Doane Spencer,... Rolling Bones,.... And a Grumpy Ol' Man

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The " traditional look, " of the Spencer Roadster and hot rods. Went on to be the look of the LA Roadsters and Bay Area Roadsters. California -- CLUBS,
and the HIGHBOY--ROADSTER History. Doane Spencer Roadster was also a So-cal car. And yes, not rolling bones!!

 

Yes Stovebolt it is true. Nelson did build those two frames for the now infamous three windows. A simple and detailed back yard Hot Rodder Nelson was the individual that gave two individuals their start in making it BIG.

 

^^^^^^^^ ****in A ^^^^^^^

 

Doans pills for back pain?

 

I'm with you Harms (can I call you Harms??) and its probably not the fault of the Rolling Bones guys, but yes, lets quit calling it the Rolling Bones front end. Motion seconded, or thirded or fourthed or whatever it is by now....Motion carried.

Oh and I plan to rip it off for what I'm working on, but I have, and will continue to refer to it a Doane Spencer front end.

 

You have NO IDEA what you are talking about .
Yes Nelson , who was taught body work by my brother Jim Schmidt helped build the frame on my three window at MY DIRECTION AND WITH MY IDEAS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE SPENCER ROADSTER . LET ME REPEAT THAT SO YOU WILL UNDERSTAND - NELSON , A VERY TALENTED HOT ROD BUILDER FOR SURE , A STUDENT OF MY BROTHER , A FRIEND THAT WAS WORKING IN A BODY SHOP HELPED BUILD THE FRAME ON MY COUPE AT MY DIRECTION . I ALSO GOT HIM THE JOB BUILDING LANCE'S FRAME WHICH HE PUT A FEW OF HIS OWN IDEAS IN. HE NEVER TOUCHED THE FRAME ON KEITH'S COUPE.
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH

 

How could anyone compare the two. The Doane Spencer car was finished, the Rolling Bones cars aren't. I never really got the hype of six figure unfinished cars the Bones guys build.

 

ouch

 

Very well said...

 

and there you have it............ i love all this car's , bones and doans...... haha poet too.

 

Actually, Spencer never finished the car in this iteration. It was Neal East who "finished" it.

 

Thats it - I will never believe what I read about who does what in a rodding magazine.

I guess we have to just treat them as eye candy. That's all you car rely on - what you can see, not what's written.

Thank-you for correcting this issue Mr Schmidt. I am sorry if I offended you in any way.

Here is the DS car,



And here is a RB built car - you make your own mind.

 

i agree , we have always said we try to steal the best ideas of those who can before us. Nothing is new , it's all been done before

 

the best 32 roadster ever built , so far ahead of the curve that it's still ahead of the curve. The funny part is he would have never gone backwards like we do today , he was always going forward

 

How does one pronounce Doane? Bones is easy...

 

Some things just can't be explained, you either get it or you don't. I had the good luck years ago of working on some of the finest automobiles ever built, European GP cars from the 1920's - 1930's. If you look at a good unrestored GP car and a Rolling Bones built Hot Rod the similarities and warmth are striking. Form follows function, pure and simple, Doane Spencer designed the suspention, the Bones gave it "The Look" Bob

 

Ken not to worry. IMO You guys are the MAN

 

Can we give Henry Ford some credit too, he gave us the *****EN raw material to build our rolling works of art

 

I'm seriously not trying to stir the pot here. I really love the look of most all of the bones cars! But are they really "un" finished? I haven't been around long enough to know but I don't remember seeing any of these cars in a "finished" state. Aren't their cars built in a faux patina look? Please correct me if I'm wrong because I really don't know! Again I'm not trying to insult anyone. Just an opinion but saucerhead is correct if your comparing finish levels.

So I would say the "rolling bones" style is the "Spencer" style with "patina"...Am I wrong?

 

Lets not get sidetracked by the whole patina thing, lets stick to the subject at hand, namely the front end.

 

Ya know all youse guys with them DROPPED axles are just a bunch of copy cats

 

The facts as I see them are, Doane Spencer made that look popular in the 40's/50's and The Rolling Bones made it popular again in the 90's/00's (not sure how you abbreviate "the two thousands").

Are there other people building cars this way? Sure. . . one trip to Bonneville will tell you that, but The Rolling Bones brought it back into the eye of the "Hot Rodding Public".

I've met a lot of car builders, both at the top and the bottom of the totem pole. . . and I have to say, both Ken and Keith are extremely humble [I've know guys with less than half of their success (and ability) whom you couldn't talk to for more than 10 seconds before throwing up in your mouth].

In my opinion these guys build some of the best looking cars out there today. You may not like their paint, but you can not dispute that the stance, along with the fit of each car they build are top notch. . . and trust me, I've laid under and looked over some of their cars for hours and I couldn't find one crooked screw, and there's something to be said about that sort of attention to detail.

Great guys who build great cars. . . and that matters to me. You can build the most *****in' car out there, but if you're an ***h*le the car is worthless in my opinion.

These guys love cars, love driving them, love building them. . . and love talking about cars (even when being bombarded from all angles with questions).

I've pulled into shows and seen first hand people run over with tape measures and cameras to get the details on their cars. . . and I've never seen that happen anywhere else. And what's their response? "If you have any questions let me know. . . oh, and feel free to sit in the car if you want, just make sure you close the door when you're done".

 

I totally agree about "form follows function..." but I still don't see the big "copy" of Doanes suspension!
I see spring behind using totally different suspension parts other than the axle and perhaps the Hoot-eye shocks...although mounted differently.
Everything else is as different as two versions of a buggy spring suspension can be...seeing as how most major components MUST retain a certain relationship to ensure structural integrity and drivability no matter what version of buggy spring suspension is used.

I really feel that to consider this simply a copy of Doanes setup is an injustice to the Bones guys.
In fact...its actually a clever simplification of Doanes design and thats not an easy thing to do!!!

I would consider Jimmy Shines take on this style suspension (in his truck) to be more of a copy of Doanes original design...although it hasn't caught the same amount of attention as the Rolling Bones cars.

 

Best post on this thread !!!

 

Yep, it's all been done before, we just take various ideas/designs that exist and put them together to make a final product that suits our style/taste.

Is a chromed front suspension MORE finished than a painted one? Is glossy paint MORE finished than matt? Many build their rides and get to a point where they say, i'm finished, is it really? I guess finished is in the eye of the beholder.

 

I think it's more a thing of current times than the actual designer of the style..meaning, the Rolling Bones cars have gotten a lot of coverage in the past few years, and due to that it's simple to attach a name with the style.
I could be wrong, sure wouldn't be the first time..

And also i FULLY agree with this,

It just so happens that 'today' the style is ***ociated with RB's so we hear it a lot.

I also think Doane Spencer's roadster IS absolute perfection, and the Rolling Bones cars are pretty damn slick.

Tony

 

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Gotta disagree with you. What was popular in the '40's and '50's has always been in style. Yes, front-ends have changed, but the topic is on who should get the credit. Spencer's '32 will never go out of style and a name not just swept under the rug. Hot rod history is just that. And that's what we're talking about here is hot rod history and putting the record straight.

 

All arguments aside. . . this may be the best looking car built in the last twenty five years:

 

Tell that to the decades of the 70's, 80's and early 90's.

Well, since the Rolling Bones' front end isn't the same as Spencer's front end (everything from the frame, to the radius rods are different). The only thing they share is that the frame is pinched in, and the axle in front of the spring.

So with that being said. . . what the Rolling Bones build is in fact a "Rolling Bones Style Front End". . . and a lot of people are out there copying it.

So, if someone can influence other people to get out there and build cars they're doing something right.

 

I like what Doane Spencer did, I like what the Rolling Bones do, and I also like Jake Jacobs "Jitney" version as well. Some day I am going to build one exactly like theirs, only different.