How did Tiki's etc become a "Hot Rodding" symbol?

As I unwrapped the Tiki bobblehead that I bought on Ebay that arrived today, I got to wondering how this and other items became part of Hot Rod culture. I'm ***uming the surfing culture in California started the Tiki phenomenon. What about these?:
Devil Heads (and skulls)
The demonic Shriner or anything wearing a Fez
Shrunkin heads
Spider Webs
I'm sure there's more.
Was there one guy who started some of these trends?

Todd

 

I'm pretty sure Chili Phil started the Skull Heads and the Spider web thing all by himself ! Is that true Phil ?
Love ya,
Rob

 

tikis got lumped in in the 60s i think because of a crossover with surf culture's affection for cars as well as the blending of all the coolness from socal when it was beamed around the country on tv and in movies. there is also the exotica connection that i'll get to directly...

the devil head goes way back. hot rods are bad, the devil's bad, etc. look at WWII nose art also and then think about how WWII aviation fueled post WWII hot rodding.

skulls work because it is the driver's way of thumbing his nose at death (potentially from wrecking his hot rod) and can be seen all over WWII planes, both allied and german.

i THINK the shriner would be a more recent icon because fraternal organizations were much more popular in the 50s and 60s, so it is somewhat of a retro addition.

shrunken heads, like tikis, have a connection with exotica, tiki bars and exotic music in the late 50s-early 60s. started as a response to boredom in the 50s as well as the GIs that served in the pacific's memories of the islands (torrential rains, dead bodies 3 feet deep and the hell of fighting japanese in the jungle excepted). lots of big name restaurants had tropical drinks served in mugs shaped like severed heads and the like. bob falfa had a shrunken head in his 55. i think this bit is unrelated, but the heads were also somewhat popular in the early part of the 20th century or late 1800s and for a time, a market actually existed of sorts and they were bought from headhunting tribes. saw a supposed real one like that on ebay years ago for about 5 minutes.

 

Tiki's may have been brought into 'the culture' from hotrodder's who served during WWII stationed in the South Pacific...............

Skulls and devils used by rodder's around the 20's??? Maybe even earlier....a sign of rebellion.......

 

chromedRAT has got it right. Don't forget the beatniks, along with surfing and the "beach" movies...the whole culture of the late 50's, etc.

Now the "stuffed doll leaning on the car" thing can only be blamed on complete dip****s that know absolutely nothing about rodding. The only one I ever saw that I liked was placed UNDER the front tire of a Divco at a show.

 

Tiki's, etc. aren't "hot rodding symbols". They're symbols of poor taste, whether in a hot rod, lead sled, lowrider, rice burner or any other form of vehicular transportation. And....they're not "traditional".

 

How exactly would Tiki's, or a cool looking skull shiftknob be in "poor taste"? There's a lot of guys on here, myself included, that have Tiki art of some form in their cars. If you're going to offend a large portion of hotrodders, you might want to explain why.

 

May be not in the car sense but to us Maori,they symbolise life itself.
I guess from your perspectiver a tiki is just some kitsch thing that is overcommer******ed to ******y like plastic madonnas and statues of Jesus ,and thats true too.But the underlying thing is that there is other "cultures" out here.
"tiki" by the way means ***** in Moari.Other words from different areas were Raho,Teke,( female) etc .

 

This is what happens when the wife goes to the show, and she (and the rest of the wives) are bored. They all like doing crafts & hobbies, and thus begins the "cry baby" fad. It's pretty much gone (I hope).

As the young ladies grow older, they won't have this habit - and something else will replace it (hopefully something guys can tolerate without gritting their teeth).

 

This is an ignorant statement, and I've got a large collection of 1950s and '60s magazines that prove you wrong.

 

Huh?....I like Tiki's very much and they are a big part of me and my families life, as are the Hot Rods. I cannot say they are a Hot Rod symbol but I will say they are not bad taste.

 

I agree too pretty ignorant thing to say. Sure taste varies from person to person, but I would say that they are traditional in a 50's and 60's period car.

 

tikis may not be a hot rod "symbol," but they sure the hell are of the period, and of some substantial popularity back then. roth sold em. like it or not, they have as much backstory as anything else we stick on our cars. i'll venture that the connection with cars is much amplified today though. i don't mind them, but then again, i'm a total rummy and sorta like it when drinks are served in tiki mugs on fire.

 

Ignorant! Tikis are poor taste? WTF! "What a maroon"!!!

 

Not traditional? Tiki Up pal. Google "Christian's Hut" in Balboa Beach. How far back do we need to go? Poor taste?

Probably not as cool as your local iHop, huh?

And didn't Cry Baby Dolls originate in Texas?

 

**** you, you ****ing ****!
Now shut up and learn something,as I sip my rum from my Tiki mug

 

"I like hot rods"...........AND TIKI!

 

Hell I have a tiki hut in the back yard and a Tiki bar in the house along with Tiki's them self's around the pool. I listen to Herb Albert and the Mexicali br*** along with my Wanda Jackson, and Johnny Cash. And if that ain't cool or traditional you can kiss my Tiki tattooed ***. Useless

 

Oh, so misinformed Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiki_culture#Tiki_Culture_in_the_United_States

This will help you figure it all out.
Tiki's are cool. Hot Rods are cool.Beef. its whats for dinner

 

I had no idea that Tiki's had anything to do with hot rodding. I guess you learn something every day.

Dave

 

in my head tiki's and hot rodding aren't truly related,
however me being a psychotically supers***ious person,
this one that I found
(old hambers will remember this was one of my first Hamb-threads)
holds great respect in my household.
I make sure it is not facing the wall and not full of umbrellas,
especially when going for a long ride. serious.

its an old one supposedly from fiji.
this cameraphone doesn't give it justice,
there is intricate carving throughout.

TP

 

I've had this one for about 30 years.
It was a gift from a woman who used to deliver yachts between Hawaii, Tonga, and Tahiti.
I think it is from Tahiti.
She called it ****head" which I now know is more apporopriate than I thought before this thread.
She was not at all into hotrods...SCUBA diving with sharks off the "Calypso" maybe, but not cars.

 

I hate to type this DrJ but I hope its bigger than it is on the screen!
Cause of its nickname!
TP

 

Dude, that thing COMMANDS RESPECT, it's like if you **** up one time that ****er is gonna curse you , then again, I'm kinda
supers***ious about tikis and such.

 

Whats a Tiki?

The only tiki I know, is that bad lifter in my engine...................

 

I like the plastic ones, they can be so life like

 

Check Out the Hot Rod Hula Hop. This Weekend in Columbus, Ohio.
http://www.hotrodhulahop.com/

 

In America, we steal from other cultures (tiki's, tattoos, piercing, etc) and pretend it's ours......gotta remember this country is only a couple hundred years old since we stole it, and some of the artifacts from around the world are thousands. We do have the "car thing" though....hotrodding is definitely ours.

 

true enough...we are an amalgamation of watered down bits and peices of all sorts of cultures...thats Americana...pop culture.

those of us who try, TRY anyway, not to be too serious, it is a welcome diversion from "upscale" art, culture, cars, etc...where everything is too serious. I like America's cursory brushings with the surface of things, enjoying them lightly, easiliy...It suits my attention span...thats why I like drag racing...somewhere between about 14 seconds, and 7 seconds...it starts all over again, with different cars!

 

Tell that to the bartenders at VLV