Doane Spencer,... Rolling Bones,.... And a Grumpy Ol' Man

Alright Guys,.......

Let me just say I am on "Vacation" in Branson Mo. I drove all 950 miles down here and was totally exhausted,.... I mean really-really beat !..... Anyway I try to get some sleep,....... And I just laid there all night.. When I closed my eyes all I seen was idiot drivers and exit signs........

So,.... I went down to the club house so my wife could sleep, And went on the HAMB to unwind....... And for some reason this got under my skin. Let me start out by saying I love the Rolling Bones cars,... they are totally awesome and a real tribute to traditional hot rodding..... BUT !,... (And I mean this in the most respectful way).......

I AM TIRED OF IT BEING CALLED THE ROLLING BONES LOOK !!!!!,..... Lets give credit where credit is due,..... And call it the DOANE SPENCER LOOK !... (Alright..... That got me a little light headed)..... I understand this is probably a stupid thread I will regret,.. brought on by sleep deprivation.... And it might understandably be closed , deleated or locked.....

But Dang guys,.... the rolling bones guys mostly use this design/look for aesthetics. Doane designed this as a way to have a low car and still achieve the ground clearance and increase the scrub line for racing the roadster south of the border...... It was a modification to overcome a problem for racing......

I have thought the Doane Spencer roadster was the pinnacle Deuce Highboy of all time bar none..... So while still dealing with a 38 hour period of lack of sleep,..... I hope this doesn't look totally incoherent or stupid when I go back over it later...... Rest ***ured,... it looks elequent and meaningful as I look aver it now........

So lets give credit where credit is due..... It's the DOANE SPENCER LOOK !

Now if you'll be so kind as to excuse me,...... There is a lovely song bird outside the window I plan on beating to death,.... just for fun I am going to pull all but one leg off a spider,.... And to top it off the little old fart that is walking around with his cane making a thud noise...... I plan on kicking his cane out from under him........

Wish me well on my "Vacation".

 

I just think your off your meds,,AGAIN! HRP

 

Sheesh, go strangle a puppy while you're at it.

 

Harms, Anyone that knows Kenny and Keith, knows they give the the Doane Spence roadster full credit for the inspiration the style, but they have added some of their on ideas...

 

I totally agree,... and it is no mandate of them in any way, shape or form.... They are really great guys and do in fact give credit for the inspiration to Doane...... it's the rest of us knuckleheads who think were about all things traditional,... but don't have a grasp of the history......

Big A..... Grate Idea !.... I'll go to the animal shelter later !

HRP,....... Unfortunately you are right.... I think I left them in MI.

 

Rolling Doanes'?

 

HARMS WAY You might be a grumpy old man .But you are right Gregg

 

The real reason your grumpy is because you had to go to Branson.

 

Branson is enough to make you homocidal.

 

Well at least you are going to have the younger guys doing searches for Doane Spencer all day long. His roadster is probably in my top five favorite hot rods since I started reading Hot Rod in the 5th grade when I discovered it on the Bookmobile.

As tired as I am of the "patina look" I love studying the Bones builds simply because every piece is there for a purpose and not for decoration. The cars look wicked and purposeful from every angle and they are built to drive rather than to pose.

 

Harms, is there anything else you'd like to vent about? Take a deep breath and realize - most people will continue to call it "Rolling Bone's style."

Side question, was Spencer's roadster the only car he'd done with the front set-up that way?

Playing Devil's advocate here... one can make an argument that it is "now" their style (in homage to Doane) since they've put out a dozen, or more, cars with that set-up.

 

But you know you are getting old when your wife demands you go to Branson for vacation because her "favorite" performers only work there now.

 

I am only 35 and my wife is aggravating me to go there to see the Christmas lights this winter.

 

Oh yeah, Branson..............every guy's ultimate vacation spot.

No wonder you are grumpy.

Don

 

From what I remember the Doane Spence roadster was originally built by Jack Dorn in 1937 as a full fendered 32 hot rod,.... Doane bought it in 1944 and it continued to morph as years went on,...... I am not sure of the year he fabbed up the signature front suspension,... But I do remember it was for clearance for the Pan-American or Baja race... I do know it was the very first Deuce I seen with this suspension.


And still no sleep-e-poo !

 

So lets give credit where credit is due..... It's the DOANE SPENCER LOOK !

Yep got to agree with that....

 

To me it's kinda like how Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, and The 'Stones get so much "credit" for Rock & Roll when we all know Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil, Muddy Waters invented electricity, and it's been going down hill since Buddy Holly died.

 

Ok, I'll be the guy to ask... just what are we speaking about? The entire car? the rake? the fabrication level? the front suspension layout? If the latter, I suspect that design might have been used on other kinds of (race) cars befor Doane. Or not? Gary

 

Totally agree Harm. Sometimes we forget who's shoulders we are

standing on.....

 

In your honor Harms, I'll dedicate my next build as Roller Doanes...







(wonder if JJ still has that old 3w body he found)

 

I would have to guess that about 52 he took apart the roadster to make it a compe***ion vehicle that would with the ravages of the roads down south, The Lincoln Y block V8 was just out then and Doane was in the game, by working @ So-Cal and having access to MFG's just out of the box components.

Too bad he didn't finish it, would really love to see what his version with the Halibrands and the Lincoln would have been like.

 

Youzzzz-da-mannnn "No window Larry !"

 

Alright,.....

I got a couple hours of sleep,.... now were off to see some "Zipp" fiddle player,.... And I ***ure you the term "ZIPP" was not used in a derogatory way,... and only with the utmost of respect ........

 

A few years ago I bought an issue of American Rodder after Buckaroo Publications bought it, just for the build article of Lance Shorchik's 32 B400. It also had the same ch***is design, but it was built by Nelson Dupre on the east coast. The magazine came out in September 2003.

There are some variations in the rear suspension setup, but it is essentially the same as those built by the RB crew.

No-one "owns" the style of the build, but we all could pay homage where its due.

 

That's pretty profound

 

look at the other cars he built and worked on at Hollywood sports cars (MG, sunbeams,ferraris,can-am McLaren, lolas) the hollywood tiger is done along the same as his '32 roadster. his work is over the top. RD

 

Dam it IN MY TOWN AND did not say Hello!!!!
WOW!
Thanks!

 

The look and style of Doane Spencer's roadster is timeless.
Nelson Dupre on the East Coasts was the guy who started building with that style before there was anything known as the Bones look. Just as Nelson followed the lead of Doane's build the for profit builders followed both Doane and Nelsons style. Back yard Hot Rodding turned into big bucks.

 

I dunno....
I CERTAINLY see where you're coming from, but actual origins of any style are often clouded in time.

There are many variations of this front suspension...the Kookie car having one where late model wishbones were cut off and reversed to hold the spring behind the axle, while a 4 bar (Hey...did P&J rip NORM off!?!?) was attached to welded on axle brackets inboard from the perch bolts.

In fact...In his famous version, didn't Doane Spencer use hairpin radius arms and have the shackles attach to the "batwing" instead of the style of original split wishbone and thru mount that Rolling Bones uses?
Also...Doane had a curvy Z-ed ch***is and front crossmember but the Bones cars don't...

Doanes ch***is (NOT to belittle the Bones work which I love and have much respect for!)
is more of a work of art that just a suspension style.


When I consider the facts...I'm not so convinced that the Bones cars are really that true to Doanes vision...other than the spring behind the axle...and there are MANY versions of that!
They pretty much did their OWN thing...just getting influence from one of the most beautiful Deuces of all time!
Can't blame them for that! Hahaha

 

Ronnie, I re-read the article I have, and it states the Nelson built the frames of two now infamous 3 window coupes.
Is this true?

If so, then he is indeed an unsung hero

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