Is every old car fair game for cuttin' up?

A recent post from one of the top rod builder's shop showed an amazing '32 build, yet caused me to have surprising reaction. His posted pics showed that they started the project by blowing apart what looked like a museum quality full restoration '32 roadster, keeping only the body and parting out the rest. It set wrong with me and I replied so. It was not an attack on him personally or any particular shop. But I wonder what you guys (an gals) think about this.

I love real rod rods and been in the hobby for near 40 years so I understand the whole "real men cut'em up" line. I have cut up a few nice complete cars too. But a few I blew apart and modified never had the same "feel" again. If you've been doing this for more than a few months, you know that "feel" of a car that has been purring along "seating-in" for half a century - they're magic you can't reproduce for any amount of money. I wished after some of my builds that I had let them be what they were and p***ed them on to someone who wanted a nice stocker.

Ain't it funny how we all blubber on this site over some "barn find" hot rod saying to NEVER change anything on it! But a fine old stock truck or car that somehow managed to survive for 60 years is fair game for cuttin' up.

I just believe that this hobby should be a net gain deal. Destroying the value (not just money) of a beautifully restored or more important, a faithfully preserved compete (and rare) car is going backwards, just to come forward.

Just one man's opinion.

 

Who saw the Boyd "Rat Rod" build where he abused that pristine T Coupe? Made me squirm.

 

there are plenty of cars in museums so cut em up nice or not
do what you can afford

 

Pro builder = profit motivated = nothing sacred

 

I'm poor, so I have to cut up cars that are on the verge of being junk, some of them are junk. At least once in my life I'd like to take something perfect, like a showroom condition old car, and cut it up bad. I know a lot of people hated Jesse James when he cut up that mint car on Monster Garage (I forget what it was, a Willy's, or Austin Healy maybe)to make it a g***er, then crushed it in the end, but I honestly thought that was cool as ****.

 

We can't cut them all up.... RIGHT? We need to save a few so the guys in the future will know what we started with.

 

The 35-36 5W coupe the Boydster used to make that 35-36 Roadster was a restored piece as well. They did some serious exterior cosmetic roughing up to make it appear to be a barn find or field car but the couple of shots showing the interior and dash flashing through the fuzzy windows show the truth.
I think they caught hell from viewers and so have taken to junking up the project cars for visual effect before showing them.

 

Yeah, real cool...tool.

 

As far as that goes, I have always believed that a person should get the very best body and sheet metal possible in their budget range or luck range even if it meant taking a restored vehicle apart to do it. The restorers still have their precious frames and drivetrains which most rodders will replace anyhow so wht's wrong with that?
Oh yeah, there is also that thing about it being the owners choice about what happens to the owners car, restoration, rodding, or sitting next to the house and rotting down to nothing.

 

While my current car started very humbly, high level builds still involve significant investment. If you're paying somebody to build it, almost always cheaper to start nice thru selling original parts and not paying a pro to fix it all before the modifying begins.

It's one thing if there's no cost penalty to starting rough. It's a whole nother thing when saving an already-restored car is $10k out of your pocket all-said-and-done.

Don't get me wrong, even I get the heebie-jeebies thinking about cutting up an original 32. But have also molested "rare" late models too, so sorta understand where those gold-chainers are coming from. Sure hope nobody quotes that.

 

Some things should be saved for posterity. You can build a nice hot rod out of a Tupperware car, but you can't make a 95 point restoration out of one. And if you're going to fill the roof and cowl vent and build a highboy you might as well start with a pretty rough car. I don't mean a total piece of ****, but if you can't see the value of a nice stocker as well as a hot rod, I don't think much of you as a car guy. Boyd modified every panel on the Cadzilla. He didn't need to use the perfect '49 Caddy that he wrecked for Billy F. Gibbons. That build cost both of them my respect. Not that they'd care, but it broke my heart to see that car treated that way.

 

I may not like it, but if your names on the ***le...it's yours to do with. Probably guys over on the 30K paint & billet forum that hate what we are doing on the traditional front.

Autoslim
64 comet

 

Whether or not your name's on the ***le, if you make a rat rod out of a Duesenberg, I reserve the right to call you an ***hole.

 

There are alwyas examples of big money nuttiness, take that Airflow that was a very cherry piece and a 2door (the rarest of the Airflow bodies since they built no convertibles) to boot, which was modified so much that the only stock part left was the grille and headlamp ***embly panel. Why in heck couldn't the wizard car guy who built it just gotten a grille and headlamp panel someplace and built the car around that, we ask?
Goes back to age-old question, what was that Maretta(sp?) guy thinking when he built that unbelieveable piece of garbage out of a 40 Mercury Convertible Sedan?

 

Agreed.

See I always thought hotrodding was about refining **** or s****, and making it fast. (Paint included, I hate rust)

I always thought custom was making a rusty or crusty, a fast and smooth riding show stopper.

It is 40, 50 or 60+ years gone since the used car of yesterday was plentiful.

 

I tell the restorers almost everyday how much I appreciate them taking good care of our future rods.
rust free cars are much easier to well than rust buckets. any rod builder out there will tell you if you spend an extra 10 grand for a mint car you'' probably save that and another 10 in repairs building a rod.

 

I find that if you are trying to purchace an old car from someone for the purpose of rodding it,...never let let them know what your intentions are. Just get it home and do it,...many people think its a sin....Damn "all original" freaks.

 

The only stuff I don´t like to see cut up are the real survivor type cars, something with original paint, or still with the first motor in it after 70 years. I couldn´t be hacking into something like that.

I can see a lot more worth in rescuing a junk car and turning it into something incredible.

That said, I can see why the professional guys want to start with the best car they can.

 

I've got mixed feelings on this. I've cut up some pretty rare motorcycles, but not a Concours 32.
It kinda makes me smile to take something that's considered junk and making it funtional again.
I wasn't real happy when Monster Garage cut up a pristine Anglia and then crushed it when it didn't do what they wanted it too (I don't think it was the cars fault). I guess it's all about the ratings.
Larry T

 

I recently purchased a stock 31 5window. I've had a hotrodded 5 window in the past, but now I dont know what to do with the stocker. I think Im just gonna hop up the 4 banger and juice brake it. maybe a drop axel... is that wrong? it'l still look stock...

 

cut them all up!

 

Id rather bring back something that is almost beyond it, increase the numbers and not ruin a perfect car. You want new 32 steel, buy a Brookville body.
Jessy James is a ****ER.

 

Isnt that how it all started?? Looks like we have come full circle...

I had similar ideas recently

 

Ha ha ha! Talk about RECENTLY! We were at the Anti-Donut this very morning and there was a little A coupe with '35 wires, juice brakes, pressure oil system, and a down draft carb for sale. All it needed was a dropped axle and, IMO, it'd be good to go. It had enough restorer geegaws to recoop the price of the axle when you sold them to a restorer. Sweet car. You should have bought it, right on the spot, Cruzr.

 

What kills me is that I can buy a nice, stock, complete, running Model A coupe for 5-6K, but a crusty body with with no decklid will cost me $1500-2K and a ****load of hours to clean it up.

Unless it's super rare or something with historical significance, I say fire up the sawzall!

Bryan

 

well guy's here's my story. Friday 8/3/ 07 I purchased a unrestored 31 Ford P/U . while getting it loaded on the trailer,I found out I was the 4th owner. The guy I got it from has had it for 26 years he was 13 when he got it. It was going to be a father / son project, but shortly after his dad p***ed away. As far as they got was a motor rebuild.I t's been stored inside all it's life and came with a lot of extra partsand pieces. For now I've decided to go the restoration route, maybe later 'll make some changes but nothing that can't be undone. I'm still working on my hot rod project,27 Ford modifyed lakes car. ..........Jack

 

you said it man

 

Thanks, guys for keeping this thread O/T.

Chili Phil and James D make good points too.
Jimmy2bottle - I don't mean to say not to rod a nice old car with some period bolt-ons. I'm just sayin' don't turn them into a pile of parts for just a clean body.

 

"Anyone can re-store a car, It takes a real man to cut it up".....

Unless it is rare, (less that 5 left in the world). Build what you want.

 

We have this piece of **** of a '29 Franklin I'd love to make a rat rod roadster out of - using just the cowl, grille, and some of the body tin - just to bring to shows to watch people squirm. Then I could show them the pictures of the abandoned pile of **** it started out as. The original frame is rotted into two big pieces, the motor got flooded and then frozen that way; there's a few useable parts on it but the same car restored can be had for around $20,000 - you'd spend six times that to restore this one.