so..who started the trend of putting unfinished cars in car shows?

Amen.

 

Just think 20 years from now rodders will be cutting the steel spiderwebs out and prying the skulls off of their "public storage find" Hot Rod they just bought for a couple of thousand euros. I'm sure they'll be saying "what the hell were they thinking" right before they drop that hydrogen fuel cell between the frame rails. Times change, trends change, what's cool today is lame tomorrow. Any car that's well built is okay with me. Having a variety of cars at a show is always more interesting than seeing nothing but the same old stuff. I imagine that is why a lot of weathered paint, bare metal cars got so much attention when they first showed up on the Hot Rod scene. It just makes you wonder what the next trend will be. The more things change...

 

Hey, You guys that want to imagine the outcome could save money by skipping the show, and just going to the wrecking yard! (No "thanks" is necessary) ~

 

I'm surprised how many people agree with this guy. I thought for sure this thread would get flamed over and over again..

I've worked hard on my projects, they are always under construction and I don't have the large wads of cash to finish one completely in one sitting.

I really don't like that attitude that just cause someone's car isn't pretty enough then it shouldn't be here. Why should people with unfinished cars not get to participate in the fun? They've put in their time and in a lot of cases have put in a lot more time than the old checkbook hotrodders, so when did everyone become such an elitist?

As far as painting.. Paint is a huge step for most people. mechanical stuff can be done in a garage. It can be done at home. Painting either involves large amounts of cash or lots of equipment that average joe does not have. Not to mention painting is a skilled art, where replacing mechanical stuff is for the most part following instructions.

 

my 60 corvette sat in my shop for 3 tears while i was getting it road worthy, last spring i considered it to be so and tagged her. cruised in it all summer in primer without much interior . most people liked it , but a few of the members of the club that i now used to belong to had negative vibes .but remembering back to last summer and seeing the kids sit in it and really got a kick from it , hell its mine , paid for and i love it so all i can say to people that don`t like it unfinished take 3 more steps and you`ll be at the next car.

 

Isn't this hobby supposed to be about being creative and bucking the system and pouring heart and soul into an inanimate object? I probably won't ever make a living working on cars, and probably won't ever be the greatest fabricator, mechanic, body man, welder.....but for my two cents it shouldn't have to be about that.

I definitely agree that those who take crap out (shotty work or a rolling wreck) should probably not enter the show, but if they do, so what? Maybe they're doing the best they can. Maybe they are proud of it. Mine will probably be laughed at once I take it out, but I'm not going to win awards, I'd be going to hang out with people of like minds. Maybe my work wouldn't warrant me being in the company of "great builders", but if that's their attitude, I probably wouldn't want to hang out with them anyway.

 

I think the more money you have, the more this idiom gets watered down, and those who scream it from the rooftops become an annoyance rather than an encouragement. Elitism (which is a serious illness that many people on this board suffer from) is almost always driven by cash... Thank god creativity is not!

 

I would rather see a car that you label as "unfinished" than a friggin Factory Muscle car that lacks any personality. I can't stand to look at a car and hear someone say "it's numbers matching". WOW! just like all the other ones. Neatto.

With that being said, I still go to shows with my brother and I pretend I'm listening when he's talking about how much a Cuda just like it went for at some high roller auction. Or my other brother who only seems to like cars if everyone else likes them.

My point is this; You don't have to like everything. Pick what you like and deal with the fact that not everyone is as Kool as you are. Lord knows I'm not. I even like RAT RODS. There I said it, to hell with me I guess

 

I like seeing unfinished cars at events if they morph to a better level each year. It's fun to watch the progress. If it's a thoughtless piece of shit that just rots, and doesn't show any signs of life? I prolly don't need to see those. At least try fellas

 

Not really

I like to see cars with character and history, or a theme or purpose. A mint condition stock restored '57 Chevy? Nice, I'll check it out. But a old barn found, slightly weathered and kinda beat up '57 Chevy drag car from the '60s? TOO COOL ...you can see the history and ideas of the person or persons that went into the car for it's soul purpose. A good car has to tell a story.

-Dean[/QUOTE]

These guys got it! If its a well built vehicle it should be seen...at any stage of completion. And who says paint makes a car 'finished'? I've got lots of friends that run primered cars that they say are finished. There is something that can be admired and learned from on every car out there, primer, bare or painted. It seems that narrow minded fuc-sticks are becoming more common on both sides of the primer vs paint fence. Some of the satin jacket wearing, cry-baby lov'n billet guys wouldn't take a second to look at some rough around the edges primer car and the same goes for some of the body pierced, wall papered, psychobilly/rockabilly life style "interpreters" who wouldn't take a peak at some pastel billet rod.....although there is something to be appreciated, not to mention the ideas and workmanship, on every car/bike/vehicle out there regardless of style.

Finished is 'finished' when the owner says it is.....regardless of style. It takes all kinds to make the shows interesting.

I think there is a certain level of freedom from having a car with 'less than show quality' paint or primer on it.

You can get out, walk away and enjoy the show - worry free.
No California Dusters need apply.
Your not constantly ready to dive out off your lawn chair to shoo a kid away that has ice creme fingers and happens to love your car.
Wash and go care....kinda like having a brush cut....it doesn't look good on some folks but on other people its the only thing that really works for them.

The list goes on and on. At some point in your life you get sick of worrying about every little mark on the car. What fun is it to have to worry about every little stone chip, scratch, bug mark and finger print? I've been there done that on the restored car show circuit and it gets old.....at least for me it did.

Me? My '48 is very likely going to be painted in a few weeks. Go figure....I'll try not to worry much about it....drive it sideways, peel the rubber chunks off the fenders once in a while and keep some touch-up paint back at the shop ready.

-Bigchief.

 

Warning Alert !!!! Unpainted rod on the cover of new ROD & Custom . And it's bad ass !

 

You know i thought the same thing once, But i looked through some old car show pictures from the early 60's and there were unfinished cars on display. I dont think it is any thing new. i'll have too see if ican get those pictures and post them on here some how.

 

I see alot of mentioning about pos deathtraps!! Maybe the guy does not have any better skills!! Not everybody can build a top notch car the first time around. maybe instead of breaking the guys balls behind his back, you could talk with him a little and give him some help, then these so called deathtraps might start going away!! and who knows, you might meet a real cool new friend!!

 

Well Put!

 

I guess alot of people drive thier cars while they're working on them? I for one like to see works in progress, the same way I like to look at posts here on The HAMB about car builds, and like to go to open garage nights to see cars that are in the process of being built...

But that's just me.

 

I am surprised too. This thread does blow...and has gone 4 pages!

 

And the good thing about going to the junkyard is if you don't like the car you can kick in the door and nobody will yell at you (as long as the junkyard owner doesn't see you).

 

Unfinished old hot rods at indoor car shows? I started that trend.

 

Well if one does do their history search properly,one will see @ an outdoor show I believe @ a shopping center in Lynwood,CA. that many Ayala,Barris and Valley Customs were in in attendance,most notably an unfinished and "always in progress" Dream Truck with primer on it. If ya go back even further to the Armory shows, They even built a car from the ground up over the course of the show & gave it away on the last day.

Car show promoters are the ones that required paint/finished cars in shows. but real life does not constitute that every one have a finished car in order to be a participant in the world of Rods & Customs.

Jakes tubs was brush painted in the middle of Hi Tech territory in Pleasanton @ the 1st Good Guys West Coast Nationals show @ Pleasanton-where it was awarded the Stroker McGurk award..
The original paint was like a burgundy, didn't look right. P-wood brought up left over Porsche India Red form his 32 roadster build. I weilded a brush somewhere on the frame or cowl. The High Tech guys were appalled and it seems like people bitched about them before during & after.

Robt. Wiliiams drove his primered 32 to All American Burger before Jakes cars was built and Dick Wade had his 32 High Boy done all flatty nostalgia style long before it became the "In Thing"(can see be seen in the latest Hop Up annual) Sueded finished and making a statement where she rolled. Same with Dan Franco's Deuce 3W. Suede is the color that it still wears and its still fine with me.
Point being, to each their own. Cars have a personality as well, some owners just want theirs to different.

 

Well, we found the a-hole who's been ruining it for the rest of us. Tards that walk across roofs, bend up hoods trying to open them when the hinges are froze and kicking in doors on cars they don't like are one of the main reasons many yard owners are keeping the rest of us honest folks from being able to scout out parts in the yards on our own.

Geesh. What a dumb thing to say.....let alone do.

-Bigchief.

 

back in the 60s there were lots of primered cars

























































































back in the 60s there were lots primered cars with glass wax on the windows because of no interiors at Carl Caspers inside shows that just the it was !!!!!!

 

X2! I think this sums it up pretty well. Case closed.

 

the case was closed 2 and a half years ago.

 

Yeah..I think the case was closed for me at post #13

 

I couldn't agree more!!!!!!!!!! Exactly why L.A.Roadsters will NEVER allow UNFINISHED roadsters into Fathers Day show at Pomona!!!!!!!-------Don

 

I don't figure its ever finished, just driveable. If I finish it the wife may throw it out like a t-shirt that has finally got the proper amount of wear on it to be comfortable.

 

Here's one that I took in the late 50's(just painted)
TwoChops

 

....Well.....I guess I like them all......Lot of the local shows have guys that been working on their cars for years...so they show them before the final paint jobs.so next year when they show.people can see the results.......I think most of all....people just like the people at the shows......lot of the time ...the car is second fiddle...

 

Hotrodarama this year a car with no paint won best of show and created the best HAMB thread this year so each to his own!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=499343

 

So does a paint job constitute a finished project. Cuz I have seen the Green Grenade a bunch of times and I think that its finished, perfect, and worthy of all the awards.