I Poop traditional rods! even come out in red oxide sometimes never get the kelsey's right though As i have had it explained to me didnt the first guys building hot rods and goin out to the lakes build their cars to not be "traditional" I mean wasnt having a newer stock car "traditional" thats what thier predecessors did right. so by setting traditional to a set of guidelines arent we loosing the whole spirit I think "period inspired" is a good term
SO....... What you are mainly sayin in this descriptive encyclopedia of traditional hotrodding post is..... That traditional hotrodding IS RESTORING. Sorry..... but that is just about how exciting a picture you're painting here. I see plenty here ,that is not in any sense traditional and I must admit all of it is not turning me away... I like a little variety,myself, and I believe that is what sets a hotrodder apart from a restorer.....
I'm gonna get REAL traditional...I'm gettin' a team O' clydesdales...I'll lash them to my "A".................gettin' me a riding crop....
I'm glad that "tradition" can change. I'm glad that everyone now feels that a SBC is traditional coupes & sedans are now "traditional HOT RO(a)D(ster)S" automatic ******'s, 9" rears, coilovers...etc. i cant wait for the day when i go to every show and see a sea of "traditional" cars like that i cant wait flatheads will be cheap again!!!
I think this is the definition of "mission imposible"......definig traditional. All printed mags etc use the term. It means something in TRJ and another thing in Rolls & Pleats. 1000 definitions a**** us on here aswell. I guess we have to remember that Hot Rodding is always more or less individual. look at each car as an individual. Some fit many definitions, some a few, some none. - Is it made to look like cars from a certain period? - Based on influences from a 5, 10, 15 years period? Witch period? - Prewar - postwar - pre hot rod shows - post first hot rod show - Clones - Semi clones - Survivors kept as they where at a certain date - Survivors modified earier - recently - Survivors still evolving - Always a mix of old , not so old, new influences etc. ............the list can be made endless All of us has our own interpretation of trad. We all know what we like and what we want to build, ....well maybe not all know, but anyways. Opinions are all over. That leads us to put our money down or different parts/prints etc. I agree on some points and dissagree on others from gowjobs statements.... RELATED TO MY OWN INTERPRETATIONS We can't say he's right or wrong. He's just sharing his thoughts. Either you want to read what he thinks or you don't. That goes for every issue/print/statement etc on the matter. Do you want new influences and opinions, or do you feel satisfied with what you have on your mind today. Here on the HAMB Ryan has made a definition and in order to be here we have to live by his. SIMPLE RULE TO FOLLOW. Other places - other definitions The Horse called " This is traditional" and his fellow "what is traditional" is most likely very dead..............hey they may even have made it all the way into the sausage by now. Have a nice weekend guys. Paul
Chevy's not traditional? Blow it out your ***, now go build something worthwhile... Hurry up in there I gotta go....... POO!
Dave makes some excellent points. Those of us who lived through that era were imprinted as to what worked mechanically, was cheaply available, and aesthetically pleasing. By the time I was 19 I knew all the essential elements a hot rod needed from studying all the pictures and reading the captions. Hot Rods are snapshots in time. The Greeks did the same thing in architecture. They took one main theme and continued to refine it. These guys who take potshots at the subject are just a product of a cynical generation who have no thoughts of substance to offer and thereby do a disservice to the sport. Noone will remember them but hot rods will endure.
After reading all of these posts in this thread, and after having been on the receiving end of some "banter" about not being traditional or "in the traditional nature of this forum," I have a few things I'd like to say, and I'll probably piss a few people off in the process - so, I'll apologize in advance. To me, unless you find a specific car set up a certain way - for example: a barnfind '30 Model A Sedan - that was built as a hotrod in the '50s, and you RESTORE it to the former glory and look it attained in the '50s, that, at least to me, is traditional. It is also the same if you find a bone stock '30 A Sedan and RESTORE it to Henry's original design. However, if you IMPROVE upon his design, you've just stepped over into a different territory. The way I see it, "Car Guys" are a unique and interesting bunch. We have our own TRADITION and that is called modification. We are innovative. We build cars, trucks, other creations because we don't like what a traditional car looks like. We change things like wheels, motors, transmissions, intakes, suspensions, add heating and air conditioning, disc brakes, etc. We do this for several reasons, but I believe the bottom line is this: WE CHANGE OUR CARS AND TRUCKS TO BE DIFFERENT FROM EVERYONE ELSE! That being said, I'm of the opinion that my "hotrod" is going to be a driver. Being that it is going to be a driver, it must be comfortable, reliable, look decent, RIDE DECENT, stop well, and be able to do pretty much whatever I ask of it. Do I care what the world's definition of traditional is? Absolutely not - I'm building for me and what I like - not for everyone else. As far back as I can remember, I've seen 4 wheeled creations that I have both loved as well as hated. I can look at just about any car or truck and give you at least one thing I don't like about it. Does that mean I cannot or do not appreciate what the builder/creator did? Absolutely not. I was raised around a 1929 Model A Roadster Pickup, which I'm also beginning a running commentary on its resurrection, by the way. My dad has a 1937 Ford Pickup that he build in a garage in California in the 70s that he ***embled and painted a piece at a time. My first car was a 1941 Ford Super Deluxe Coupe I bought when I was 12. Each one is different and unique. Do they follow someone's definition as to how they are built or set up? Not a chance. Yanno, this entire senario almost smacks of a discriminatory nature. Kind of a "vehicular racism," if you will. Step back and look at it from this perspective and maybe some of you will agree with me. But that is okay with me. I'll be with my non-traditional friends enjoying what I built.
I have noticed that there a number of individuals around that seem to look down on those who don't have to scrounge the boneyards to build a hot rod. I have built a mess of cars that I called junkyard dogs. All were safe reliable vehicles that worked well. They also were nice looking cars. A number of years ago, my Mom p***ed and left me a sum of money. I used the cash to build a new car. It's a 33, 3 window fibergl*** coupe powered by a ZZ4 Chevrolet with a Muncie 4 speed and a 9" Ford. It has A/C and disc brakes. It also has a tube front axle and wire wheels and radial tires. If I want to take the coupe on a trip, I just check the oil and coolant, look at the tires and head out. The point is, if anyone of us came into enough money to build EXACTLY what we wanted to, we would all do it.
O.K.,,,I think I am probably part of a "cynical generation"....??? or maybe just a cynic?! I don't know...but, I know my jibes and jabs at the issue, are really just undermine its seriousness...to add levity, and keep people from getting VERY angry...over how someone builds a car...that THEY own...Hot-Rods forever....build em' your way...I'll build em' mine...
yeah, but it's pointless and will probably get you labeled as "a little off your rocker" by the locals.
Not true for me. I like hunting down parts and digging into the history behind the cars and the era, the thrill of the hunt. Where are the adventures and stories if you build your car from a catalogue? sounds too easy to me. If money was no object I would buy a P-51 mustang and fly it to work. The more money I have the more expensive and rare my tastes would be.
Like the guy above, for me, the thrill is in the hunt. Pickins are pretty slim in the yards in my area. Finding a rare old NOS part on an auction site or online is half of the thrill. The other half is putting that part on the car yourself. My wife thought I was crazy when her dad and I went out to the yards during my vacation. She couldn't understand why I would fly 3200 miles to WA state and then spend a whole day in a few boneyards. Found a few cool pieces out there and shipped em back east. Some people just don't get it and they never will. That's why I like coming to this site.
Dave, I'm going to buck the trend and give a serious response to your thread. To me, "traditional" cars come from the period when hot rods were first in vogue. That ended somewhere in the late-50's and early-60's. If you want reference, check out Don Montgomery, Hot Rod, Hop Up, etc. When the roadster clubs started up again in California in the later 60's, the cars they built were not traditional hot rods. In my mind, they were the first street rods, as they were already nostalgic and definitely not cutting edge. Muncies, TH350's, and mag wheels come from this era, so I have to disagree with you on those. But this is just my opinion. There are those out there that think traditional hot rods have to be pre-war. Anyway, Don Haring Jr. is friggin hilarious. Ed
Larry, this one's for you, man................. http://i.flowgo.com/greetings/madeapoop/madeapoop.swf
[FONT="]The one thing that has drawn me to "old" hotrods is the creativity to produce something that states my own expressions. Why would I need someone else to strictly define that for me? It strangely feels like the at***ude of a restorer over a hot rodder. The “tradition” in hot rodding is making old cars look cool and go like hell. If you feel it necessary to limit my use of the word traditional based on your own criteria, I would suggest that you form your own organization that enjoys such limited boundaries.[/FONT]
I agree with this... it is kinda similar to the Elite-ist restorer at***ude... Doesn't "hot rod" mean to Alter...? anyone can restore a car...it takes a real man ta' cut one up! o.k., all you serious folks out there...fire at will...
I guess I didn't clearly express what I meant. If you have the money to go for a Motor City Flathead as opposed to a good used flathead, you would probably do it, if that was what you wanted. If you had the coin to be able to p*** on a body that is rusted badly in favor of a much nicer body, wouldn't you do it ? We are often caused to choose by our financial concerns.
Use the word any way you like. I was just trying to point out that in it's proper use, a "traditional" rod would be one constrained to the way they have been built for a generation or more. I'm building a fenderless VW bug right now fer chrissakes. You think I give a **** about traditional? My tact was to play devil's advocate and try to show that not only is the word "traditional" being mis-applied, but that it doesn't have anything to do with the innovative world of building fast cars out of old iron.
What came first, the hot rod or the egg?.....Or is there a chicken shoved up somebody's ***?!?! We get it. You can use a dictionary. Did something break on your car?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...............zzzzzzzzzz ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Z.z.z.z.z.z.z.z.zz..z.zzzzzzzzz
Or you were just trying to start some sh*t? Now lets all get to the damn garage and cut some old iron. F*ck! Close this damn thread already.
I call my cars what the hell I want to...... MINE ! Labels are for canned goods. Traditional, Rat rods, Hot rods, Streetrods, Patina, Kemp and on and on. Does it really matter? I hate myself for reading this ****.
The Jalopy Journal
