That's my problem I love all cars and unfortunatly my love and ideas are a whole lot bigger than my wallet. Every time I go to the garage I think I know what I want to do and then I come out and I have changed my mind. I know once I start the project I am commited and if I change midproject it is almost certain disaster. I just want to do my homework and get this figured out before I do something stupid. Jeremy
I have a g***er (some people say g***er themed cause it is not track legal). As near as i could gather from the old folks i talk to, most of them were piles. you didnt go get a nice car and rip all the nice stuff out of it, you get a junkyard derelict and started the race build from there....that being said, mine is built as close to "it" as i could figure from reading rule books and talking to people that were there and it is a ***** to drive on the street. not that its not fun, but it takes real concentration and focus and wears me out to drive it. no radio, no insulation, no bracing in the body, and a buggy spring out front make it a chore, especially with the bias plys out front. i suppose what i am saying is, if you are on a budget, want it "right" and want to drive it to every show in town and out of town, don't build a g***er. they arent supposed to be street cars (street freaks arent g***ers) and that makes them difficult to utilize as transportation. but i wont hate you for trying
460 willy, just curious....have you decided which way to go ... maybe get one more, there's nothing wrong in haveing one of each style... Great looking cars, posted in this thread! / primerkid
Do a little of both. In the early Sixties most cars were mild customs. Nosed, decked, grille modifications, sidetrim swapping or removal, custom taillights, spinners etc. Come Sunday (or Saturday night) the bumper came off, the hubcaps and air cleaner came off, the pipe caps came off the cutouts, the bucrons or cheaters went on and Presto! Race Car! If you were real serious you had tow tabs on the front framehorns. I guess my point is with a little moderation on each end you can enjoy both styles just like we actually did in the Sixties. Good luck with your decision. Paul.
Kustom everyone wants to make everything and anything a g***er now... no joke a guy came up to a friend of mine since he has a 55 chevy g***er and asking about the straight axle and then he says yea i want to build an 80 sumthing el Camino a g***er
Man, good post. I say custom. But really, the '53-54 Chevy can pull off either style really well. There's some great cars in this thread...
G***er!! I know the orange car in the link is a Plymouth, but the body styles are very similar. <table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px; no-repeat left"></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px">G***ers</td></tr></table> -Troy
there is a 53 sedan g***er featured in this months issue of ol school rodz. looks like a lot of fun. g***er or custom? if I could I would do a custom 53 tow vehicle and a full race 53 g***er- the best of both worlds.
I dunno, if you like both, why can't you build it to do both (as mentioned earlier)? Me, I am sorta looking for a hardtop convertible 53 Chev, my dad had one and he is making noise about coming up with another. I would love to come up with one for him (he wants it with a stovebolt in it) but I have the flat wallet syndrome right now, BAD. So I would build it as a cruiser (especially since I would like to give it to my pops), but then I never plan on owning a G***er (which of course means I'll probably be building one in a few years).
You can build a nice g***er with some nice custom touches. Look at the Stone, Woods and Cook Willys'.....especially Swindler II (which was really their first Willys....see Pat Ganahl's great article in Rodder's Journal #36). Originally the g***ers had to be street legal, full interiors, working lights and wipers, etc. Swindler II had a full Eddie Martinez tuck and roll interior, nice paint and nice chrome.....and still ran 10's. I see no problem building yours with a nice interior, shaved trim and nice paint.....all the big name original g***ers were "pretty." Go ahead and have the best of both worlds! (although I am building my 49 Fleetline as an early 60's nose down custom....but with a moon tank in the grille...and I have friends begging me to put the front end up and stick a blower on it!)
i got a 52 chev and I was hell bent on the custom idea then got a hard on for the g***er tough choices ... I went with the G***ER!!
I lost track of this thread and have decided to do a g***er. any other pics would be great. Also any pics of front suspension would be great. Thanks
The Jalopy Journal
