exhaust pipe systems that seem perfect for pickup trucks that drifted away from inclusion in later builds. Probably due to injuries inflicted on passerbys or owners walking by the exposed pipes. Although the pickup bed pipes are somewhat hidden next to the bed rails, they still present a “hot” problem.

But, one would think the design similar to the big diesel trucks with two vertical pipes would also be popular, but the same reason could be the answer for them disappearing from the custom scene. No one could use the short step to look in or get in the pickup bed., when the two hot pipes are right in front of the person.

Jnaki

There are still some great examples of custom trucks that still have them as designed in the early 50s.

But, are few and far between...YRMV

 

My buddy crafted a nice set of stacks up the cab rear of his stepside. One day a young gas jockey asked, while grabbing one them "Are these real?" he got smart quick.

Before headers were something you could find in a catalog the best a young guy could do was to make or buy a simple dump tube and cap to exit near the cowl area.

Perhaps a later time than our period was the short lived magic of reverb units.

 

I have a Model A roadster project that I am using the Model AA truck chassis rails for. With a 6" rail I thought the extra strength made sense. Poor man's deuce

Cheers Turns

 

How about the bobbin head dog. I remember this one riding in the rear deck of my grandparents 300 horse 327 Impala back in 64.

 

Roll Bars

 

Continental kits

 

hood scoops on custom cars



chrome tape on the roof


I did both of these on my Mopar. But so far, my little trend revival hasn't caught on.

 

Most of you apparently don't pay attention. Damn near EVERYTHING mentioned in the last 7 pages of this thread is fairly common to this day.

 

Perhaps common, but not popular.

 

having been on my top a couple times I think of roll bars as timeless..

 

In our circles it is. But the fad chasing street rodders never got a clue.....

 

different strokes for different folks, I say
Thank goodness we're ALL different

 

Still popular with a segment here,...sad to say.

 

Hello,

Well, I was remembering the many ways to listen to music in our old cars. AM radio was the big thing and it was ok, if you liked the endless bantering of the disc jockey. Sitting around in various places listening to the sounds coming out of the car speaker(s) was a cool thing to do. The half-time intermission at the drive-in theaters, called for music to be played while waiting for the second feature to show up on the screen.

So, borrowing a record player to see the fit and finish in our early sedans was the thing to do. They were not cheap. So, it had to fit. And… not skip while driving. Despite what the advertisements mentioned about not skipping…because of the latest sprung technology, we knew that was a pin point knowledge that is most obvious. A stationary parked car would have the best chance to not skip the 45 record being played. Unless an errant leg or shoe bumped the mechanism.

As much as the coolness of the 45 record player was concerned the best idea came from our use of reel to reel tape players that were in our home hi-fi systems and at schools. They were about the same size as the record players, but how can you skip a tape being played unless you hit a giant hole?

We even had a reel to reel tape player that fit behind the seat on the foot well of the rear passenger area. That was very secure, but lost a passenger seat in the placement. Our neighborhood piano teacher had the most interesting thing that also disappeared within several years.

A wire recording/playing device about the same size as a reel to reel tape player/recorder. Except for this reel that was smaller and held a thin metal wire. As the thin wire went through the recording device similar to the tape recorder, the end result was sounds or voices recorded on an actual wire.

This definitely had some good ideas about car placement and usage. but as kids, we played with the wire recorder and made tons of voice recordings or conversations with the girls that were waiting their turn for the piano lessons. In our excitement of discovering a new form of recording, someone dropped a wire recorded reel on the floor and it rolled across the room.

Now, trying to use the wire recorder to rewind the thin wire was disastrous and even hand winding did not make the layers smooth. (similar to uniform rewinding fishing line on custom reels) So, the wire bent and stopped the playback or made the recording worse. When the wire was tightly wound as normal, the recording was outstanding. We even recorded an AM Radio program music and it sounded great.

Jnaki

So, later, that wire recorder was a choice that we could have used in our hot rods and custom sedans. But, no one sold pre-recorded wire music. It would have been up to us to make a long playlist and record music onto the wire from our home record player.

The wire recorder disappeared as did the car record players. There was no way to not have the record, not skip on any road surface. As good as it was when the car was stopped and the usage of our old 45 records, it was just not convenient for daily car usage. We wanted music when we drove with a minimal amount of distractions.

 

Tonneau covers over back seats. I'm pretty sure Falfa's "wicked '55" had one.

 

Which drives me crazy. You nailed the sentiment. People do things that were "popular" but at the same token, there were hot rodders and customizers trying new ideas in every era.

If anyone of you like or want to try something that fits the era (but isn't currently "popular"), by God be bold and do it - especially if you love it.

I can't/won't/refuse to keep up with what traditionally popular practice is now popular or unpopular... that makes my head spin. Why would we?

 

Preach it my brutha.....

 

Pat Ganahl's @pgan recent recent column about tarps/tonneau covers:
TALKIN’ TARPS – Pat Ganahl's Rod and Custom
...reminded me of another car that had one: Falfa's wicked black '55.

"In American Graffiti, the bucket seats were replaced with a bench seat, the fiberglass doors and plexiglass windows were replaced with stock steel doors and rollup windows, the roll bar was still in place, the headliner was still white, and the rear seat area was covered with a white "tonneau" cover from the top of the bench seat to the package tray. The original old-style Covico three-spoke steering wheel is clearly visible, too."
(ref: The 1955 Chevy - Unofficial American Graffiti Homepage (weebly.com))

THANK YOU, PAT!

I believe the color pics might be a tribute car. The b&w are real.

 

Since this thread is back, I been thinkin' bout something that perhaps not appropriate but certianly not popular today.
J. C. Whitney had supplied this to a fella named Jackie. His fifty six Fairlane sported a regular looking chrome tailpipe tip that under the car (out of sight) included a side piece exiting into a flex tubing pipe. This was stretched behind the bumper and ran to a second identical chrome tip, to be mounted to match. Instant duals !! !!

 

I miss all of the stuff that was in those J.C. Whitney catalogs !

 

Bongo drums! Usually on the back seat or up on the package tray.