How about an early Billet appreciation thread...

The fit a finish of Kolmos' tub is absolutely perfect.

 

^^^^ That is Lil John’s Willys, correct?

 

yeah I still recall this era as a little kid along with all the pastel and pro street stuff at the same time. I never was really into it then and still not now. At the tail end of this era and more when Billey Specialties and Dakota Digital dashes were the hit thing (late 90s/early 00's) my grandpa worked at a hot rod parts shop and I helped pack alot of that stuff on the weekends when he would be in their by himself. So much billet stuff.....

 

Although I have serious traditional leanings, I have always loved the cars Lil’ John built. Especially the white 29’ roadster, and his personal 32’ coupe.

There are things I like in just about every genre of automotive life. Life is too short to do the “I only like this, and this only” stuff.

 

Lil John was a fabricator of race cars and funny cars and moved into rods, IIRC. His stuff was extreme craftsmanship. I have no issue with the cars he built. Boyd started out at home, but built an empire on a fad.
My opinion is that it all got a bad name when it went from custom one-off hand-fitted to m*** produced poorly fitting chunks. It brought custom parts to the m***es, but it overpowered the senses and parts were often slapped on without even removing the sticker on the back. It screamed I've got money but morphed into cheap 'n easy. A deadly combo in any product.
Digital gauges (and watches)
underglow
J C Whitney

 

Love the Nova but hate the wheels.

 

I could live with the wheels, but those side mirrors gotta go.

 

Honestly, with just a few minor tweaks this looks like a modern build. That first black and gold version is killer!

 

When I saw the first billet stuff I was fascinated; then I saw what it cost! Arrrgh!

So, I bought a mill and a lathe. I'm nowhere as good with them as other folks but I'm having a great time making chips.

 

I grew up in the heyday of billet street rods , pastel paint , tweed and any and every conceivable modern necessity and advancement being thrown at old cars .

I think the “ High water mark” was the Quadraduece.

drive by wire awd hydroformed frame etc etc etc a combination of everything new and shiny from pretty much every automaker on the planet at the time .
Was it a hot rod or a modern off the shelf modern car ?

some / most “ Billet rods” would need not much more then a wheel change and remove some aluminum “ filigree” to be a pretty traditionally inspired rod .

the over the top building frenzy of the 90’s and early ‘00’s I think is what killed these types of builds for the average guy the one up man ship the crazy budgets etc and gave life to the rat rod movement and put new wind in the sales of the traditional aspect of hot rodding .

 

Ring Brothers, Rad Rides, and Kindig (a**** others) are still cranking out cars, so I don't think the market is dead. Just different cars for the most part.

 

I had a bad cold this week so I was stuck on the couch and found this... really cool build pics of a lot of old Billet builds. Can't believe I watched the whole thing! Cool shots of Cadzilla build too. EDIT: Due to some weird setting it can only be watched on YouTube. Sorry.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMcI1e5sT8k

 

In the '80s/early '90s there was still some sense of hope, some idea that new automotive tech was going to turn up something useful to the creative hot rodder. The '80s gave us the last of that, ever: to my mind stiff-sidewall radial tyres, AWD, and the waste gate. It's no longer the case. I tend to take 1995 as the year everything finally came crashing down. Was it really half my life ago?!

We often hear adding any later tech to any earlier car being called "pure hot rodding" as if it were not possible to argue cogently that automotive development before 1995 was objectively radically different from that since. Today, an old car is a way to escape the latest tech. Even performance numbers, e.t.'s, 0-60s, etc., have ceased to have meaning. Up to a point the numbers could be expected to track the sacrifices you made to tame the beast. Today the beast is already tame, no matter what numbers you pile on. It has become pointless.

Or, softly radius the square edges of the billet bits, sandblast, and seal: depending on the component.

 

I like traditional stuff as much as the next guy,but I LOVE style,and above all quality workmanship and Boyd and Lil John were unsurp***ed.To see one of there cars in person, one can-spend hours looking at the details and workmanship!