Projects BUILD WHAT YOU'VE GOT or listen to others

I think there is a brand loyality in many builds, but my '30 Ford Roadster will have 354 HEMI power. I just want the car to be a perfect 1962 era build, and I'm using what I have squirreled away in the garage.

 

Not to be overly simplistic, but engines can be taken out as they have been installed; not a permanent modification. What's the big deal really?

 

Rr.

 

"damn the code" it's really more like guidelines anyway

 

Sometimes i end up spending a little to much just to be different, but its worth it in the long run. I love to think out of the box!

 

at last a man that tells the really why he used a sbc he likes them! my hat goes off to you

 

My dad is into Citroen traction pre 55 .He's putting chevette motors and rears and front suspensions ,Also reversing the original front wheel drive to rear wheel drive .Actually he is making a better car ,He's keeping the outside original and interior original,I think traditional is what your used to....So if you like chevy ,pontiac or fords , cadillac stick with what you know ,Im partial to gm motors ,Even olds Rebuilt them all Rebuilt a 302 Ford once and wasn't impressed won't go back to Ford Ill stick with all GM motors But that's what im use to....

 

Oh it gets worse I'm afraid. It had a blown big block before it went to take a long nap with the cows.

I've actually had several engines in the bay. But the one that is going to reside there is the one I like the best. I wish someone made script rocker covers that would cover my valve train. I still may run some but I'll have to build some spacers.

 

NONAME<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_4605939", true); </SCRIPT> - Seems this debate will never end on brand loyalty and bashing the the SBC engine. To me a hot rod or custom is like a stew, build it with what you have, a SBC in a Ford, Hemi in a Willy's whatever works and pleases you that the right choice. Brand loyalty makes no sence to me in hot rods or customs, making no difference, parts that work together is what it's all about. If, you have a ton of Ford parts in your garage and 351 Ford engine, again, use what you have and get the ride rolling. All my rides have had SBC Chevy's in them, I would have no problem using a Ford engine if one comes my way. If, an engine is a good running engine and gets me from one point to another then it's a good choice.

CRUISER

 

Don't feel bad......

1947 1.5 Ton DRW Ford..... sitting on a 1987 GM 1 ton DRW frame..... with a ***mins 4 cylinder diesel motor.... figure that one out?




but then again... you probably would never know it....

 

hot rodding is all about creating your version of whats cool. i never saw hot rods when i was young that stuck to brand loyalty but i guess they were there somewhere. i have a ford engine for my ford bucket but only because thats what i ended up with. i prefer to be diffrent.

 

I use what I have or can scrounge up at a reasonable price.
I'm sure a REASONABLE PRICE is totally different for everyone! That said so is every build, I think cause it has a little bit of the builder in it even if it is a build to "Tradition"

 

Do what you want,​

Do what you can,​

Use what you have,​

Use what fits.​

Chevy in a Ford,​

Buick in a Dodge,​

Doesn't really matter,​

It's gonna be ***s.​

​

 

If you listen to others, and weigh each piece of advice equally, you will end up building nothing.

Build what YOU want. The more people you piss off, the better.

The hot rod tradition is a technique, an ethic, a method and a lifestyle, not a specific set of parts. There are far too many old-farts, and even some young-farts who think that traditional means specific stuff, from a specific time. It does not.

Low, slow, tall, fast, cool, hot, it does not matter. It is about how you do it. Cheap, creative, using whatever you can get your hands on. If you have access to it, USE IT!

Whatever you build, build it well, and make it yours.

 

I will build whatever I want and if you don't like it I don't care

 

Have been advertizing and looking for a couple of years for a original 32 frame. Nobodys got one unless it worth $5000.00. SO screw it I ordered me a Pete and Jakes frame. One of my friends is looking also but he said hes going to buy a set of AS rails and cut then lengthwise and weld them inside the original rails so it will look like original. (?) I kept the rails on my deuce sedan but they have been boxed. Something for everybody I guess.

 

Question is. why is brand loyality so important when building a HOT ROD which traditionally is a light car with the biggest motor that on can afford period!!![/QUOTE]

You're wrong here! Building a light car with the biggest motor you can afford,is a Hotrod,just NOT a Traditional Hotrod!
A Traditional Hotrod is built with parts from the period or style you want to represent,40's,50's,or 60's. Many of the guys on the HAMB try to be as accurate as they can with their builds. Seems to me that you just want to build whatever you want. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't expect it to be excepted on the HAMB. There's lots of guys here with traditional "appearing" cars,with updated drivelines,etc. My Merc being one of them. If I had a choice it would be ALL stock,but it's the way it came.
Build whatever you want,with the stuff you have and don't worry about what anybody says. Just like everybody else on here does. Just don't try to force the HAMB to except it.

 

Being old, different and biased myself, I 'll point out that the wheels you had/have on the 48Plymouth were NOT Chrysler Imperial wheels, whether chromes wires from the 50s or the conventional disc wheels used earlier and later. They were Chrysler New Yorker wheels, whether chromed wires or conventional.

The Imperial wheels have the 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern like early Fords, 28-48 and Ford pickups through the 90s or so.

The New Yorker wheels, and other Mopar makes, have the 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern like Ford cars from 49-up and most every Mopar product EXCEPT Imperials.

The DeSoto and Dodge wires, available painted or chrome-plated, were the same 5 on 4.5" pattern but were not the same hub and spoke count or design as the Imperial/New Yorker chrome-plated wire wheels.

It's a common mistake in memory and as old different and biased folks it gets more common every day.

 

I don't really care if someone upgrades to a newer Ford in a Ford,or a newer Chevy in a Chevy. IF IT's NOT INTENDED TO BE A TRADITIONAL BUILD! Alot of old Hotrods had Hemi's,Nailheads,Buicks,Caddys. Especially in the 50's and 60's. SBC's in everything sounds like a bunch of Streetrodders to me,LOL....

 

Bad Bob - "SBC's in everything sounds like a bunch of Streetrodders to me" Come on Bob not all Street Rods have SBC in them. Street Rodders are just as divided on this subject of engines, brand loyalty as are Hot Rodders, Custom guys and Traditional Guys. The SBC was introduced in the '1955 ( This covers your "Especially in the 50's and 60's" line) Chevy and is just as traditional as a Flathead in a Custom or Hot Rod or a Traditional Build. A lot of people on the HAMB are beginning to sound like Concourse D' Elegance judges where every nut and bolt on a car must be original and perfect for points. Let's get real were Hambers, hot rodders, custom guys and traditional guys and anything goes. In fighting gets us no where! Your right from where your coming from Bob and other opinions on this thread are just as right, that's what makes us Hambers and the HAMB so great. Damn this is fun!

CRUISER

 

To me, traditional is about perception, especially here. Billet is not traditional. EFI is not traditional. Indy car type wheels and tires are not traditional. Digitall instruments are not traditional. Air bags are sure not traditional, but for some reason get a p*** here, I suspect because Ryan has them on a "traditional" car of his own.
Engine choice has nothing to do with traditional cars, or we'd all be driving flathead powered T's or Rileys headed bangers or some such other nonsense. For a while, Olds engines were the bomb, then early Hemis if you wanted to go fast (O.K., well, some things never change!)
Changing the subject just a bit, I don't see anyone "bashing" SBC's. They are by far the most prevalent engines on the planet for hot rods. Yes, I hate seeing them in Fords or Mopars, or Studes, or anything other than a chevy. I have no problem seeing a Ford or Mopar in those other makes though, including Chevies. That's just me; it has nothing to do with whether they are traditional or not. I personally have a deep rooted hatred for all things GM because of the way they have changed motorsports, and I'm a racer first, hot rodder second. When we raced against Ford guys, it ws a handshake and a "We'll get you next time" deal. With the GM guys, it was to run crying to the sanctioning body to get the rules changed to help them win, and that has resulted in all of racing except the pro catagories to become one giant bracket race.
I'm getting way O/T here, I stop now.

 

Far to much time is wasted on this topic,,,If someone feels the need to build there stuff as others say,well thats on them. Those who just do and have been doing will continue to do so.

Its a fad,,so you will have all the 'me too' cars

I mean I never hear of a "AV8" before that book came out,,and once it did it was the key word ,,same build everyone just had to do ,,cause that was the "way"


Also you must realize,,there are all these new people into cars who have NO parts or cars laying around,and they want the same cool car thats in the magazine or what have you.

So the buy 'those" parts,,and price go up ,,yadda yadda

Those who have stuff laying around are gonna use it,,build around what you have..

again the whole topic is kinda pointless,,as the whole dynamic of cars has changed

 

"Traditional Hot Rodders", seem to accept certain engine/drivetrain swaps.......SBC in 40 Fords, coupes, early sedans and the like, but as has been stated many times on here, is that the SBC wasn't around until 1955. Now, lets fast forward to today....early Vette's have sky rocketed in price, would you put that 289 Ford in your 57' Vette, if it needed an engine, and you had it laying around? I rather doubt it..somewhere down the line, it has to make sense, monetarily wise. In the early days, it was more about function, with less emphasis on vehicle values.....they were available, and for reasonable money. Today you have to consider, if you are de-valuing your investment (yes, they are a Hobby, fun, and yours), but let's be serious.

 

But most of them I know are building them there own way, with want they got. Just like the old guys back in the days. Take a bunch of junk lying around make in driveable and go have fun!

 

I often use what I have as long as it works to build what I want. For example I could get SBC's all day and build serious hp for cheap but I have an love for old hemi's that makes me chase them. Not really rational but it sure is fun.

I also like to build my way. Seems like folks get in a rut and decide there is only one approved way to do something. I really have a hard time doing what others tell me to do. I like to think outside the box... it messes with folks. ;-)

Oh yeah, I did build my coupe with lots of cheap and free stuff because it's what I could get. My coupe has everything from Ford and Chevy to VW and Yugo. Bet you can't identify most of it.

 

Kerry
I think that you and I will both agree that the "approved way" is only a suggestion.
I seriously doubt that the Swamp Rat, or Mr Roth, or any number of other recognizable names in the history of our way of life did anything the approved way. They did what worked for them.

 

There are guys that "do get it" and guys that "don't get it".

Guys that "don't get it" really like what the guys that "do get it" do.

Guys that "do get it" don't care about what the "don't get it" guys do.

Guys that "do get it" don't tell the guys that "don't get it" that they "don't get it" because the guy's that "don't get it" complain that the guys that "do get it" "don't get it".

Get it?

 

:-D Well said Dreddybear!!!!

 

Errrm, two words.....
**** NO!
Wouldn't that be like building a 57 fairlane with a sbc in it??

 

I can just imagine that back just before or just after WWII the non Ford guys were all knocking "those belly ****on flathead V8 Fords that are so cheap and easy to get stuff for just as a lot of people knock the Small block Chev V8's now. Think about that one a bit. If you look in pre 1955 rod magazines a huge percentage of cars had flathead most using Offenhauser heads.

I don't have much going as far as brand loyalty here at the house.
Current engines are
2 Ford flathead sixes
1 Ford flathead V8
1 56 Desoto Hemi
2 1966 Chev 396 engines in pieces
1 292 Chev six pre hei.
1 ot Dodge four banger
2 350 four bolt Chevs
One of the 350's will most likely get turned into a 383 stroker for my 71 GMC in the next year as the engine in it is getting a bit tired and it was a quickie rering job on a stock 350 six years ago.
The Desoto hemi is slated for a 27 t someday
One of the flathead sixes will end up in a little roadster in the next few months pretty much as it sits right now if things work out ok. That car will for sure have an iden***y crisis as not too many parts on it will have the same origin. It will be traditional in that it will be 100% built with what I can rustle up with few new parts involved except where necessary. Hopefully it will look lke a 2 seat indy style car that could have been campaigned in the early 30's and then converted to street use.
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">