With today's excesses in high dollar cars, flawless paint jobs, and sometimes tasteless ac***ulations of priceless, unobtainable pieces, what really gets your attention? I find myself glancing a "bling" cars but there are so many these days that I find myself really drawn to certain cars and paying little or no attention to most. Typically I don't look at red SBC hiboys or even Pines Winterfronted, Duvall windshielded, Ardun powered cars. I can spend hours though looking at pics of say "Myke's" 3w or the "Golden Sub". What stops you and draws you in for a long look?
For me chrome and billet are the iceing not the cake, Radical body modifications, or an unusual choice of machine or power plant will still spin my head. I like to be able to see over the roof, not into things which sit way up in the air, four inches is plenty of ground clearance, I also like to see a gap between the front axle and the front of the motor, when you see the car in profile, I like daylight to be visable between the front of the motor/rad and the rear most part of the front rubber. I know it's out of fashion but I still like to see larger rolling diameter rears, and small narrow fronts, it's very 'Dave Deal's' but then a Hot Rod to me has to be almost a cartoon thing, the oversized mill spilling out of the hole where a much small unit once resided ( I have even thought about a 5/8's sized body, just big enough to stuff an adult and a kid in, so the motor looks stupidly big ). Anyway that is where it's at for me rather than as you say the big buck stuff.
This may sounds odd, but I like to see excellent engineering. I pay particular attention to types of fasteners, plumbing, wiring, etc. Being more into drag racers than customs, I also like to look at ways people are reducing weight as well.
Whar he said, and home built innovation, the use of odd powertrain components from race cars and orphans.
hello Thunderace, I totally agree with you on the design aspects you talk about. Is there any fave color that will grab your attention? I like a rich blue or candy apple red, myself.
No real favourate colour, not that keen on black, or green, Red will knock 'em dead, was a mantra. Ford do an electric current red in a pearl which I have used on a couple of things, Daytona Yellow is quite fun, my Subaru Trike is daytona yellow, GM do a Carabic Blue which works well as a two tone with ether the ford Red, or ford royal velvet (purple!). Candy over sparkily base with a couple of coats of lacquer. Not that into over the top art, but not into single colour paint jobs, I like the way many are doing flames that look like the car is on fire, Old style flames are out. When Linzi Mumford packed in she dropped me a couple of boxes of paint tins, there is stuff in there that changes colour depending on the light and all kinds of strange effects, I have yet to get brave enough to try any of it on a whole vehicle !
Ok, this one might be hard to put into words. I have gone to literally hundreds of rodding events over the years. I quit going a number of years ago. After walking around for hours and checking out various rods and customs I'd go back and sit with my buddies and just watch the rods cruising through the fairgrounds. Then one would come by and I would just shout out HOT ROD! And the owner would give me a knowing smile. The total package of the car, just screamed HOT ROD. It wasn't the blower, if it had one, nor the zoomies or headers, or color, or lack of color. It wasn't whether it was a coupe or a roadster, though they usually dominated over sedans but, it was the total package of; engine, sound (rumble), stance, general at***ude of the car, tire/wheel combo. It just said, Hot Rod. Nothing else could describe it. There could be upward of 12000 cars at a National event yet only a handful or two could grab me that way. The rest were street rods, roadsters, coupes, sedans, pick ups. Many of them dynamic looking rods, but they didn't grab me, shake me and bake me with those two words that said it all.
Another comment, that pretty much agrees in concept w/ the rest: Good workmanship (much better when the guy says "i did it MYSELF" Novel selection of components. The feel that the guy built it is just crazy-for-cars, & THIS is what tickles HIM. A racy feel is best!
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