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

I much prefer seeing Tikis and hotrods together, as opposed to seeing those stupid stick-on bullet holes. I have several, and may even find a way to sneak a few more into the house when the wife ain't looking.


By the way, Falfa had a skull hanging from his mirror, not a shrunken head.

 

it's not part of my hot rod culture.

but,i think you can thank hot topic..

 

For me, that just looks silly in Columbus. As noted just followers of fashion. Might as well run billet.

 

It's Eight and a half inches, in height, and cir***ference.

 

Ya.........followers of fashion......I've been into tikis, rat fink, shrunken heads, Hot Rods, since the 60's....I always thought they crossed the same lines...Counter Culture ! As for followers of fashion...the people ***ociated with and putting on the event have been true followers of Tiki, and anything that is ***ociated with it, since the first time they went to a local tropical bar/restaurant, with Mom and Dad, back in the 50's early 60's...as for followers of fashion...not hardly...It's been a sub culture longer than I can remember......not as fashionable and main stream as Hot Rodding!

Why SILLY?? Don't you like to have FUN ???
Why don't you come to the event, and see what Kool time it is !!
I'll buy ya a Mai Tai !!

 

man i coulda sworn it was a shrunken head... i'm going to have to watch it again, aren't i??

as far as the hop goes, columbus had one helluva great old tropical restaurant in the kahiki (look it up if you want...) until walgreens tore it down despite it being declared a historic building. that's alot of the reason those guys put that kind of show on. there's a group around central ohio that gets into the whole polynesian thing largely because of the old kahiki and they help put that show on.

alot of former managers of the kahiki started their own smaller restaurant that holds the meal the night before their show show. never been to the show itself, but the restaurant has some killer food and the drinks are top notch, most of the time mixed by the guy that ran the bar at the kahiki for years. that sort of scene was a GOOD TIME if nothing else when it was in full swing in the 50s and 60s. that's why i like a the polynesian thing, the kahiki was a blast and like something right out of a movie in every respect, the SAME as that place had been since the 60s.

 

nope...skull. I could not remember for sure, either...I checked. skull.
I myself...like fun. I like Tiki's...I like skulls. oh, yeah...and g***ers, too...I even like rat rods...I may be looking into some tweed door panels, too, soon...

too many parrots out here...just repeating what ever they think folks wanna hear...to be "cutting edge"

 

So they do not have to be so boring!!!

 

Can I bring a karaoke player with me?

I wouldn't be surprised to see 3-4 who were around in the 50's and 60's and have fond memories of mom and dad getting soused on drinks with umbrella's and palm trees in them while listening to Don Ho, but I'll bet they are in the overwhelming minority.

Yeah I'm generalizing but I'll bet far more have tats up and down the arms with pomps than know what a tiny bubble is.

For those, checking out the newest line of eyebrow and lip jewelry will make for a good time until the new fad comes along.

I'm all for doing whatever it is that makes you happy though. If following the lastest fad and calling yourself a rebel is it, what do I care?

 

Well, Phil Alvin of the Blasters sort of resembles the Aku Aku on Easter Island. That is tikiesque. Phil Alvin is cool. Ergo: Tiki's are cool.

Now skulls and spider webs are Counter Culture. Like the counter at Hot Topic. The one with the cash register.

Now on the subject of crybaby dolls, have you ever seen one's head? No you haven't. There's the shrunken head connection.

The presence of ol' Scratch, the Devil? You summon Him when you cuss at your car.

Lastly, I think the Shriner hat deal has something to do with drinking. And it's not called a Fez, unless it comes from the city of Fez. The proper word is Tarboosh.

Southern California residents may pay me for this wisdom by buying me a Zombie or Hurricane or Planters Punch at the Bahooka resturant, when we finally cruise there.

OK?

 

That big "stone" head is somebody's representation of the Easter Island heads, not a Tiki.

All that stuff was purveyed by J. C. Whitney and other hoardes of accessory catalogs through the 40s-50s-60s and even now. Why not universal chromed pelicans with light-up multi-colored wings and varied size chromed horses in full custom saddlery and harness? Yummy!

It all comes and goes, in various ethnic neighborhoods, the general public, and then back to oblivion to wait for a new cycle. And every time the "now" generation claims the fads as their own, then traditional, then oblivion.

 

It's funny to read the responses and then look at where people say they are from. Question was asked by a Canadian, shot down my a Texan, and "defended" mostly by Left Coasters.

Different strokes for different folks.
(Seems like a sub-topic to a East Coast vs. West Coast Style.)

As for me, I dig all encomp***ing surf inspired things, including tiki dudes.

 

tattoos have been around longer than hot rods...

 

Not on hot rodders in the way they are today. Plates in ones lip or rings to make your neck 3 feet long have been around before hot rodding also.

I imagine these will be a**** the next fads.

Today they are a fad. Like with all fads there are the hard core who have been doing it forever but they are the minority like I said earlier. Most will move on to the next fad.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the swan hood ornaments with the wings that light up catch on next. Actually, that would be a welcomed fad over some we see. IMO.

Won't be long before there will be big hair with leg stockings, red leather jackets and gloves on one hand make a comeback.

 

Hot rods predate tattoos as a FAD.

 

I dunno why they are ***ociated with hot rodding but it's all cool imagery. Tattoos have sure been a long "fad" lol.

 

And…

When did defensiveness and reflexive anger become ***ociated with hot rods?

 

I wish someone would have told me tattoos were a fad before I got sleeves

 

Would it have changed your mind?

 

Just a joke. Of course not. I get tattooed because I like it, not to fit in. Unfortunately I know some people who did get tattoos to fit in with the "crowd".

 

Now, to bring it back home, does anyone have tattoos of tikis?

 

I do...as a matter of fact.
I like them...they remind me of Gilligans Island.

 

Cool! Now I'm thirsting for a tropical drink. Maybe I'll talk my baby into having a Kava Kava Bowl with me. That's the one with the long straws, served in a gaudily painted bowl. If We have two of 'em, I just might end up with a tiki tattoo myself.

 

its not a bad idea...hedge your religious bets, my friend...
just in case the pearly gates turn out to be made of bamboo!
or you find yourself needing to sedate an overly moody volcano...they might come in handy...
of course I think you have to throw yourself into it, either way...

 

They remind me of the Brady Bunch.

 

I am planning on getting one at some point...now that I know what tiki really means, perhaps I should get a tiki tattoo on my tiki.

 

The Partridge Family's bus reminds me of the Greatful Dead. Jerry Garcia's birthday is this week. He's is still dead.

 

that too!
and Scooby Doo...

 

DirtyThirty is right when he states that its a shame when the things that you enjoy are over-saturated to the point where the images that make you happy, now make you puke.
I remember back in the early 60's when the images of skulls, cobwebs, the iron(maltese) cross were seen infrequently. A cam company used the maltese cross as a logo and there was a white T altered in Southern California with one painted on the side, Old Heidelberg, I think.
Most of these icons were, especially the tiki, more identified with customs more than hot rod, although, as we know, that line is somewhat blurred.
It was within the past few years that the skulls, webs, iron crosses, etc. multiplied into a m*** produced, m*** marketed wave....mostly embraced by newbies, posers, and wannabes.
The awful "fashion sense" of marketing ruined the Von Dutch logo...forever. None of the dopes that wear VonDutch gear have a clue who he was.
The popularity of the chopper market in the past 6-8 years has also completely saturated their market with these same images, yes, even tikis.
So, DirtyThirty is right...
The over marketing of what is"cool" is a sure-fire way to make something uncool, over night.
Too bad. Those are all neat images, but I think I'll p***.