Hot Rods Traditional hot rod w/modern equipment

Okay, so as I see it a truly traditional hot rod has truly traditional parts.

Recently the hod rod gods have been smiling on me and before I knew what happened - I had a full blown project on my hands.

I know that a lot of you are going to hate me after this story but I don't care - I am going to tell it anyway.

For the sake of being as terse as possible I will ask my question. After that I will run through the story a bit more.

My current dilemma is that I have a musclecar-ish rear end (GM 12 bolt) that is fresh and ready to go, and it mates perfectly to the rest of my running gear.

The problem? you ask....well my project is a 34 Ford PU. I want this thing to have an outwardly traditional style - I DON'T want a ****ing "rat rod" (puke) - but let's not argue over that kind of thing here , dead horse and blah blah blah....

So how can I get away with - (or can I get away with) using a early 60's SBC and it's accompanying transmission with a more modern rear end. The engine is built...WELL built. So I need the shifter and the rear end to be able to stand up to it's power. My brother built this engine and he used a recipe that, if cooked up just right will yield more than 425 HP without much difficulty. This, not only from my brother's mouth, but backed up by parts lists and the usually reliable "Desktop Dyno" program he is always using.

(please give your opinions on the above - I'd like to hear what you think or how you may have handled this problem yourself)

Thank you - now for more details.....

 

I'd decide on a era that you want to try and replicate. Then decide if your building a street car or a street strip, and go from there. No one will question the twelve bolt if you do decide to run it on the track from time to time.

 

If the rearend is what you need use it. **** what everyone else thinks. You could always find a finned or chrome cover for it. We all can't afford quick changes. If you want to keep it "traditional". You might want to look into running some 36 rear radius rods with a buggy spring or maybe even parallel leaves which won't require any radius rods.

I ran parallel leaves on my 40 Ford coupe I'm working on with a 67 Nova 10 Bolt. I wouldn't exactly call it a traditional car buy its not a street rod by any means. I would like to think late 60s early 70s style. The only modern comforts it will have is power brakes with front disc.

 

Uhhh, you worry too much. Sounds like a cool project.

 

Well if you think it will bug you to have that one piece that just doesn't quite fit, then sell the 12-bolt and get a 57-64 Pontiac/Olds rear. Should be plenty strong enough with a 9.3" ring gear and posis can be found.

 

Use what you got and the money you have. tell me if a hot rodder in the 50's had a 12 bolt they wouldn't use it

 

cars are what i do for a living just find magazine that floats your boat find something that is what looks cool to ya and follow along those lines (((DON"T COPY IT MAKE IT YOUR OWN))) AND PISS OFF TO EVERYONE ELSES OPINIONS , Magic p.s. the rear end doesn't matter i have 12 bolt under my toy 1933 and a 1968 327 corvette engine,,, oh it also has a 4sp if ya have automatic run it ,who cares the main thing is to get it on the streets and live the dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just sell the 12 bolt and buy a 9" or an early olds/pont rear. Problem solved!

 

Go for it. Build it the way you want for the reasons you want. If you are really worried, keep in mind that the finishing details (paint, chrome, wires, accessories, wheels, tires, interiors and the rest) do a heck of a lot more to determine a cars overall appearance as opposed to how many bolts circle your rear end cover.

 

I am sort of eating crow as it is - because I have stated a hundred times on these pages how much I dislike SBC hot rods. Then - to make it worse, I am also going to go with an automatic ******. Top it all off with a newer rear end an it starts to sound like I should have bought a Camaro (no offense - my brother has two, I owned one and dad has had several).


Here's what has transpired over the course of the past few years.

First of all - I was helping my dad work on cars while "in between jobs". He was also "in between jobs" as it were and we were doing body/paint work out of his garage. He had every intention of paying me but could never afford to and I certainly didn't try to force the issue. I was getting off on the knowledge and experience of it all. One of the reasons why he could never pay me was because of the way other folks would "pay" him. "I'll give you this newly built transmission if you help me hang the doors on this and align the front clip". etc. etc. etc.

One of the favor-payments was a 1934 truck cab. After the summer was over and I found a new job - dad kind of told me I could have the truck cab. I graciously accepted the sentiment, but I never really considered that I could ever gather enough parts to actually make something of it. So it sat for a few years, hiding in the back of dad's garage.

for pics see my album: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=2257

Dad is a parts scrounge too so he always has solid axles and old steering shafts and that sort of thing hiding out back there as well.

Now I spent the next few years just treading water as well as helping my brother get back on his feet after his divorce -and , ohh yeah being "in between jobs" himself (no ****ing joke here - we made a car club that summer, you had to be fired to get in, LOL). Basically I let him have my family car while I paid it off and payed insurance and whatever.

Fast Forward to earlier this February - my brother falls *** backwards into about 1500# of rectangle tubing. Big stuff. The running price on this kind of tubing is about 15 to 19 bucks a foot. We got all of it - absolutely free....

That kicked off my project. My brother says - "Hey we could mock up a frame with that tubing and put the PU cab on it. I will give you a SBC that I just had rebuilt". He threw in a transmission and a rear end and dad is giving me one of his front axles and some other odds and ends from an old 48 Ford project that has long since gone down the road....

So here I sit - smiling - knowing that the hot rod gods are finally tipping their hats to me after years of sacrifice.
Literally - I gave up my 50 Buick to go back to college.
I gave up my 74 GTO because I was hard up and the price was right.
I gave up my Harley to put in a down payment on a house.
I put art on the back burner because who has time for that when you have two new kids crawling all over you at all times.

No longer....

34 Truck cab = free
frame rails = free
SBC = free
transmission = free
rear end = free
front axle and steering = free


I think this is a hot rod that even I can afford....

But all joking aside - if any of this had cost me money at any point, I might not have been able to start a project at all. Times have been tough in the Broman house and to put a cherry on top I am a cheap *** *******, so I would have just sat on it....hoping that the clouds would clear.

Well since I now have some wiggle room, and the free stuff has piled up. It's time for me to plan out this damn thing. My big plan is to do this with as much traditional flavor as possible, so let's hear your ideas guys....how can a guy with no budget save for a few hundred dollars and a lot of pent up hot rodding ambition create a traditional rod without making a rat rod - all the while using stuff that is, well too new! How would you do it? What details are important? I want to achieve the right look. I don't want it to look like a mid 90's stock car threw up on an old hot rod.

No gimmicks. No decals. No cob webbed gussets. No gull-wing doors. No flame throwers. Just a purpose built hot rod truck....

The closest thing I can think of is a Zero Engineering bike, or an Indian Larry creation. Maybe a dozen or more HAMBers have made cars like it too, not to be an elitist or anything, but only the best and most talented folks on this board have nailed it the way that I want to nail it. I am hoping to get some kind of decent feedback on this topic because I am going to be mating cab to rails in the very immediate future.

Thanks,

~Broman

 

Do a late 60's show rod with polished everything, wild paint, nerf bars, torque tube lake headers (or maybe some wild 8 pipe headers with fishtail tips ala the Avenger coupe), etc...with the right dress up parts and some creativity the SBC, automatic and 12 bolt won't really stick out that bad...traditional rods are awesome, but sometimes cir***stances arise that blur the lines of traditional vs. practical...the fact that it concerns you about using those parts only means you'll be that much more creative in making those un-traditional parts blend in with your build better...good luck with your build man, and I'm glad the hot rod gods are blessing you with your windfall...

 

Use what you have Damion. Gotta get it on the road whatever way you can these days

 

Perfectly stated.

 

O/k, so the restorers look down upon us rodders as being barbarous *****s. And the traditional hot rodders look down on the street rodders as being untraditional and having no taste or style. The street rodders look down on the rat rodders as being vermin not even worth mentioning. But who cares ? Build your ride however you want. If it is heaps of fun to build, and gives real enjoyment to drive, that is all that matters. And if it is going to be both fast AND safe, modern mechanical widgets are going to work a lot better and be a lot more reliable than seventy year old tired iron.

 

If its safe(r) and functional, use what you got and drive the $h!t out of it!

 

I agree. Traditional hot rods back in the day were built from what people could get their hands on that worked. Sounds like what you're doing, so that's as traditional as it gets. Gather parts. Build truck. Drive truck. Have fun.

 

you have all the parts and you're asking what to do...........


GET OUT IN THE GARAGE AND BUILD A HOT ROD

 

X2 Run it there are a lot worse "infractions" you could be using that would detract from a "traditional" style build.

Frank

 

Just build the fricken truck.

 

Nobody gets me...sniff....

LOL.


I was fishing for ideas here. Like details to be sure to nail - or things to avoid completely. I don't know. I think I am just worried that what I see in my head will not come out the right way when I build it and I'll have a hot rod that looks like a dirt track modified (which BTW is not what I want, lol).


I guess I kind of know what I want, I just thought someone might offer some confirmation or direction or something....


~Broman

 

I would trade the rearend for a mid 50's rear like the other guys suggested. If you run a hood the sbc won't be an big deal, the truck will look traditional if that's what you're going for. Who are you building your truck for anyway, you or the m***es? This is about hot rods, not popularity or a bunch of b.s. rules of compliance! Drive the wheels off that truck brother!

 

If the 12 bolt is out of an early Camaro or Nova it'll easily fetch a grand. If your good at scrounging, you could probably come up with an early 9" with spare cash to boot.

 

two words: belly pan

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I Agree.

Who cares. Life is too short to worry about what others think.

I'm sure it's gunna be very cool and when I see it, I'll be the first one to tell 'ya!!

Good luck...

 

I don't think the rear end is a big issue either way. How you dress up the SBC, now thats another matter. I'd go traditional valve cover with the oil filler in the intake, hidden or no PCValve, appropriate headers, etc.......

Take some pics so we can see. Have some fun.

 

I find it interesting that you even felt that you had to seek validation from HAMBer's. I've been doing this for 50 plus years and always looking for a better part or technique. Too many of the "traditional" cars here are nothing but a paint by numbers project that still miss the mark.

It's your car, do it your way!

 

mmmmmm....crow. Incorporate that somehow. Like some crow bones on a dinner plate graphic on the tailgate. Then you can eat your crow and drive it too.

 

iTS your truck,your vision and if you copy what everybody eles does you"re not building it,you"re yust putting it together,build it your way,if you don"t like it change it.The main thing is ,build it,enjoy it and with all the free stuff you owe a few people a ride in it.the rear you have will stand up to the power,so build,build,build!!!!!!!

 

I did not see any year build posted you are going for, you did say you have an early 60's SBC... So unless you have older heads/adpters for early covers that is as old as it could look. I would decide how important appearance is to you and either make everything match a mid 60's build or sell the rear end. If you didn't care it wouln't be an issue but it sounds like you do... I could generally careless what the next guy thinks but for me it has to make sense for the goal era or there is no point to any "traditional" build.

 

Build it, sell it... buy the parts you want to build the next one how you want it.