Cheap shot?

No, back then ****-mobiles were just that - piles, ****-boxes, beaters... or perhaps to be nice you could call them a work in progress. Sure they were driven, but it probably was more like test runs... to see what puked or needed refinement. And not far. Remember, paint is first and foremost a protectant... to keep your invenstment from rusting away. Gary

 

Alot of the cost of bilding a rod today goes to buy parts. In the day we maid the parts from junk yard finds. When we had a car show it was in the parking lot of a closed store on a sunday. With only about 25 cars, of these 24 were home built. Most were not painted. Yes the rat rod was more like it was then the street rod.

 

Jim not to get in a pissin match with you but.Some of us try and make this hobby as cheap as possible because thats all we can afford!I guess we could just build model car's.Fact is if only expensive cars where built this board and a good deal of the magazines out there wouldnt exist.I have built two cars with a total expense of about 11'000$. They arent perfect but they sure as hell aint swapmeet pile reject's either.Now if you want to count my labor no I didnt build them for 11'000$.Frankly though the building them was a labor of love.I hope your comment about making this hobby cheap as possible doesnt mean that there is no room in your opinion for low buck car's. I am posting pic's of my two car's you judge weather they are swapmeet reject's Gregg

 

Didn't want a ******* match either. Just know that while I was at R&C we tried very hard to find cars built for the lowest amount and when we spotted something cool and owner built we'd ask how much and it was ALWAYS closer to 10K than 5. Love to see the cool cars built so reasonable- that's inspiring.

 

I really dont think you need more than $5000 to build a nice safe looking rod. All you need is to be resourceful and talented. Hotrods are ment to be driven not babied. At all the shows i have been to i walk right by the streetrods and highend rods and mowzy my way down to the Budget Built rods because i can relate to these guy.

 

Gregg..you or any other builders that can put cars together that look as good as the 2 in your photos will never hear a word of grief from any of us Old Farts. Phil isn't ragging on economically built hot rods like yours, but if it had a rotted body, welded chain widgets, cob webs and skulls, well then expect some negative comments. Ride height and scrub clearance should be a product of function rather than style. I hate to think what happens when a rod with 2-3 inches of clearance blows a tire...it will get ugly.
Keep building cool cars that respect our traditions.

 

I think the "In Your Face" at***ude problem is a total lack of understanding and respect for the early days. Early hot Rodders weren't about being in your face, they were about building Hot Rods to go fast and have fun with. It wasn't about getting in anyones face or sticking it to the establishment, that was Hollywood's take on it. Because these cars were out side the box and so were the guys who built and drove them, some people saw them as a threat. But look at "real" photos from back in the day (like the ones your grandma might have saved), you don't see piled high hair with tons of grease or any of the other clichés that the movies promoted and now seems to be fashionable with a small contingent. Conversely you see guys in slacks with loafers on running some pretty serious hardware. They were too busy building cool cars to be worried about posturing and getting in your face. Some guys will never get that and you can usually tell by the car they have which ones they are, pretty sure it won't be anywhere near a traditional (regardless of era) Hot Rod.
As for $$, it has always been expensive to build nice stuff and most guys were trying to get there, whether they had money or not. They still tried to build the best they could, not some intentional P.O.S. just built for shock value. None of those guys wanted to have a ****py car, if for no other reason than they would get bagged on by their buddies, so they did what they could as they could afford to.

 

Traditional : the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction

Has nothing to do with $$,but if you have more money you will be able to build the car everyone will see and judge others by. Just as many great poor builds were done too.

and with ANYTHING,,you will always find lesser versions,,by those who don't get it and just want to be part of whats cool.

 

Thanks Hotroddon for a rational response.

Hollywood and the media in general has - and still does - have a lot to answer for.