I had a very interesting conversation with a co-worker at lunch today. He's not a serious gear head, but he's still admires fast cars. He's 30 years old. Well, he's saving his money for a down payment on the 2017 Dodge Demon that's coming out soon. For your curiosity, it's slatted to come with upwards of 700 HP and factory road slicks. From the factory. Yea, a bad mama jama. So, he asked me how much HP I was expecting from mine and why would I bother building a Hot Rod, when I could get something faster and more efficient from the factory. That's when I started to stare into nothingness. His question reminded me of the same talk back in the late 60's, when the factories were pumping out Muscle Cars (but they didn't have that name yet). A lot of guys jumped the Hot Rod scene and ran to the dealers for the new great thing. I mean, how do you compete with a factory beast AND a warranty to boot? Some have said, that shit almost killed Hot Rodding. Luckily, a few of you old timers stayed true. Finally, I snapped back into reality, composed myself and answered his question with one word. "Passion". He seemed dumbfounded. So, I broke it down to him. "No matter how much faster your Dart may be or how comfy, you'll never know the feeling of building and driving something you built with your own hands. To your exact specifications. Or how it feels to cruise around town and never see a car like yours." I give respect to the factories for finally figuring a way to harness all that power and deliver it. It's actually about time. But IMO, nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment, when you roll YOUR ride out for the first time and it does what you had planned. The factories can't wrap that up and sell it. It comes from within. PASSION
I totally agree, I don't have a clue as to how much this new car will cost but building a hot rod you invest in self satisfaction- plus you don't have those astronomical monthly payments hanging over your head. HRP
If you can walk into the dealership and get a loan for it...it aint a hot rod. Just cuz it says Camaro or Challenger on the fender doesn't make it a muscle car. If it has airbags, it isn't a classic if its got on board computers it doesn't have a soul Hot rods make big horsepower but the adverse of that statement is merely a fallacy and an advertising come-on..
tfeverfred this past aug. I bought a new Chrysler 300 daily while I was waiting for all the paper work I was looking around the showroom they had 2 charger hellcats 600+ hp and two challengers the list on all of them was whithin acouple hundred bucks of 69000 your answer was right on the money TOM
Fred, you hit it out of the park. When I look at some of the nice new cars out there, I rationalize that anybody could buy one of those, only those driven to can create one of these.
Passion is a great word, and nails it. Do you think he understood? Those nights laying in bed, mentally torturing yourself on how your going to make that part fit and work with this part, turning those ideas you've got, over in your mind a dozen times, then making it happen in your shed, and loving how your plan came together. I like to refer to it, as an addiction, or a sickness even, for fun. Passion is a much better description.
Jeff, I think he MAY have understood. But I doubt it. Over the holidays, I had him over and let him check out my T project. He seemed honestly amazed. He seriously couldn't believe someone could build a working, driving car from a collection of parts. But I'm sure all of us, at one time or another, has had someone look with awe and bewilderment, when you describe your build or show your car. I'm constant amazed at the number of people who'll never "get it".
good thought Fred. i would like to add to it, when my dad and i drive the hot rod, we are 16 again........no new car can do that.
Very doubtful. About 5 months ago, he was having transmission problems. He said he drained it and poured in a FEW quarts of fluid and wondered why it wouldn't shift. I had a nice laugh, before I told him he was WAY short on fluid. So, for some folks, buying and owning a car they'll never put a wrench to, is a good thing. For them. Me? I love knowing where every part, nut and bolt on my car goes and what it does. As Hot Rodders, we can honestly say, our cars are a part of us and vice versa.
You know Fred, the sad fact is that he will probably crash the Demon within the first few weeks. He's young not really a car guy as you stated and 700 HP is a very dangerous thing in the hands of a novice. I hope it never happens to him, but the odds are against him, just go to YouTube and watch the mayhem. KK
We that truly know what it's like to build something that took ten times longer than we planned and cost at least that much more to finish, salute you. When the first Plymouth Road Runners came out I bought one for $3201 out the dealers door. It would blow the doors off of my '57 Chevy but it had no soul. I sold it a few months later for a profit and never looked back.
Eventually his car will depreciate to the point of no longer having much value. It'll just be another old car. Maybe if he hangs onto it for 40 years it'll be worth something. Until then, think of all the fun and turning heads that could be done with a hot rod.
tfeverfred, you hit the nail on the head, (PASSION) you, I and anyone who built something and the feeling of accomplishment will last a lifetime, pride of ownership, the people/friends you make. Your coworker, He's just developing his interest in cars, take him under your wing, be his mentor, show him the light. A lot of us grew up in a car type family's, so it came naturally. I would not criticize his new Demon car, it's a start to the hobby, everyone starts somewhere with something. I enjoy the Hobby, the HAMB, Old School Style/Look, Nostalgia, Kustoms, AND I have 2 OT late model factory hot rods to compliment my 2 51's, but I'm an Old Timer. My 50+ years experience says, ENJOY the Hobby !
I have a friend who owns a Hellcat. It's an amazing piece of tech, pulls like the space shuttle, is sedate as a Taurus if you turn all the computer assist on, and just a blast to drive. I *really* want one, because jeebus it is fast and fun. It is not a hot rod, or a muscle car. It is entirely too refined to be either. It is visceral and sterile at the same time. With all that said, I do understand the attraction. His car will pull adrenaline out of you like no modern production car I have ever been in. And you can make convenient payments Building a car has always been polar opposite of going to a dealer. I really don't care all that much for driving them when they are finished. For me the build is the addiction. The ride at the end is dessert. I will never own a new car of any kind because I detest the whole dealer experience, and I too prefer to know my cars more intimately. I will drive the new one my employer pays for. I'm not crazy!
Dodge Demon, Hell Cat, even Tesla are early muscle cars multiplied many times over. certainly something to consider adding to your collection if you have too much money laying around. or, if your DD is a Prius, etc. but, the thrill of a true early Hot Rod brings back, or creates, an experience that goes all the way thru your whole being. no matter what you build, or buy, someone can create a similar one that is faster. but, the rush of driving your Hot Rod (super fast, or easy cruising) that is not duplicated anywhere is like no other experience that you will ever have.
I work at a MoPar dealership and it's over run with hell cats....both Chargers, Challengers, hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they come out with a 300 hellcat! I love the SRT-8s too. They even make a Jeep grand Cherokee SRT. I drool over these factory muscle cars but when I come home to my little ford coupe, I'm glad I have it. And I damn sure won't be going into debt for a new car of any kind!
When I think about new cars vs my old carbureted, points ignited vehicles, I think about the drilling rigs I operated when I first started drilling. They were relics, some with drawworks (think huge winch w/accessories) that had a 4-5' long brake handle that clamped two huge band brakes on the drum, 3-4 speeds and reverse, two clutches that were geared to give you a high and low range, and a foot throttle that you used just like a gas pedal. All connected by drive chains to 2-4 diesels giving as much as 4800 hp at sea level. Gret fun. Now all the bigger drilling contractors are striving to replace these dinosaurs with AC rigs that are operated by joystick, inside a climate controlled house. For me, all the fun is gone. The darn things are surely more efficient, and you really have to try to make a mistake with the new ones, but they are no fun to operate for me whatsoever. Same with new cars and trucks. Given a choice, I'd much rather bomb around in one of my old piles, any day.
What Fred said, it's what's in your brain when your driving you own hot rod, the way you feel. My avatar is cramped, hot, noisy, no power brakes or steering, I can't drive it enough, it's a hot rod!!!
Back in the early 2000s I had a 2001 TransAm Ram Air. With a couple mods it was an insanely fast car. A ton of tickets and lawyer fees to prove it. It was fun but not as fun as driving my hot rods, so it sat most of the time. I sold it with very few miles. My hot rods are all flathead powered, quick but not fast. The statement I used to explain to a much younger car enthusiast was. "I have much more fun driving a slow car fast than a fast car slow".
All I know is when I'm driving the back way into Fomoso through the oil fields in my 56 pu with the stereo cranked up 406 singing … There's no place on earth I'd rather be at that moment. Certainly not in some new pile of crap ,no matter how fast its supposed to be.
Rumor has it this off topic tire slayer everyone is talking about will be around 1120 HP. It's almost as if they want to weed out the weekend warriors in one weekends time. I agree with the built not bought sentiment as well.
That's where the street rod and pro touring guys get their drivetrain from, wrecked too fast cars. In reality that is what the hot rods were too. Put the biggest baddest engine in the smallest lightweight car.
Fifty five years ago, March 10th 1962, I got my first car at age 14. Since then I've owned 97 cars and trucks of all ilks. I have been fortunate enough to have worked experimental flight test for Douglas, Boeing, Lockheed, and Rockwell at one time or another. I have built hot rods, sprint cars, midgets, and Bonneville cars over the years. I've also owned mustle cars. As far as I am concerned, nothing and I MEAN nothing can compare to the feeling you get when that hot rod, race car, or airplane you put together with your own blood, sweat, tears, and sometimes sleepless nights fires up and drives or flies, the sensation of satisfaction and pride of the accomplishment it brings to me is unmatched. To actually design, build, and use this amazing one of a kind machine is almost too much to comprehend. No mass produced car that goes however fast can match that. That is passion personified. It can't be matched by unscrewing your wallet at the dealer and buying a fix that will require 48, 60, 72, or 84 equal doses to cure you. My latest hemi powered roadster may only put out a little over half the horsepower of that, built by nameless faceless workers whose only connection with that Dodge is wages. But the joy it brings this old fart can't be measured in money or neighborhood envy EVER! To me there are only 2 types of cars, hot rods and grey four door sedans. The grey sedans may come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but since it ain't a hot rod, it's a grey four door sedan. My 2 cents plus.
The Jalopy Journal
