Can a Traditional Rod win the big awards anymore?

Why not just use the money to build a trophy??

 

Your statemant is irrelevant to the question and just plain wrong in my opinion. I appreciate your sentiments but the dry lakes and drag race cars and their inovaters that started what we know refer to as tradition were almost without exception put on display at car shows from Armory Shows to local car dealerships and everywhere in between. They cared a lot. Ego and Pride are two different animals.

 

insert yawn here

 

I'm with larry.


ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..................

 

Can a Traditional Rod win the big award?

Yep, but, I can't resist. I guess it's the phase of the moon.



Of course one can.
Or not.
Define big award.
High dollar, with big sponsors, commercial oriented, don't make it with me. A big show is one I enjoy.

But a particular car where somebody set out with the sole purpose to make it a winner has no more chance than a nimrod with talent and vision that builds from his gut. Even if it could be, it ain't about form or function or conformity or what one guy considers quality, or whatever.............

It's more complicated than that. No, wait! I meant to say it's more simplistic that. On the other hand, that's not right either, it's more............. oh ****, I give up.

My builds get my vote. Nobody else's counts anyhow. I wouldn't change a thing for anybody, expecially to get an award. That don't mean that when I do it isn't appreciated.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch......................

 

Here's one that I did the drive train and my brother did the paint and body work on. It has a 350 Olds in it. He just got the Hot Hauler award at the Des Moines Good Guys. It been drivin and not trailered

 

No...and that's quite alright with me. I get my "award" everytime I see my ol 34 five window.

 

Driving the traditional rod is the big award....
F@@K the trophy

 

I agree with you Rocky. Its enough of an award or reward to me just to get to spend time working on my traditional hotrods and custom. Trophies don't matter.

 

even if one was built, that won, whats the point? in order to stay in that condition, it would have to be wrapped in plastic, and kept in a climate controlled trailer,most of the time, plus every time a bug landed on it, the polishing stuff would have to come out. It could never be driven. the standards are too high, there needs to be a different standard for these high dollar cars, and the cars the average joe puts so much work into. different cl***es for different styles of cars. maby we need a cl*** for cars that get driven, and cars that live on a trailer? no points off for bugs in the grill and a few paint chips, extra points for solid functional daily driven rods. the current judging i've seen is so far from reality it's not funny. whatever happened to rewarding good engineering or creativity? there's not enough emphasis on function. a little off topic, but what happened to the trend of local shows awarding guys with the homemade trophy's? remember the ones that were made out of welded together parts? If I ever get this car finished and win anything, I would rather just have one of those, then a bunch of generic trophy shop ****.

 

I think the day's of period cars winning any big awards.... are over . I feel that way about Hotrods and Kustoms.

 

I agree , awards are not going to change at all but I dont think its been 60 years of progress when I look at the billet winners these days.If anyone is expecting a period car to win a big award..... sorry to tell you, but it is over.

 

My past experience has been NO.
I keep the Sandy Belond roadster as close to authentic 1942 race day condition as possible and it has been turned down for more then one BIG show or the promoters want to stuff it in some rat rod section in the parking lot (no offense intended to those guys I have one myself)
The reason(s) being it could use a sharper paint job and more chrome.
Based on pictures of it on the lakes in '41 the paint job on it is at least 50% better then what it wore then.

The vast majority of people don't get traditional and I think even within that there are levels of purity.
For instance I tore the car down to replace any fasteners that were not correct pre-war nuts and bolts. Gonig over every detail to prepare it for Pebble Beach, but it was turned down for appearance issues.
Meanwhile some of the cars that made it in are horribly inaccurrate, wrong parts, late model aftermarket stuff, etc. there are even rumblings of a replica making the show.

I have been to more then one unveiling of a recreation or rebuild of a famous hot rod where the former owner and or builder has said I wish I could have built it like that.
Let me clarify, I think when doing a recreation your totally within the scope of things to take liberties and make it better, after all it is a re-creation and not a preservation.

I've gotten off on my own tangent please excuse that, don't mean to highjack the thread.
My answwer is still not at this time. But perhaps some one with a new twist can make a traditional a big winner again.

 

Well worded Ed.....I agree.....it is hard when mainstream hot rodders pour money into technology even in Hot Rods and that is what is in demand. We will just watch the show of progression, but we don't have to like it.....I am only traditionally speaking that is all I know and won't change.

 

I drive my AV8 to shows where billet-bought rods abound. I have no pretense to win anything... However, if I was so inclined to have a clicker-counter with me to gauge how many guys come and hang around my car during a show and there was an award for THAT... I, ...WE as HAMBERS come close to winning that award...

Obviously there isn't.

The billet owners, toward the end of the show, finally mosey on over to my car. I don't have to say a thing. They proceed to tell me of their hot rod heritage, many of which were some of your regular hot rodders experimenting like many of the others back then.

Trophies, ...trophies? We don't need no stinking trophies...

 

I get my reward everytime I see one of you cars!

 

And adding to this, the people that win amber, riddler, and other highly prestigious awards don't really build their cars. They hire professional teams to build their cars, however there are a few that do end out building their cars, but they do such minimal amounts of wrenching that it shouldn't even be considered building as much as hindering. Aside from that bothersome point, most of the people that get these high ranks hardly ever enjoy their rides. I read an article about how an older roadster (highly chromed out, very street rodder) only had 300 miles I think? 300 at the most, and it was built several years ago. His reason "the extensive chrome work on the ride would be damaged and it would mar the potential resale price." That is not rodding, that is wasting the potential for anyone to actually have fun with the body than just wiping a diaper on it and inviting friends over to look at it.
I think that you guys are the real winners. From the smiles people throw you, the thumbs up, the "nice ride man", all they have is some musky trophy and a short story, you have a legacy of speed and fun. Generation after generation look forward to YOUR rods, people look at their rods for moments.

Rant over.

 

Last home built rod to win the BIG trophy was Phil Cool's 32 highboy ..............

 

Don Orosco tried to win big with the Riley powered black 32 roadster a few years back. It was dead on period correct...and not many people have the kind of money Don has.

So I would say...NO, the judging is all screwed up.

 

Does it even matter????

I fail to understand the mentality that pisses away hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars chasing a tin pot trophy only to have the car worth a fraction of what it cost to build. And if the judges don't get it, which, judging by some recent big trophy winners they clearly do not, what is the point in even trying?

Why not just build or have built something so that you can drive the snot out of it. To me the fun is in the driving as it transports me to a different world - instant relaxotherapy, so in the immortal words of Clark Gable (as Rhett Butler in Gone with the wind): "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn".

 

Exactly.

 

agreed

 

We have guys on here (for sure not me) who are fully capable of building flawless fully traditional cars that are every bit perfect enough to win any show compe***ion that they fit in anywhere. But that still probably won't wow a bunch of judges who are looking for bling an never before done things along with counting how many points a car scores according to a judging sheet.

One thing is that no matter how perfect some of the traditional cars are they tend to disappear in an indoor show due to the color of the car or the lack of bling.

Even outdoors in bright sunlight the car may not stand out in field of cars. The car may stand a better chance because all the sudden the perfect body work stands out in the bright sunlight when you sight down the side of the car. It helps that guys are able to stand back a few feet and note the perfect stance or the perfect shape of the chop. That may not show up in an indoor show where the cars are closer together or the lighting is sketchy.

In the long run I'd much rather have my peers look at my finished ride and say "man, that thing is so right" rather than worry about dragging home another dust collector. I do want it as flawless as I can get it simply for my own satisfaction as I have never had it to that state before. It will have a couple of pages of modifications but not to win show points.

 

You can't DRIVE a trophy. Now, I'm otta here.

 

I got ****ed into building 1 'show car', never again. The mindset of extreme visual people is hard to deal with, for instance the car had a blown alcohol hemi and nowhere in the budget was a line item for a starter.
The car has gone on to ac***ulate a number of awards, magazine articles etc and the owner has done an incredible job of maintaining it - amazing job really - and it has exceeded his expectations and fulfilled some requirement within him.
My experience with it just reinforces the fact that: there is room for everybody in our sport/hobby/calling/addiction

 

Oh man I missed this whole thread last night. I was out driving my car.

 

I hope your not implying that was/is ONE OF THE BIG AWARDS. If so you've led a very sheltered life.

Frank

 

Build it and drive it.....because most of the cars that win big shows cant drive,and never leave the trailer!!!( with Exception to a few)
Looking at old Photos of the AMBER,and high Caliber shows back in the day,you can tell,that kind of money put into a cars today is much different.
Most cars are not Built at home,on the Garage floor with friends any more......
Times change and so has the criteria, for some ugly *** cars winning awards.....
Brian

 

You nailed it!

 

Whenever I hear the word awards it really turns me off. I had much rather talk to a guy who drove his car 500 miles with bugs and nicks than talk to a guy who owns a trailer queen. I'm not against them as a person but if they want show cars there are plenty of shows just for them. I saw a car at the GG Nashville show this year in the parking lot with the other cars with the entire car up on stands , with mirrors. It won an award but who really gave a ****. Give money drawings to the rodders and leave the tropies at home.