Art & Inspiration Listen to the Motor or the Music?

No heat, no tunes, no time…

 

But, can he pull off Freebird...........the thirteen minute version!

 

That could be a song
Dan

 

I usually listen to the engine rather than the music. Mostly to listen for things going wrong as I'm driving.

 

I'm not sure about Neil Diamond, but Danny Joe Brown with Molly Hatchet did a great job on it.

 

I have Flowmaster 10 series on my OT daily driver (5.7 V8) with true dual exh exiting on the PS. Swear to God it sounds NASCAR like. I will actually turn down the stereo to listen to it when I mash it. lol!

 

Isn’t the engine the music?

 

That right there is the best answer for

This thread:
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/definitely-a-car-guy-when-you-_.1340245/page-3

 

Stock 56 radio converted to am, fm, blue tooth, etc: I like my Sirius radio..oldies, surf instrumentals, blues, Willy Nelson, Elvis, and some comedy if needed. There’s alway NECKCAR too. I pride my engine skills on NOT hearing the engine running especially at idle and cruising. I’ve had my share of loud cars and racing engines plus BB’s with electric cutouts are just an irritant now. Too each his own

 

I hate to admit it but cruising down Beach Blvd. in my '23T listening to the Littlefield blower whine was a bunch better than any song on the radio.
Retired to Arizona where we sing Sweat gets in your eyes.

 

Sorry only tunes I have is the sweet sounds of the Yblock and the big block FE!

 

I like the engine sounds too.

 

Good question, the older I get the less I listen to music anyway. I have a daily with 5k in audio equipment that I just don’t listen to. I’m building a 30 Tudor now, no audio system at all.

 

My wife didn't nickname me Rickybop for nothin'.
I like engine and music both.
There's a time and place for everything.

 

I was just gonna say both too. Always have vintage jams Goin, but lake pipes so when the foot is in it, I hear the car.

So hot rod=tunes
Wood boat=no

Wood boat, engine sounds only.... Hot rod, bring the tunes

 

I have 3 cars that are stripped of anything that adds weight and all 3 have rowdy engines with LOUD exhaust.
I love the sound of the high horsepower engines, I'm a motorhead, but my current project is going to be a little tamer and will have luxuries like wipers, a heater and a radio, more of a cruiser than racer.

 

How about both

 

Hello,

I went from a very cool sounding 348 motor in the 58 Impala to the small sound of a stock flathead motor during my teens. We all liked music, but the time spend in the flathead powered 40 Ford Sedan Delivery made us listen to the motor to figure out when to shift on those long uphill climbs on our surf trips up and down the coast.
The steepest grades were the Torrey Pines cliff climb going South and from our coastal adventures in the Santa Barbara region, coming home was "iffy." We knew the freeway heading into Los Angeles was faster, but, that long climb from the Camarillo Region toward Los Angeles was such a long, steep climb heading East, that it was not worth it to try it with the stock flathead powered sedan delivery.

The motor was always running well, and when we got moved over to the slow lane, we had to know when to downshift to keep going uphill. 3rd to 2nd to 1st should not be a normal thing on any car, but loaded with a weeks worth of food, ice, surfboards, sleeping bags and food, plus several surfers was enough weight to slow things down. So, the motor sound told us when to shift.

If we could afford a nice radio set up with rear speakers, that would have been great, but that cost was two weeks worth of gas, food, and camping for our surfing road trips. Besides, with the teenagers inside all anxious to surf, who has time to listen to music when the gabbing goes on during the cruise up or down the coast?

Jnaki

On the other hand, the powerful 348 motor did not have any problems with any grades and was a great driver up the highway to the top of the local mountain areas of Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead every year, while in high school. The annual Christmas Vacation gathering of the teenagers was a Long Beach tradition.

The 348 modified motor was always the true test. Despite the radio in the dash, the shifting between the gears and then the C&O stick hydro set up made one want to listen to the motor and when to shift if necessary. The stick shift portion was evident. But the C&O had options. The drive gear was the most used selection. One could listen to the motor as the transmission shifted itself as we flew down the street. No need for a tachometer, it was all sound and in “D” for the start and finish a few seconds later.

Jnaki

If we used the selector gears, that was an option, but with 4:11 or 4:56 Positraction gears, it was mostly in drive. The sound of the motor in the manual gears told us when to shift, if we went that way. There was too much to do at the start or down the road to worry about shift points or rpms on the small tach. It was easier and faster to concentrating on the yellow/green light, the elbow of the starter and get out in front.

Plus, with the C&O in first gear manually, it was so fast and tight that a shift was imminent almost within a second. So, it was less wear and tear to just leave it in “D” and get on with the start.

Note:

When we built this motor, there was no time to listen to anything else. It was all extremely loud, motor sounds to tell us when to shift. YRMV

 

Each time I read through this thread, this pops into my brain: Isn’t the motor the music?

 

The only music I have in my Hot Rods is the sound of the engine, the whine of the quick change, and the rumble of the exhaust. Except when in our Nomad, with the grandkids in the rear seat. Then I crank up the tunes!

 

If I can't jam to Steppenwolf's Magic Carpet Ride, life's not worth living...

 

For a few days after I got my flathead started, I would just listen to it running via my phone connected to my car stereo system. Sounds real good through a set of speakers. Haha!

https://youtube.com/shorts/F-BkIh1ZcGo?si=7Sa5EL8rQEyFhmgv

 

If you can’t hear the stereo over the engine you need a bigger more powerful stereo! If you can hear the stereo over the engine you need a louder exhaust or bigger engine!
Dan

 

No tunes for me in the hot rod, I need to be able to hear when parts fall of while going down the road, or when someone is honking their horn to let me know that parts fell off… or if I’m on fire