Hot Rods Period correct lowered hot rods

Funny sometimes when you really study the pics you see things that passed you by...Guess it was shoes on in the house then eh......actually all them white fuzzy and padded interiors of the sixties shoes off was a policy to some I believe I read somewhere.

 

Yeah i know, but " shoes stink" and he said "stink`n shoes", funny in my warped mind.

 

I agree a lot of todays cars are far lower then the car the day.
It also depended on what part of the country you lived in. Hi-Boys ruled the west, channeled here on the east coast.
However west coast customs tended to be lower then the east.

From what I have been told be the old timers and reading magazines of the day. The customs where higher here because of the hilly terrain as compared to the west. (I think they are referring to L.A.)






Fred Cain's East Coast 40 Ford

From Kustom Rama-https://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=File:Honk-august-1953-fred-cain.jpg


Valley Custom Shop built West Coast 40 Ford



Side by Side East Coast is much higher

 

There are these two...

 

I guess it is the next generation but to me lowering means suspenion modifications not body mods.

 

Hello,

Back in 1953, our dad bought a big 4 door Buick sedan for the family drives. It was a two toned, big road hog. But, for the two small boys, there was a ton of room in the back seat to nap, play around and kick each other while on family trips. Normally, a 1952 Buick has the look of a huge moving vehicle. The standard look was one of a big heavy, lowered sedan.

It was big, but the car he traded in was a 1949 4 door Buick Roadmaster…Now, that was large, if not, the largest we have ever been inside riding around. Maybe it was because we were little kids… The internet tells us that the 49 was 3 inches longer overall than the 52.

This was the 52 Buick that got us stuck in Baja Mexico on an extra long distance, fishing/camping trip. With 4 people and fishing/camping stuff, it was very low to the ground.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/new-cars.1111133/page-2#post-12611549



The lowered, modified, 1952 Buick two door was painted an “ice” purple and had enough accessories to make it a real daily driver/cruiser with the real custom car appearance. For some reason, it did not look as huge as our dad’s 52 Buick sedan. But, there are similarities…

Jnaki

This purple Buick was a low, mean- looking, custom daily cruiser, something we would have seen in the 50s and 60s. (some “Lakes Side Pipes” are just for looks, but back in 1956-57, we had our pipes welded into the whole system for uncapped sound, until we got a ticket.) But, this lowered custom is still cruising around in 2018.

 

Addendum:
Hello,

When the lowering fad hit my brother and his older friends, there was a mad rush to get it done in 1955-58. In his first car, a 51 Olds sedan, we started off with c-clamps crushing down the springs to see how low it could go. They were very crude clamps and would only squeeze a couple of coils. But, there was a need to get another clamp on the other side of the coil to make it lower evenly on one side. Then the same process was done on the other side coil.

That made a dent in the look of the car, and the fun thing was driving down the street to see what it looked like. I did not have a license, but my brother allowed me to drive down the street so he could see how it looked. The big surprise was that as soon as the car went over a bump in the road or intersection, the clamps came apart or slipped off, making a clanging noise and irregular stance.

But, at least my brother was able to see what it looked like rolling down the street. 8 total small clamps vs. bumps, something was going to happen… Now, the clamps could go to the next guy for his car to see what it was going to look like raked, lowered or both.
These are new versions. But, the old ones looked like metal shelf brackets with an adjustable nut and bolt. They popped off easily with the first steep bump.

After the clamps did their job of 1”or 2” of lowering, the car was taken to the local muffler shop to get the coils cut. One of his friends did not do the clamp thing and decided to cut the coils 3” to get the maximum low stance. He needed to buy new coil springs as the new look scrapped the lower oil pan. Most of the teenagers started out with the clamps just to get a look, but some kept them on to cruise the streets, with the irregular stance happening often.

Jnaki

My brother did the same thing to the rear of the 51 Olds Sedan and finally found the lowered stance he wanted. All coils were cut evenly 1” in the back and 2” in front. When he sold the car to his friend to finance his new 58 Impala, the new owner also drove the Olds around in this lowered stance.



In reverse, the 58 Impala was also in the clamping stages to see what it would look like lowered. It was a big, black cruising car with a powerful motor…what a combo that would have been. But, the look did not equate to a fast drag racing stock car, so the clamps stayed off. The springs remained stock.

When I was the sole owner of the 58 Impala from 1961 to 65, there were raising and lowering stages again. My friends and I tried one more time to clamp down the front coil springs, add in the two, dual tube, chrome scavenger pipes and keep the back stock for extreme California Rake look. The pipes were ok for the street, but they were noisy.

The look was also ok, but not the look of a fast, street race car, daily driver we were trying to showcase. The stock height was the best for the Impala and at the drags. Besides, with 4 teenagers inside, the Impala was lowered just by sheer weight anyway.

Finally, the time period of raising the front end came into play and without ordering new coils and longer shocks, we put in booster plugs between the spring coils to raise the front by force. It did look like those silly gas coupes and sedans with a “party in the air” look. “Hey buddy, your tires are having a party and want the front end to come on down…”

It was hard to have a clear sight line ahead. Also, these plugs fell out faster than those old spring clamps from the late 50s. So, the stock height was enough. The front end rose up during all fast acceleration races, anyway. But, it looked stock during daily drives to high school and cruising around.
boosters

 

From my misspent teen years in the 50s, I remember shoebox customs that had furniture casters mounted on bottom side of rear bumper. Many of the car shows in upstate NY used high school athletic fields for outdoor shoes and there would be a few football players to help get the cars into the infield by lifting rear to clear the low curb on the running track.

 

The coil spring compressing clamps available now have a much better design. They consist of a u bolt and a bracket, very similar to an exhaust clamp. Two are used per spring, placed on opposite sides of the spring, clamping two coils together. They work well and don't fall out. I've used them on two cars ('59 Chevy wagon, '65 Ford wagon). The clamps lowered the front end of both cars about 2 inches.

I have also used and had good luck with the twist in "monkey nut" spacers to raise or level cars. Twist them in where you are able, then tap them around the spring with a hammer to the desired position. Also, keep them spaced evenly on opposite sides of the spring, this helps keep them in place.

Kind of hillbilly, but it beats tearing apart your suspension for a minor adjustment.

 

no bags no switches no fat bitches

 

This is true to a point. A lowered center of gravity definitely can help reduce body roll, and cutting coils increases the spring rate, stiffening the suspension, which again reduces body roll and quickens response. Lower sidewall tires does the same. But there comes a point of diminishing returns, and reduced suspension compliance and travel has a negative effect on handling. The cartoonish channelled jobs with the rear tires far above the rear deck level aren't being done for handling sake, and the cars won't ever see a day at the track (except from the parking lot).

 

Notice neither of those cars has the rear tires above the rear deck.

 

A number of low cars have re-engineered chassis/frames to allow for proper or close suspension travel, so mute point almost.. My A (which isn't period) has a custom frame and spring mounts (rear) specifically for this purpose and strokes in the imperfection in the road pretty well considering, imo.. and it's scrub line low.. It was designed in part with handling in mind and the rear tires are body high..

I can think of a number of lakes cars that were built with tire above the deck and I'm assuming partly because of the more common use of oversized wheels.. Less so on the street obviously because of 15's and 16's were prevalent..

.. Tires close to deck height...

 

My Olds powered 34 from 1961. 6 inch dropped axle, Olds engine, hydramatic, and rear end on a transverse spring and radius rods.
I don't recall rods being much more extreme than that, but there were plenty of customs that were curb draggers, that I would have considered too low to be practical.
Bob

 

Not sure what your premise is by "saying" this, its historically inaccurate or un-attractive but either way.. First rule of being a historian, have a magazine collection.. lol Might be a cheap shot with T's but..

 

New Zealand, late 1960s.....

 

In the fifties I don’t remember any one “ laying frame” but i knew a few guys that the cars where real low i mean tail draggers. One good friend had a 53 merc convertible that was really low scraped on every thing but the girls dug it.

 

Look, I obviously touched a nerve, and for that I apologize. This was just an observation of 2 cars that I really like. I am not a fan of the heavily lowered and channeled cars, typically Model A coupe/roadster, that sits so low the rear tires end up above the rear deck level. But, this isn't a thread about likes or dislikes, so my post really was irrelevant to the topic, and again, I apologize.

 

Most of the channeled cars were eastern cars, there were some west coast ones but not nearly as many as in the east.

 

Blues4u - not a problem, I've suffered a lot worse..

First car the "Apache" was billed as a combo of hot rod and sports car with a custom aluminum body.. maybe not a 10 in appearance but still interesting..

 

Hello,

In another addendum to the lowering story using the clamps to see how it looked, here is one that was recently told to me by one of my (late) brother’s good friends. (told to me from the one who bought the Lime Green 51 Olds sedan from my brother in 1957... He sold the Olds when he went into the Army a couple of years later.)

My brother was anxious to drive like we all are/were back then and even now. (Well, these days, it seems like there are a few that wait until it is absolutely necessary and not right on the 16th birthday.) But, some of his older friends already had hot rods and cruisers. So, the race was on to find a great car for cruising and possibly race at Lions Dragstrip, nearby.

The recent news was that before my brother turned 16, he had enough money saved from his jobs that he could afford to buy the 1951 Oldsmobile 2 door sedan. It was noted that, every one of his friends and my parents, could not get over the fact that he bought the 51 Olds before he had his driver’s license. We all chuckled over that one. He was one determined hot rodder.

The only photos we had saved were the ones with the color Lime Green and Moon Discs. When I filmed this Olds Sedan, I always thought that was the color it was. But, my memory said pale yellow was the stock color. Since his closest friends did not remember the color, either, and I had no proof of the car being yellow, so, I went with the color Lime Green from the photos. Photos, or in this case, movies don't lie about the origin of a car, since I was the one who took the films.

Come to find out 62 years ago, it was actually yellowish cream, not Lime Green. But, so far, no one has a color photo of the pale yellow 51 Olds Sedan from back then. My brother had the car painted a Lime Green before he sold it to his friend who told me this funny story, last week. He remembers riding around in the cruising area in the yellowish cream 51 Olds with my brother and other friends.

By the time it was painted the Lime Green, my brother was looking at a new, black 58 Impala and decided to sell the 51 Olds to supplement the cost of the new car.

It was that yellow cream color when the lowering incident took place. (and the screw on Moon Discs story took place)

Jnaki
One day, those old photos of a yellowish cream 51 Olds sedan will pop up. At the time (Late 1957), I thought this Olds was going to be my first car, since I knew it well in maintenance and upkeep.

I think that my dad was getting tired of transporting him to all of his activities on the weekends. So, he allowed my brother to buy his first car, the yellowish cream 1951 Oldsmobile 2 door sedan. Besides, my brother looked 19 when he was 15. He was an old soul as a teenager. Back then people drove at 15.5.

(My brother allowed me to drive his 58 Impala at 15.5)

 

Love the fresh look with raised fenders and channeled body. Anyone got more info on this one??

 

https://www.customcarchronicle.com/featured-cars/paul-barrow-31-ford-sedan/

 

Doug Rice 1939 Ford. One of my favorites.

 

Thankfully that coupe is still alive and well here in the northwest.


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I saw it at the GNRS Custom Now & Then exhibit in2011! Here's a pic I borrowed of the net.

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Funny how they look better in color don’t they.


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