Is traditional the new billet?

So... Let me get this straight... you are saying that corporations should not sell out?

What exactly would the purpose of a corporation be then?

 

Amen brother man...

I'm building a '94 Chevy with a 425 Olds...I know 4 other people who are building essentialy the same trucks...88-98 Fullsize Chevys, one with a 350 Olds, one with a 403, and two with 455's...Bastards...

 

I agree with the magazine shift focus as that is quite obvious in the past few months but they don't start the trends as much as promote them.

I'd say that we see more traditional style cars being built because a lot of guys are tired of sinking a ton of money into a car only to have it be outdated in a year or two while they watch us with our "traditional" and often "era specific" cars happily put along year after year with our biggest worry being if we are going to cave in and put radials on the car because we are tired of it not handling the freeway speeds on the longer cross country trips we are getting to enjoy because we aren't broke all the time from having to buy the latest offerings from the wheel and tire companies to keep up with the trends. We could play a HAMB trivia game at the Goodguys in Spokane that amounted to "Guess what year that mod rod was built". Pick 5 outdated mod rods and use the wheel-tire, steering wheel, gage package and engine trim along with paint hue to determine which year it was built. Someone would actually have to go around and ask when the cars were actually built though.

Here we shoot for an era and hunt down the proper goodies to make the car or truck true to that era and then paint and upholster it to match. the big issue often is the width of whitewalls being proper for a certain era rig. But next year or ten years from now the car isn't dated even if it shows it's age a bit and now has real Patina to go along with the era specific parts.

I agree with MercDeuceMan in that there will always be a change in trends and fads will come and go many times more. That may not be an altogether bad thing as it keeps the creative juices flowing and for many of the guys on here that build cars for a living keeps the cash flow going.


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That is funny, sadly true, but funny

 

Very well put!

 

Billet Laden Barn Find...sounds like a good band name...

Little Bob and the Billet Laden Barn Finds....

 

I just do what I like... don't sweat what everybody else is doing. I've never been a fan of Billet stuff at all. I like the look of traditional, so that's what I'm going to keep doing.

I don't really care if the "scene" gets bigger or smaller, although as it has been mentioned, it would be nice if they made some nice repop speed parts, but I don't know, maybe that would take away from the awesomeness of the originals, maybe not.

Oh well.

 

This discussion is the reason I build for myself and not worry about what others like or dislike. My 2 cents

 

I'm glad to see more 40's and 50's styled builds in the mags. I like cars! I will say this "I'd rather drive my car with pieces of aluminum that I've had to lathe down myself than ride those high horses that alot of you guys seem to be on". I'm sure someone will say "That car would be better if it didn't have billet on it" and if I hear them I'll reply "I made that shit myself asshole" so to each their own. My point is this. if you don't like it, don't look at it, buy it, talk about it or give it any of your time or energy.

 

Fact is "traditional" may catch on and reach "fad status", But since "traditional" (as it is idealized on the HAMB) is more or less "the real deal", TRADITIONAL will outlive "fad status" to recover once again, hurt but not broken....

To understand my way of thinking see my signature...

 

Yeah, I don't think I could ever get angry about there being too many traditional hot rods out there.

 

what's the point of this thread? is traditional the new billet? makes no sense at all.

 

Wouldn't Lil' John and the Billet Laden Barn Finds make more sense....

 

Hahaha.....

 

I had a guy offer to trade me a car built by a very well known builder with over 100K in receipts for all of the billet parts for the Atomic Punk. So I guess "yes" is the answer to your question....for now.

 

You are just as wrong as Joe Q. Public! Fiberglass has been around since the early fifties in hot rods and Ford used it in the fourties.Fiberglass came around to hot rods the same way a pair of Guide headlights ,aluminum dual carb manifold to a flat head,etc. To make the car look better or go faster! Everyone has a different idea of what traditional is to them.You build your car,and I will build mine.and lets both have fun with our heaps.

 

Lil' John is a rapper...Rappers like chrome...makes no sense at all...But then again if Lil' John Buttera could've sang...

 

You said it!, but people now are forgetting what is traditional. All the tech Gizmo parts guys are making are very cool, but I feel the word traditional to describe them is sometimes wrong. Now please don't get me wrong I love that stuff it just seems that if it's hand made or bare metal or has lightning holes people immediately say "that's traditional", and that's not always the case. I see more ideas taken from mini truckin' magazine than Car Craft or Hop Up in recent years. As far as Traditional being the new billet now, I think the answer is yes because it seems to be what everyone wants the way billet was in the late 80's and early 90's.

 

I believe Vern Tardel, Bruce's, Iona, Pinkie's, Rolling Bones, Austin Speed Shop and many many more all build very nice traditional cars for paying customers. So yes, you can buy traditional.

 

Yet some major shops build trad rides - if "it" can't be bought are these builds not traditional? If they have all the "right" parts and an early look, how are they different from the "traditional" cars that the average guy screws together at home, other than maybe the quality, execution and consistency of sticking to the traditional theme - something often compromised when amateurs complete a build. Don't get me wrong, I'm an amateur builder myself but pros are pros for a reason, most are VERY good at what they do - you'd be crazy to spend money with one if they weren't. Anyone, amateur or pro, can build a traditional car or a high-zoot modern car or a . . . all it takes is the right parts put together in the right way. To say you can't buy it seems elitist.

What a lot of people forget is that traditional is a relative term. What's traditional to the gray beards may not be to the young guns.

Personally, the 80's are traditional to me. I was growing up with late 70's and early 80's hotrods - I LOVE some of the early 80's Lil' John, Boyd, Fat Jack stuff, billet and all. The Don Smith '32 Woodie that Boyd built in about '83 is one of my favorites, same with The Kolmos '32 Tudor tub which I actually got to see in person at the LARS this year - hell, it was built 24 years ago! How many "oooh, it ain't a hotrod if it ain't got a flathead and shitty brakes and yada yada" HAMBERs weren't even born yet when these killer rides were hammered out (or in the case of Smith's woodie, carved)?

I'm putting a sbc with 4 DCNF webers, offset distributor and a Fat Jack-inspired gilmer drive in my '32. I'm thinking I might whack the top off (the chop is kinda screwed anyhow) and do the tub thing like Boyd did for the Kolmos'. Smooth it up nice. Will it be traditional? For me, hell yeah!

Steve

 

It has indeed made for a decent read and some good observations. A tad biased regarding the age thing though. I'm 52 and really don't know any other way but I have the advantage of having been raised by an 'original' hotrodder. We did many things in my youth that still hang today and I do feel what you're saying about most others who simply read it or research it (not all bad). Some of the things you bring up like EFI and radial tires, well I just can't do it myself but again not all bad. I'd really much rather have an early cable/solenoid OD behind a 4spd and for one of my builds I'll do just that, but the other will get a boring 700R4 behind it so I can cruise at modern speeds on the cheap. Add to that it'll be tuckked up in a 60s trans tunnel and if I keep it to myself who'd know...or care.

I really think that by-and-large those who've learned it, respect it, pass it on and truely understand the drive and significance of what most of this is benefit more than 'followers' and always will. I learned about chopped Mercs before I was 10yrs old since Dad had all the books. The Dream Truck too. In some ways both large and small I was there even though much of it was somewhat after the fact. I feel fortunate to see things develop (they have to) and also see things go away. Your Pro Street observations are a good example of that. I even built several, not for me, never wanted it. As good as it was that dragsters went rear engine I still love the look and the all out rebellion of an early slingshot. I guess after all there's not much verbage to hang on the vibe of what we're mostly about. It's very true...you get it or you don't. I applaud both but prefer the cars that hit the mark.

 

I have a set of first gen boyds on the side of my house was gonna use on one of my trailers...

 

I hear you................................. I am doing the same with Centerlines. That way I have 70's 80's rodders and Drag Racers covered!

 

The "checkbook build" is just as "traditional" as traditional cars themselves. Shops have been around to build cars for "goldchainers" longer than most members of this message board have been alive (I know there are some old farts on here, so I won't state, "all"). For example, who built the Hirohata Merc, one of the benchmark traditional kustoms? It wasn't built by some lone "schmuck" in the back of his garage.

 

does that mean that 10 years from now somebody is going to find a purple and teal mono-color sedan with a Mustang II front clip and splash graphics and call it an traditional barn find?!

 

For those of you that say you can't "buy" traditional - should George Barris have only built cars for himself?

There were tons of fabricators back in the day that would build cars for profit, just like there are today.

 

I see trends going in a melding of the two. More and more perople are building nice driving period looking vehicles. The interiors and exterios look like mild customs, with high tech running gear, modern engines and a/c. You get the subtle look with all the modern features like air, stopping, etc.
This is kind of nice in a way, maybe the cars will actually get driven.
I wouldn't say traditional is mainstream, just yet, but almost.
It was nice to see some traditional rods actually being driven at Billetproof detroit this year, and the younger crowd.

Mark

 

My A was in the Aug 09 SR.....thanks Limeworks/ Whittier!

 

Wiggum!

Seriously though. I still scavange most of my parts out of a junk yard, I still wear Levi's 501 jeans even if they dont fit the same, and I still wear t-shirts and wife-beaters because I have a lot and I like how they feel. Maybe if I am still alive in another 10 years, I will be in fashion again... and maybe in another 50, my car will be too... I still don't give a damn what anybody else thinks.

 

The entire notion of what 'the new' is, leaves me cold. Reminds me of Steve Martin's character, Navin Johnson, in the movie, The Jerk, where he sends an old bottle of wine back, insulted, demanding 'fresh wine'.

If one is vulnerable to fashion, one will become a fashion victim. Then again it's differences of opinion whut makes horse races. Someday I'll build something and inevitably some will snicker, I suppose.