I make catch some shit for this but if I never ask then I will never know. I'm a younger guy from Mass and I have never really heard this term before coming to this board. What is your definition of a "traditional" hot rod. Is it the age of the vehicle, the model or how you build it? I'm going to have to plead ignorance on this one.
or maybe just hang around and mostly just read for a few months before jumping in. you trying to catch up with javier or something? join this month and already have 73 posts?? what is with you new guys....
very hot topic on here bro..alot of bitchin about it too!! but traditonal is aobut buildin cars that you use parts from boneyards, buddys,and the like to build..like they did in the good ole days!!imho....i get tired of folks comin down on folks for certain thing guys use...but hell, thats the stuff most have avilable for them....if your lucky [or real lucky] period correct cars are exactly that, there built with the parts avaible from that era...most cant afford that type of build!!! and age does matter..ita all about the pre 65 cars....no muscle cars stuff!!!theres plenty of boards for those!...this is just an opioin and im sure theres a bunch more. but this will get you on the right path anyway!!! its about the brotherhood that happens when ya build a hot rod or custom with help from friends!!!!!thats the best part for me!!! todd
It means hotrods built in the styles of and using the same looking parts as they were in the '40's, '50's, or sometimes '60's. To some it means strictly using old parts and to other's it means only looking like the old parts. It's building cars "the way they used to do it back in the day" (Whatever "back in the day " means) rather than all the smoothed off high tech, big wheel rubberband tire hot today and gone tomorrow (hopefully) trendy gimicks used on "modern" streetrods. It doesn't necessarily mean black primer and red wheels, and those things alone added to a contemporary style car definitely don't make it "traditional". It takes research of the history of the eras to decide what era's style to build and then sticking to it.
and therein lies the problem today in pretty much all walks of life. nobody listens anymore, or in the case of the hamb, reads. everyone just has to put their little bit into everything instead of having patience and just enjoying a good informational intake. slow down, give others and yourself a chance to take something in. fuck
I have been reading and taking it all in. I already learned a lot from searching through old threads and I've tried to help some guys out with their question. Not trying to start a shit storm here.
Look at the top of the page. Click on JalopyJournal.com. Read every single editorial. When you're done, you should have a pretty good understanding.
Amen. The term never bothered me much until recently, just another label. I wouldn't call my car a rat, but I figure most guys using it don't know a hot rod from a hoe cake. I've met a few local guys recently though who are constantly trying to one-up each other by trying to see how shitty they can make their cars look. Burlap and barbed wire ain't what they used 'back in the day'. Their cars look like they crashed into the halloween aisle at Walmart, and rubber rats are their crybaby dolls.
Wow I actually can agree with a skidmark. Damn its too early for this stuff. But reall though Harkins, if you really wanted to be a part of the Traditional "thing" why didnt you take the time to figure this out before posting 75 times on a Traditional board, in like 17 days? Just mellow out, its not a contest to see how many posts you can get racked up. Its just about building and enjoying.
Trad rods/customs are all about RESEARCH.....go READ (HAMB, HOP UP, Rodder's Journal)....if something doesn't make sense to ya, THEN post your ????. .... Please do not reply..........
If you'd like to know about the history of hot rodding specific to New England, check out the book "Cool Cars Square Rollbars". Not sure where you can get it but I bet it's sold online by somebody. Also start collecting and reading old hot rod magazines from the 1940s-60s. I think there are two basic mindsets on this topic. One is a traditional WAY of doing things (making and/or scrounging parts, swap meet finds, junkyards, working with what you have, etc.) and the other is a traditional LOOK of things (creating a car in specific period style). They often overlap but not always.
I think there are two basic mindsets on this topic. One is a traditional WAY of doing things (making and/or scrounging parts, swap meet finds, junkyards, working with what you have, etc.) and the other is a traditional LOOK of things (creating a car in specific period style). They often overlap but not always.[/quote] This is the way I tend to see it. I love the traditionally styled builds, they are works of art. The closest thing to a time machine we have. But these builds are very involved, expensive, and require so much time and patience. I truly admire these builders. To search for years to find that rare part that makes your car unique and then spending the required mountain of cash to get it, is something I just can't do right now. I really wish I could though. I, on the other hand, have always loved the idea of building a car from what you had. Not just anything though. The first rat rods I saw seemed to follow this, but now i see that they were at the overlap point and not in the middle. They didn't have giant plasma cut skulls and iron crosses all over them. They weren't flat black and lime green. Just old hot rods that weren't polished and plated. I now see the difference. I now hate when my friends refer to my project as a "rat rod". But i am still using parts that I have laying around. i am using a Ford 9" because I have a pile of them I wish it was the accepted '57 housing or a quick change or some other traditional part, but those are too expensive. I am using some creativity and some old parts to build a hot rod. Something I have dreamed about as long as I can remember. It will be shiny. It will not have neon green wheels. It will not have a SBC and auto trans that I got for free. The parts are all traditional, but the truck will not be. It will be as traditionally styled as I can afford, but not historically correct. i just like the idea of building a hot rod with parts you find or have and not just buy. I think entry into this hobby/way of life shouldn't require a 7 figure income. Insisting that only people with the means to build an Ardun or a Henry steel Deuce are acceptable does nothing but put us up there with the Boydster guys. I don't mean to cause a big fuss, but I think a lot of folks don't realize that it comes across that way. I just hate that "you gotta pay to play" mentality. That's all, I'll shut up now and finish my sandwich.
This is one aspect of the hobby I hate. I remember starting out and asking guys all kinds of questions about their cars to gain knowledge and I would get flamed for not knowing. Give the new guys a break and take time to answer their questions no matter how silly. I think this how the ricer set was born, from kids tired of being treated like shit for wanting to learn. Yeah he should read more, but that shouldn't stop him from asking questions he would like answers to from the guys that know best.
There are some really good books out there that can lead you in the direction of learning about traditional hot rods... Don Montgomery's books will give you insight into what stuff really looked like... but there are many more.... Like Dean Batchelors book, The American Hot Rod and also books by Andy Southard Hot Rods in the 50's and Hot Rods in the 60's... Mike Bishop's -How to build a traditional Ford Hot Rod book is a great reference too. Old Hot Rod Magazines on e-bay are also a great reference... try buying some from different eras... and then you can pin point an era you like. Good luck, Sam.
Bro Breeder pretty much hit it. basically a traditional hot rod or custom is built in the style and manner that it was or would have been built prior to the muscle car era. That said and its probably something that should have be adressed in a different post altogether there is accepted trad and some very uncommon things done in specific periods. For instance often refered to but seldom copied in its entirety is the doan spencer roadster. A period/trad rod to the bone. But it had things done to it that were not common at the time and have never become common to this day.
I don't know the exact meanings of most of the labels assigned here and other boards. My only advice is " BUILD WHAT YOU LIKE !!!,Don't build your car for what everyone else says it should be. If you are happy with it ,it doesn't matter if it fits the label perfectly, or not."
You will learn more about "Traditional Hot Rods" right here on the H.A.M.B. than in any book or magazine in the world...Keep reading, learning and asking questions(after doing a search first), even if somebody gets cranky with you. It's happened to me more than once!
Brother Flash usually gets it right. His magazine has a feel and writers who love the craft. Get a copy and see for yourself. I was once too young to know, and only later learned of an uncle who built Caddy powered rails in the fifties. He's in the book Square Rollbars and Cool Cars, named Dave Sanderson. Definately get yourself over to the Tyrod show in the fall, in Bolton, Ma.
I wasn't looking to build my truck as a traditional I was just curious as to what it meant. Pitman, do you have a link or any more info on that show in Bolton? That's another reason I came here, to find some car shows and swap meets around my area.
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