What reasons made you choose to build YOUR ride ??

I know for me it was the clean lines of a chopped 3W coupe, esp with the hood on, coupled with the suicide doors that made me go this way. Ive also always wanted to build a blown flathead powered ride. So I married the two.....

Im really interested in knowing why other Hambers chose to build a certain type of ride, Be it T, A , Deuce, 33,34, fat fendered, 50's or Kustom.

Some considerations that pop into my head are body style design elements, cost, availibilty, skills and abilities, tools, knowledge, history, comfort level etc....

So what are YOUR reasons guys ??

Rat

 

Larry Ernst's Barris built Chevy HT. 2nd version. When I saw that car in a magazine back in the late 50's I swore that someday I would build a similar car. Took me 50 years but I finally did it.

B B

 

54 Chevys and 26-27 T tourings have always been 2 cars on my "list" I just happened to find both!

WHen I got the touring off a ranch up here, it was about 5 years ago and it seemed everyone was cutting them up into modifieds. I see no reason to s**** a good touring so I kept the back on mine.

 

I wanted to build something that no one has really seen in 50 years, and doesnt serve the purpose of what the average person thinks a hot rod is for. Thats why Im building my 'A roadster as a late '40s dry lakes rod.
-Dean

 

the choice of subject matter was a knee jerk reaction resulting from want of something totally *****in to drive coupled with a strong desire to create rolling art using fire and metal and my own two hands.

Paul

 

I saw a red T-tub in one of the beach party movies when I was 13 and I was hooked. Always wanted one since. Started to build mine as a side project in 1980. Finished it last summer. Took me 24 years to build as a second string project. Realized my dream from when I was 13 at age 55. Felt real good. I don't even have to drive the car, I just love the way it looks. I don't think there is another car that does that for me and I have had tons. Pat.

 

how could NOT love something this big & longggg(bout 22ft).
always wanted a panel-suburban or delievery & when i found this one i knew i had to have it.....joe

 

I'm one of those people that can't leave well enough alone,,sooo,,,,I have to change it to make it mine! or screw it up trying!

Vision today of what ya want is different next week,,,,, which could be the reason a lot of us enjoy the buildin' as much as the drivin'. HRP

 

I was happy building drag cars and beatin' the **** out of them, them Rocky transfered over here and drags the peek-em-up-truck to work . It was cool ,crude ,rude and *****in' all at the same time.
He got me lurking on the H.A.M.B. and when I looked at the Modifieds I got wood. I think it is the front axle sticking out and the short back reminds me of drag cars.
So a Model A baskets cases were purchased and we are hard at it.
I'll never forgive Rocky for what he done to me!!!

 

At the Street Rod Nats in '76 I think, saw the Laumeyer brothers chopped and channeled Model A, "Misscarraige".The car is to this day unchanged and is as built in 1957. They drive it every year to the Back to the Fifties and have never missed one. That car and my Dad and his car buddies impressed me to build and drive the cars I have today.

joeycarpunk

 

Promise not to laugh...(haha) I don't know if any of you remember the "Elvira" movie back in 1987(?)...but her car blew my mind! I'm pretty sure hers' was a 1958 Tbird & was a Barris custom...at the time, I had no clue who Barris even was.

When I started looking for an older car to restore MANY years later...the ONLY one stuck in my head was a Squarebird. I am going the "creepy" route...although while the Elvira car was more "spiderwebby" I am more partial to bats...hence a custom dash that will require me to wear a Kevlar (sp?) vest while driving. haha

I also wanted my car to have major cajones...rather than be a cruiser, which is why I've spent so much time on the engine. So I guess you could say...Elvira is my hero...HAHAHAHA

 

Elvira rules

she influenced my desire too

 

I was walking Hershey when I spotted this on a trailer. It dawned on me that I could build a car just like they did in the fifties. Everything was there except a motor. It looked just like what a kid could drag home from the junk yard for 50 bucks back then.

Nobody I knew was into the old time hot rods. Everybody wanted A/C and cruise control. I was building a 47 Woody wagon with a tuned port chevy and Mustang front end...the usual ****.

This car grabbed me. I walked away, came back after a few more rows. The owner knew I had looked it over real well and said "oh by the way the price is firm". I walked away again.

The more I thought about it the more I knew I couldn't p*** up an opportunity like this. How many chances do you get in life to buy a never rusted rare model 32 Ford coupe? I didn't have the money. I borrowed the money.(cheap 1994 prices) I did what I had to do. I've never regretted it.

A long story but that is how I came to build an old time hot rod 32 Ford sport coupe before it became an IN thing.

 

I've been into all kinds of cars and trucks over the years, even went thru that honda drag racing thing in the mid 90s, 92 to 97, and didn't like where I saw it going, fart can exhausts and stupid looking shopping cart wings. So I wanted to build a car that you cant hear the fart cans or see the wings when your racing them cause you'll be in front of them. I've always liked old school and traditional hot rods, but never could afford one with my resources. Now its more expensive to build a VW Bus then it is to build a 31 coupe the way I want, and the coupe is faster and funner. They're still outlaw, thats what I like about rods and customs, with a few exceptions (Boyds and the like). Dont get me wrong, what ever floats your boat, but I'm not into that. Mine will be built by me, for me, The way I want it.

 

A former friend of mine had the car in his driveway. The retard was talking about chopping the roof off a 4 door. (He likes to lower & chop to undriveability - I DRIVE my car) I had to save the car. After I fixed all the things he said were solid, I've just kinda winged it. Example: I started out trying to lay scallops, couldn't get 'em right, so I did flames & it looks good. That's just one example.
Also, my dad's first car was a '57 Ford (mine's a '56 - yes, I know they're two very different cars). Although we see a little differently, his car looked DAMNED cool.

 

I fell in love with the Lil' Coffin at the '64-'65 Worlds Fair in NYC. I always wanted to build a sedan, like that, with a floating roof and hardtop style windows. Later I built an Ala Kart "double" kit using the roadster body included and the Kart's top, fenders, interior and front end. A few years later, a couple of months after getting my drivers license I found a '30 roadster body dumped under a railroad overp***. It was just a shell and all the panels were welded together. I held on to it and finally built it about 7 years later. Kind of like the old "run what you brung" dragtrack saying - I built what I had!
I would still like to build that sedan!

 

I'm a gearhead from way back. I was exposed to hot rods and race cars at an early age in the '50's. I've been into race car-looking street cars since the early sixties. I'm also kinda twisted. When everyone else was digging tri-five Chevies, I was building a 390-motivated '56 Victoria 2dr ht. I found my new project, a '56 Plymouth 2dr post, and immediately radiused the wheelwells and strted figuring out the best way to stuff a 440 in it for a daily driver. It's going to be g***er-inspired, but probably in some twisted fashion.

 

Great story Tommy, you done good.

Everything I've ever built was on a whim and the timing was right. There was never a plan, it was just plain fortune.

The '54 Chevy was found whilst driving through a bad neighborhood, it was cheap, I was depressed, I needed the diversion.
The '34 Ford body came via a friend who thought I would probably build it.
The bike was a basket case found in the local newspaper.

There was no plan, just influences.

 

Dollars and sense... I don't have much of either.

I doubt anyone "dreams" of a 4 door shoebox, but it's what I could afford at the time, and there sure as hell ain't much to choose from around here if you're on a budget. I look at it like a good way to learn and have a good time, and it's still cooler than 98% of the vehicles in town.

Still got no money, so I'm stuck with it unless Chris Ito will take it in an even trade for his '34.

 

I grew up in socsal Downey, Belflower, I saw all the low riders and my dads hot rods his nomad (stollen by those same lowriders)his old roadster I still dont know what it was because we dont talk but I can still picture it in the garage. Not to mention many others. Hell my uncle had em my step dad had three modal A's that my mom made him sell were still angry at her for that one. Its breed in me as soon as I could afford one I got it and a shop manual and went to town. Where I got the love for Buicks and Olds is beyond me I guess Im just cl***ier than most people. LOL

 

I sorta "grew up" around the NSRA poster boys, so I had a real "street rod" mentality when I got out of school. I knew I wanted something a little different, and I knew there were some cool cars made after 1948. I saw a 49 Olds in Rod Action, and later discovered the Fastbacks of the same model. I couldn't find one of them anywhere close to what I could afford at the time, but then I just happened across a 52 Chevy in an old man's back yard. He said it wasn't for sale, but I made him an offer anyway. To my surprise, he bit! Next thing I know is I am rounding up a car dolly to drag the thing home.

Kinda backwards, but I got the car first, then grew to love 49-54 Chevys. If I ever get this car "done", I would probably build another 49-54 Chevy... I'd just hafta switch to a hardtop or fleetline on the next round.

But I also need to build a full-fendered, chopped 30-31 A coupe before I die...

 

I've built different cars for different reasons over the years...some good, some bad...but I had (or THOUGHT I had!) a good reason for doing each one!

Today is no different...I built the 49 (nearly done) mainly to see if I still COULD tackle such a vast project. After years of living fast and careless, I found myself with a battered, broken body that seemed too far gone to heal...so the 49 provided a sort of physical therapy as it progressed from dormant rustbucket to nearly roadworthy beater. There were times I over-did it while working alone long hours on the car, and I'd crawl back into the house to try to mend for the next session. It's been a journey of highs and lows, and pleasure and pain...but it's been incredible...and very rewarding!

With the Chevy almost done, I gave lots of thought as to what I wanted to do next, and I decided that I'd do something completely off the deep end...as far as the what, why and for who are involved!

I settled on a bare bones T project because I think everyone needs to do one to get it out of their system...and because I wanted to do a NICE car (simple, but NICE!) from scratch. Modifying an existing old car, especially a rusty one, turns into a series of compromises and roadblocks...you end up trying to cobble something together while working around the original design limitations and battling the ravages of time...I need a break from that sort of thing for a while!

The wheels are in motion, and I've ***embled a small collection of needed parts for the T project already...a hot rod that will (hopefully!) serve as a showcase of my abilities and ideas, and will...at the same time...represent a tangible token of my long lasting affection for someone I've admired since I was a kid! Sappy and stupid, so some will no doubt say, but it'll make ME happy to do my finest work and present it to someone who's put a *****le in my eye for so many years...and that's all that matters!

So, when I find myself outside in ****ing inhumanely cold temperatures cleaning snow off of rows of used cars and wondering why the **** I'm doing it for scarcely minumum wage...I'm comforted by that long burning fire inside that keeps me going and makes me smile (at least inside!) when things are at their worst. Taking such bleak moments and focusing on the images behind my eyes as I work makes it all worth while...and when, at long last, the T is done and has racked up some miles locally, it will be headed off to a warm and sunny place to hopefully put a smile on someone else's face...as a "thank you", and also as the realization of a long time dream.

Hell, you GOT to have a REASON for what you do...and silly as it may all sound, I can sum up the reason for my latest undertaking by saying, in truth, that it is a labor of love!

(My physical being ain't the only thing heavily damaged by the long, hard miles I put on it...my heart's been down a rough and rocky road as well, to the point where all that's left of love is the child-like basic innocence of a puupy love crush...but that's enough...that's MORE than enough for me!)

 

Holy ****!! How do I follow that? I've always wanted a bare-bones, balls-out hot rod. But what sealed the deal for me was toolin' around iat Goodguys Indy in 2002 in my buddies Flatty powered T. I came home and started collecting parts. Now my liflong want has been realized. But what really started my hotrod affection was a little 3 window coupe called Eliminator. Then, in the late '80's, came the baddest of the bad Cads, CadZZilla. Billy Gibbons? ZZ Top? Are they responsible? A little.
BTW, I have two cats....KatZZilla and Eliminator!

 

When I was a kid, I was into anything that moved. Trains, motorcycle, planes, cars, bikes, go-carts, etc... My dad always had an interest in "old timey cars" but he is more of a "Collectible Automibile" fella. We would go to local car shows at the dealers in the area and me and pop would ooh and ahh over the different cars. Some I really thought were cool, some I really thought were ugly. When I was 10, we went to an orphan car show, and I fell in love with the stepdown Hudson cars. I thought they were the cleanest, smoothest, nicest stock car ever made. I knew then that I would own one someday.

My older brother collected Hot Rod and Car Craft in the 80's and really liked "muscle cars", I did too, but again it was the off brands that really turned my crank. I purchased my 1st car from a guy across the street when I was 14. It was a 69 S/C Rambler. I got it for 50.00 cause it was banged up, had no drivetrain, and lots of rust. I built the car on what little money I made working at bicycle shops in the DC area. Got 2 speeding tickets in my neighborhood before I was 16. Sold the car 2 weeks before I turned 16 for a tidy profit.

Once I moved to Michigan when I was 17, one of the first things I did was visit Miller Motors in Ypsilanti. It is the only remaining Hudson dealer in the States. That lit a fire under my *** for the Hudson, and I began looking for the right car. Again, I was in school, and had no money, but I located my 49 Brougham out of Hemmings in Missouri. Drove out there with a friend and a trailer over spring break one year and bought the car. It is still a work in progress, and it is nowhere near done, but I still have that fire under my *** 10 years later....

 

Hot Chicks! ............ I did it for the ladies ..... and it worked..... I got me a HOT one

 

I had all of this junk laying around after building a '41 Ford Tudor and collecting '27 body parts and '35 wire wheels and an extra flathead with a few swapmeet speed parts. Three years ago I decided to build the junk into a lakes style roadster. Now, it's a runing, driving, licensed, tagged, ***led, and inspected, traditional, primered rod. When I get a camera cord or a new camera, I'll try to post some pics. Not too proficient with this computer thing yet but I'm getting better. I call it the "Magic Box". Like some sort of a pet. Heres a pic of my other pet. (courtesy www.thepigsite.com)

pigpen (It's a joke.)

 

Okay, I'll bite. Rocky influenced me from birth. In the mid 60s when shoebox Chevys were the thing (when weren't they?), he brought home a '57 Pontiac (I thought it was ugly) and said "watch this!"...He opened my mind to the possibilities with that car, and I've loved orphans ever since. I guess we're all influenced the most by childhood stuff. I ended up with a couple '57 Ponchos, and did several cars trying to capture look of the Modified Production drag cars that also influenced me.
The car I'm known for (the Morris) was built as a joke ("Hey Scotty, why don't you drop a v8 in your driver? Ha ha ha!"). I just wanted a cartoon car to get burgers in, then got carried away with it...
My current project (the Anglia) is to live out my dream of having a real race car, and probably to show that my skills have improved since the last car...
Someday I hope to build my dream car: my own version of Lil Boris' "Jersey Suede" '34 3-window...
So my influences have come from all the usual places - but not just one place...
Interesting topic - it's fun reading about what lit the fire for you guys...

 

[ QUOTE ]
the choice of subject matter was a knee jerk reaction resulting from want of something totally *****in to drive coupled with a strong desire to create rolling art using fire and metal and my own two hands.



[/ QUOTE ]

60's Style hit the nail on the head with that statement..

The question "why" get's a little deeper for me ..so i'll give just a touch more regarding myself..

I love car's..have since i was a little kid. I alway's dreamed about having cool car's like the one's in the movies.. ie: American Grafitti..Hollywood Night's etc..

Anyway, i NEVER had enough money to buy one done, and never had enough to pay to have one done..
so i started doing what my dad tought me long ago..
If you want something bad enough, you work hard for it..

What started as a want for me has become a quest..not a quest regarding one specific car, but one in bettering my skills on everything i do relating to them..
I build my own because i'm the one who limit's the changes, i'm the one who picks and chooses whats going to be done, cost is a major factor as well for me...
but the sinlge most important thing for me, and probably one of the biggest reason's i build my own stuff, is the feeling of satisfaction, the feeling that i set a goal and accomplished it..and did the best i could in doing it.
'Most' people will never feel that type of accomplishment. They go through life riding someone elses wave's..content with just "getting by"..

I don't like to just "get by"..I want to make the wave's..
I don't ever want to say to myself..."i can't do that"..
i could go on, but i'm sure you all get what i'm saying so i won't bore you..

In a nutshell, for me, it's not what i'm building...as long as i'm building something, hands on..and hopefully i learn from each one.

yeah i know, it's kinda deep and maybe corny to some..but thats just me..
sorry

I'm not gonna lie either, i do like many 'popular' styles, like 32 fords, mercs, tri-five chevy's etc....and those are the one's i'd search for when it come's time to build
I guess i'm not very imaginative..haha
Tony

 

I bought my first project when I was 20, a '67 442. Had good memories of cruisin' and snortin' around in it riding shotgon when it was my friend's...

...from that point on I was kind of an "Olds man".

Then I got the chance to buy a '40 Ford P'up local for $600... couldn't p*** it up. Bought it, then after a couple calls to find the costs of rebuilding a flathead I had sticker shock. I happened to have a 330 Olds from a '67 Cutl*** that got an engine transplant, so we re-ringed that and gave it a new timing chain, cam, oil pump, and bearings too.

Put that 330 into the '40 with the intent that I would just get it running with later-model running gear (but NOT SBC), and use as a vintage work truck.

Then I got stalled, and somehow got the idea that, since it was an earlier vehicle, I should be putting in an earlier Olds V8 and that would be cooler.

I ran across a 394 in a '64 in a junkyard and yanked it.

Funny anecdote: while I was pulling it, a guy walked buy and said "is that a 394?" and started chatting about the early V8's a little-- and we remain friends today many years later.

At any rate, it was only AFTER that, that I picked up some old hot rod magazines and learned about the colorful history of early Olds rockets being used in hot rods and race cars from about '57 through '64.

And there was some very cool coverage of some supercharged 394 Olds-powered Willys g***ers in those magazines, too. I was hooked.

That's when my OCD kicked in, and the rest is history.

 

I just always wanted a 32 Ford roadster....

When you watch the 1950's Walt Disney cartoons......the cars look like 32's. My neighborhood had 2 32's in it when I was a child ( the 50's ). All the old 50's teenage Hot Rod movies had 32's in them.........

I have had two........a hihboy and now the full fendered one above...both Henry steel. I am just drawn to them. I cannot explain it. Back in the late 60's early 70's I was sidetracked by Muscle cars ( Big Block Chevies ) but got back on track long before the fibergl*** street rod craze hit.

I p***ed on original nice 32 shells and inserts for $100 Because I could buy them all day for $50 - $60.

.