Did anyone hotrod or build custom vettes in the late 50s or 60s.Any pics of custom vettes.How long did it take for the whole air of superiority to kick in with some owners?
I bought this '59 in Hawaii in the mid 60's for $900. (Took over payments from another sailor) It had a 327 that I rebuilt, added 2-4's and Duntov cam and painted it at the auto hobby shop on Subase Pearl Harbor. Had a complete ****on-tufted interior done at Pearl City Upholstery. Sold it for $2500 when I went to Guam in '69. Before I bought this one, I looked at a '53 and two '54's. The island was loaded with them. Also had a '61 Pontiac Ventura, 389/4spd there. Mutt
There was a guy in Ol Skool Rodz maybe a year ago with I think a '59 that was flat black and real mean looking. I was impressed.
Vettes should not be customized! They look friggin' stupid unless they're left in their original state. Just an opinion. Oh, and no I am not some NCRS freak. I just think they look better left alone.
Gimme a break... One day it's an English cl*** and the next it's a ****ing Corvette forum. The only thing Vettes are good for is blowing the doors off of with REAL hot rods and making their pimple-faced owners look bad in front of their dizzy blonde girlfriends. Anyone here have a snowblower, or a chainsaw, they customized in the 50's? I'm tired... JOE
Big John Mazmanian had a drag racing vette, not quite sure of the year. Candle Apple Red, with the rear fender wells cut to look like the top of a stop sign. Some one post a picture of that beast....please. Farmall
why is it when any one talks about a vette everyone gets all pissy????? Talk to any one working in a body shop in 1964 and he will tell you how many 63 vettes he took the split window out of. in the 70's most mid year vettes had flares and 6 tail lights added to them here is my 70's style vette
Junkyard dog 32- I have no idea what you're talking about. 4t6tfrd- I saw that car at bloomington gold and thought is akward looking there also. I was a very well done car though. Slag Custom- Yeah , ask those guys who took there split windows out how much their worth now. Besides, that black car with the scoop doesn't look custom. It just looks like it drove off the local 1/4 mile track.
Until the early '70's, when good engine options died out, Corvettes had one indisputably important traditional rodding role: They were Chevrolet's way of designing and delivering neat performance and dress up parts for Chevy engines. I'd bet more of the good cams, valve covers, performance heads and such went out over the parts counter than left the factory installed on a Vette!
Dude, are you still living in the 70's? If you EVER get seat time in a Z06, you'll rethink that statement. You might even apologize. I'm tired too..
NCRS my ***. I'm building (ruining?) this Vette for the street. It'll be Marina blue, all blue gl*** in it, and higher in the nose when done. If my 51 aint done, the Vette's going to Paso.
I don't recall any air of superiority back when I was growing up with Vette owners...that must have come along in the 80's or 90's, with the price of them going out of sight for the average guy... Junkyard Dog: There were a lot of Vettes customized back in the sixties...I'd think you were old enuff to remember that? And a ton more made into drag cars...back then the price of a Corvette wasn't out of sight and the car stood for performance and handling. R-
I don't care what you think about 'vettes..... Big John's car is bad ***.... http://www.g***ermadness.com/msp/k0311-34.htm Farmall
Sorry if I seem "insensitive"... I like Corvettes... wish I had one. ...and I know what they can do, performance wise. It's kinda like being a married man and seeing a nice piece of *** go by. ...but, I wouldn't go talk about ***** in church. Ford built Mustangs... Dodge is building Vipers... I know alot of cool guys with alot of cool cars, but I don't tell 'em about the HAMB so they can come post their happy **** here. I don't like seeing them at car shows. I think they belong out in the lot with the OCC choppers and the minivans (sorry ROCKY)... I agree with the "elitist/superiority" part... most are the kings of the gold chain. (NOT all)... I guess you just touched a nerve... Maybe its been exposed for awhile... It's getting hard to figure out who knows ****ing **** and who doesn't... or, who paints the wheels on gramma's old fordor Impala then calls it a Rat Rod and who knows what parts to look for in the bonyard for the car they're building and how to get 'em off. Now... Who wants to see pix of my "traditional" John Deere chainsaw. I'm gonna scuff off the green paint and do it in Blitz Black, with a 14" bar that I'm thinking I want to paint red. I bought an electronic flamethrower kit from Ebay. I'd louver the side cover but it's PLASTIC... JOE
You boys wanna talk Corvettes and at***udes, I'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT! Bakersfield has 2 clubs, both have "Oh my God it's a "Ratrod" at***utde". They laugh in the face of any rod owner regardless if it's a traditional or check book. My mother has a 70 Stingray with a 454/ 4speed Muncie combo. I built the cotton pickin car, but do you think for 2 seconds she would admit it? HELL NO! Can't be ***ociated with "that sort of junk". I used to like Corvettes, but it's their owners and their ****e at***udes that ruin it for me! They all ask when I'm gonna buy a "real car" aka a Corvette. I tell them, I'll buy one when I need a paper weight and the scales are open! On the flip side, some people can be very down to Earth about it. My dad is, his Corvette kills my mom's and its only a 350LT1 with 350 trans. But it's still a load of fun and he never ever looks down at any traditional rod! Fibergl*** gives me hives.......or maybe it's their owners? x Brandy
I'm 27.I guess growing up in the 80s and 90s have led me to believe that alot of owners have that at***ude.But I know that some owners are out there that are cool and not snobbish. The austin healy/MGA threads got me thinking about hot rodding vettes.I just wanted to see some pics of the hotrod/custom vettes from the 50s/60s.
My dad bought his '69 in '71, balanced, blueprinted and installed an LT-1 immediately and went street racing. I'd say it's a real hot rod. He's still got it today but it's in bad need of paint and interior. For the record, he's never been a "Corvette person" with that air of superiority thing. He bought it because it was the best handling, lightest car he could easily put an LT-1 in. My brother loves Dad's 'Vette so much that his first "old" car is a '77 (I tried incessantly to get him to hot rod a fifties sedan). The superiority deal seems to be primarily with owners of restored Corvettes. Anybody who has one modified is usually pretty cool - with the exception of the nasty disco-era "Corvette Summer" type deals. They may be nice guys, but they sure as heck are not cool. Oh, yeah, we were talking about solid-axle cars, though, weren't we? My dad knew a guy at KI Sawyer AFB in the middle sixties with a '57 on a '63 ch***is with the Fuelie engine and a four-speed. I think the car ended up in a tree, though. This summer at the Nightmare Cruise I saw a fifties 'Vette with chromies, no hood, whitewalls and a 3x2 setup. That was very cool. I also liked the silver and red '54 that was featured in one of the big magazines a while back, it had polished five-spokes, a C4 suspension and a dual-quad '68 327. If you didn't look at the suspension and the 16" wheels, it looked like a 1960s hot rod. Personally, I always wanted to build a g***er '62 with a 409. I would take it to every NCRS event I could find.
I was thinking more along the lines of Don Johnson in Miami Vice or the Boyd Coddington type with every Corvette polo shirt ever made and some dumb ballcap, wrist watch in gold with the C-5 logo emblazoned across it........wife has matching earrings and some stupid visor with a million corvettes printed across it, matching polo and color coordinated shorts to the smuckin car. Oh yes this "ratty rodder" has spent TOO MUCH TIME WITH THOSE PEOPLE! x Brandy
sounds like most Harley riders. (notice i said MOST! so don't you harley fellas get yer ******* in a wad).
A fifties vette with steelies and wide whites is what I'm talking about.I would love to see some pics of something like that.
Me too, too bad the 'Vette on Woodward was always moving, I wanted picture but couldn't get the camera ready in time.
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