RANT: Low buck junk vs. traditional hot rods...

You don't.

It's his money and effort that went into the car. He thinks it's cool, so it is cool.

We, the car snobs, aren't footing the bill to build someone else's car.

Coolness is in the eyes of the beholder. Their opinion is just as right as anyone else's.

 

Every Thursday I spend working for one particular client at their main office and just crank out a bunch of corporate design crap for 8 hours. Last week I was outside by my car havin' a smoke, and one of the guys from the place next door came out to his car to leave, right next to mine. The guy is obviously so white bread that he can't sneeze without squeekin' out his ass, but he expressed a genuine interest in the 98 so I talked to him for a couple minutes. We talked about old cars for a minute, then he starts to tell me about his old car. Turns out his dreamboat oldie was an '87 Mercedes. No friggin' wonder it's "super clean" dude...

To each their own. I guess I'm a snob, but I like what I like. Doesn't mean that I gotta be a dick about it. We're all in what we're into and if someone else digs it, even if it's for a minute then they forget about it, it's fine with me. Works both ways.

Olson

 

IMHO, a really ugly truck that everyone thinks is cool.

 

anyone have a pic? Is this Rudy as in roadstar?

 

I didn't though, I was real nice about it, I didn't shit talk the guy's S-10 (although I really wanted to) and I think he just doesn't know enough about old cars yet to make an offer like that. I did think it was pretty cool that he wanted to ditch his S-10 for an old 50's car, but he had a real high opinion of his '89 S-10 with graphics and rims on it (asking 10K!), and didn't seem to see the value of some classic American Iron. I told him that my '53 has a 348 in it, he didn't know what that was.

 

Maybe you dont know alot about the s-10 sceene and realize its the car worth its weight in gold and your the sucker. Maybee not but it would be funny. Theres a toyata jeep from I think the 70's thats worth a bunch if you find one.

 

Ditto.

 

Sometimes i wonder why i talk to and tolerate people.

But i have a friend that does not tolerate people. I think he comes across as rude sometimes. He is happy as he does not have to hear, all the shit i listen to.

I try to steer people the right way, as i see it.

Had a guy looking for his first rod, he came round to see the 37 ford model y (british car, based on 34 ford)

It had been chopped, channeled and had no glass. Quite a few other bits we missing also.

Took him out for a ride in the 70 year old car, no handling at 40mph, when we got back, he had a funny look on his face.

The problem was, he had an 2002 car with power everything, that does it all for you. Wheres the fun in that.

As you can probably tell he did not buy the car. Niether have i seen hide nor hair since, oh well i did try.

Cheers for now

Roland

 

Your kidding me, I love the baby 34's and your is bitchin'(seen it in your intro). If you(it) were here in the states, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.

Drew

 

Just wait til I get my Belflower tips and Astros on my Acura then I 'll be cooler than anyone! I might fool Kirk into letting me put it in BilletProof next year! I love wacky cars that people have done cause THEY really like it, we have aguy here in town who has what I think is a Volare station wagon with a GI rake, cragers etc.. done up like a hearse, with crappy Pier 1 imports "olde timey" lanterns mounted on the side, I mean this thing is GOOFY looking yet I like it cause its so offbeat and the owner looks like a natural born kook....

 

u can probably pull off rat rod on certain sixties cars, before they all went the way of the muscle. a few select 60s cars still have the lines of the 50's... but either way those cars would look better as a mild custom or custom anyway...

 

I'm guessing the camera executed an abort mission command line and ended itself immediately.

 

"you can't be part of the elite, unless you have someone to look down on."
__________________


Yeah...Now that I have a real deuce roadster and a huge heap of pre Korean war speed parts, I get to look down on most folks...only the occasional Bugatti or Doozy guy gets anywhere above me...
Look at that car this way: It IS an old car now in its own right. Its technology is almost all 1950's and '60's Chevy carryover parts, real hot rod fodder. It can be made fast with the same stack of parts that would look right on a Hamber's roadster. And--it is a very sensible place for a person without a pile of money to start rodding. What other car out there allows easy US car hotrodding on the cheap?? A young rodder can't even think about the price of a useable '55 Chevy or '32 Ford anymore. Yes, many of us could start cheaply with a discarded rust heap, but that's beyond most people--few young rodders could take on a car that needs everything fixed at once. If you want a car that you can drive now, pay for with a single trip to the ATM, and soup up as you use it, one pay check at a time, this is the perfect car. It really is just like a '57 Chevy was 30 years ago.

 

LOL i should have taken pics of the car and the mullet toting driver.

Sorry i sounded 'snobby' I didn't mean to, I'm just stating the fact that he rat rodded a Monte Carlo. He could have left it in primer, threw on a set of cragars and gave it a sorta muscle car look, but instead he mounted a skull head on the hood as an emblem (ripped off of a Night before Chrismas movie toy) painted huge iron crosses, and spiderwebs everywhere. how anyone could think that looks good is beyond me.

It really has nothing to do with money. If all all he could afford was that car- thats cool. It's an american V8 which is all that matters really. But adding all the 'frills' was a mistake. I never said anything, nor made any ugly faces or anything, if it's cool with him thats fine.

What rocks my boat is that there is more and more of these abortions coming out of the woodwork, all made to look like a 50's rod- and none pull it off and never will. I don't give a fuck what you do with your car... it's yours! but don't try to pass it off as something it's not.

My .02 cents

 

Yeah--add to my post: " But don't try to make it look like it was rodded in 1959..."

 

Graverobber arnt all your cars after 1960 lighten up a bit have fun relax take it easy mellow It was all a dream. now WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!! AND GET BACK TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!.................. see you soon.

 

I like these threads. It gives the poseurs plenty of exposures.



Mutt

 

1963 and 1964... but I don't add spinner 26" wheels and neon lights now do I?
To each his own I guess.

What you saying my cars are too new?!?!?!

 

i hear ya mine is 63 done like an early 60s custom - fully flaked, scalloped, skinny whites with spider caps. but no iron crosses, sculls, or spiderwebs here. i think thats what all of us are going after on this thread, goofy shit like that.

 

There's guys on the HAMB that do that.....

 

exactly

 

Flame me if y'all want, but my '64 Ford Custom (not Kustom) Tudor is a roach at the moment....red wheels, white lettered tires that came with it, surface rust, ratty interior, 223 6 and the whole 9 yards. This one has no 'theme' and I don't care. I call it my Rat Rod. I'd planned to build a streetable stock car out of it. But with our getting involved in vintage oval trackin', I've kinda lost my desire for that, plus the extra dollars aren't there. Eventually, 'Ellwood" will get a semi-gloss black Rustoleum paint job, maybe a home brewed rattle can flame job, an EFI 302 from a Lincoln I have lying around...just 'cause I enjoy playing with Ford fuelie systems, the front end lowered a tad and Bellflower tips 'cause I like the look. At the moment I'm having a blast driving him around town and freaking the 1-800-BuildMeARod crowd at the local shows. To me, the old car deal is supposed to be about fun and I'm having more than I can handle now...

Jan

 

So what does being fully flaked, scalloped, with skinny whites make the car DO any better? What exactly makes some random metal shavings in the paint make a car cooler? WE think it's the cool and a "correct" way to build a car, but is it really? If all cars were built the same, which ones would be "cool?" To a lot of people that have "good taste," bass boat flake on a car is NOT "cool" or tasteful, any more than we think iron crosses and spiderwebs are.

The only time it should be an issue is when people try to take away our right to build our cars, and if someone comes to our house and makes OUR cars the way we don't want them (i.e came over to my driveway and painted my car flat black with spiderwebs and iron crosses.)

 

Hillbilly Hotrodder - I TOTALLY agree with what you've said. Clearly you are someone secure enough to look PAST yourself and into your own past. Humility comes from recognizing our own humble beginnings. My personal "72 Valiant" was a '64 Rambler (pretty sure I beat your Valiant for lack of coolness). It was my first car - it wasn't cool, but I thought it was. I had no one to teach me how to do stuff so I learned it on my own. I STILL drive that car today! The vast majority at a car cruise won't give it a second look -and to be perfectly honest I like THAT!!! The REAL benefit of the Hot Rod "in crowd" walking past is that 9 times out of 10 the ones who DO stop to look and talk are the ones who built stuff THEMSELVES - did it 40 years ago on the strip and have TONS of killer stories. They notice stuff ONLY a True Blue Hotrodder would - while my car may stil not be cool - it does get me to talk with a TON of COOL guys - even a few who had old "hot rodded" Valiants......Thank God I ran into a guy like you Hillbilly when I was starting out - it probably kept me in it too.....

 

Nah Graverobber just pushin your buttons what can I say all my cars are projucts so a sixties car on the road is better than a 30s-50s car in the yard. After all I drove my lowered 66 f85 for five years now I trying to get my shit together for next year said that last year...... Remember a good sence of humor will get you further than no sence of humor.

 

Wow...did you ever sum it up well.

 

no it doesnt make it do any better but the topic of this thread is traditional vs. junk. it is an opinion. in my opinion this is traditional, but you know what i wasnt there. so i may be way off

i never said it was bass boat i dont like that either, and if you do like iron scrosses, spiderwebs, and skulls on a 78 monte you might be on the wrong board

 

Yep....why anyone thinks skull hood emblems and iron crosses painted anywhere on a car is a traditional hot rod expression is beyond me.
These guys that you make fun of..... only need one thing............
Guidance.
Isn't it apparent they got these ideas from the media and not from traditional historic references to the hotrod beginnings. Is obvious they like the styles we represent otherwise they wouldn't take the time to approach us.
teach the ignorant masses...... The Hamb Ideology.

me... I have alot to learn about hotrods...thats why I hang out with you folk.

 

LOL, don't hold back zman. Tell us how you really feel.

 

What you said. There has been a dramatic increase in car culture interest in the past few years (blame/credit basic cable TV), and a lot of it illiterate about real hot rod tradition and history. Young guys get inspired by a sinister primered '53 Chevy, and decide they want to do the same thing on their '78 Monte, no matter how anachronistic it may be. These guys should be encouraged to study the original gospels -- the little books, HRM, R&C, R&R, Hop Up, TRJ -- until they develop an appreciation for how eras ebb and flow and interact.

It's like music, you know? I love punk rock, but not every song makes for a good punk rock cover.

Before you slam some kid to his face for trying to 'rat rod' a '83 Camaro, remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The positive approach is to school them on where their car fits in historically ("Hey kid, forget those red wheels, that '83 Camaro could make a bitchin' low buck road race coupe"), while encouraging them to keep and add to the gospels.