Traditional Rodding a FAD??? Some thoughts....

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It seems to be a fad that's lasted about 60 years so far...there's been folks modifying these cars since the '40s. While the current resurgence may indeed be temporary, I beleive there will always be a hardcore traditional element out there...

...and I hope I remain a part of it.

S~

 

i sort of hope it stops being so mainstream because its driving the prices through the roof. lots of people have a flathead sitting in their garage. ive bought them dirt cheap or even free but now days it seems that they pick up a magazine see some flatheads and think they are now sitting on a goldmine.
im only 23 so i cant say ive been into this for too long when in reality its just been old jalopy race cars my whole life...but its been ford and its been flathead on my brain since i was pretty young...now that im finally at the stage where i have funds to build cars the prices are through the roof. i would love to build these type of cars and enjoy them for a long time. but the more people into it the more demand inturn creates higher prices and it will eventually cut back on the do it yourself old ford hot rodder.

banjo rears for example....they are popular because they are old. the people who would have gone and paid 500 for a 9 inch will gladly pay 300 for a banjo. so the guys with a banjo in the yard think its worth that. then the banjo will blow up because they think its a 9inch and they will go that route leaving the stink of a high priced banjo back to people like us who want it for what it is and will treat it that way...ive yet to pay more then 50 bucks for one and i buy every one i can afford...but lately its harder and harder to find worth while ones.

just my 2 cents i guess....but i dont have a great experience of this hot rod community to base it on

zach

 

As you get older {it sucks} you always want to relive your youth...So all the young 20 somethings today that are involved will want to "go back" 30 years from now....And this happens with all generations

 

I agree with our leader.... traditional and "rat" cannot be lumped together, they are different. Rat may be a fad, but traditional has always been, and likely always will.

As they say at Ruffrodders.com .... "It's all about the build."

 

Rock and roll changes......Hot rodd'n continues............

 

I think the fad aspect of Traditional style cars or Ratrods to some people, is relief from the cookie cutter perfect (bling) car. Something that a person can build themselves, use and enjoy. Fad to some, way of life to others.

 

The thing that drew me to the rat rods and traditional rods was the roots of it all. I've been into some kind of fast cars or bikes all my life. Not being rich I have to do it myself. I also enjoy (way to much) making things by hand. I make beer and can cutom make almost anything. Hot Rod mag just had a thing about rat/traditional rods on the Power tour so look out. Just my $0.02

 

Fad to some, way of life to others.[/QUOTE]

I think its like anything else in life. Lets take high school sports for example:

75 kids try out
50 cant hack it
and 5 decide to play tennis

 

The other 20 stay at and keep with it for a long time.

I think its like anything else in life. Lets take high school sports for example:

75 kids try out
50 cant hack it
and 5 decide to play tennis[/QUOTE]

 

honestly, i hope that it is a fad. seems like it has really taken off lately. it might be a 10 year fad, but it could die off.

the reason i hope its a fad...id imagine there are a lot of people who dont really belong in trad rodding. but not so much that, the prices will drop. old tin is going to get used up quicker if it doesnt slow down.

i also think a lot less people on here actually build it all on their own than you would think. 8k members, we would have a progress post every day, even if half were active.

trey

 

AGREED! Traditional cars are to Rodding as Levi's are to fashion- a steady amount of each will be enjoyed for decades to come despite "trends".

 

and what if it is a fad? Its not gonna stop most of the people on here from building butt ugly cars with all that ussless old stuff on it. More billet for me. hehehe.
When the fad is over well be there to scoop up all the crap they dont want anymore on the cheap. I hope, Im trying to be a galss is half full kind of guy.
If anything gas prices will kill it if it is a fad.

 

I agree. I think traditional cars will always have a place on the hot rod scene, where "rat rods" are more of a fad that will go away when guys get tired of looking at their rusty cars

As far as the people go, some will come and go because it's a big thing with cable tv shows (I never saw a single one), others will stay for life. My dad was into cars sense his dad bought a '53 merc hardtop with a 4 barrel, iron aftermarket heads, skirts, duals, and a filled hood scoop when it was a year old. He bought his A in '63 much to his mother's dismay. Lots of other cars have come and gone but the A is still in the garage. He's still building rods and I grew up in the garage around them. I started out with '60's cars to get into the hobby, and I'm working my way back to older cars. Now I've got a '47 Ford coupe. It's too late for me, there's no turning back

 

I'm building a hot rod. Period. If I have to explain it to someone who isn't a hot rodder, I tell them it is built like someone in the forties or fifties would have built their car, except in some cases I've used reproduction parts for safety or availability reasons. My car is NOT a "rat rod" or "street rod". There's NO billet parts. I'm using my resources and my construction skills, and very little will be done by a "professional" builder. Only those parts where I don't have the tools or the skill will be shopped out. There is a world of difference between a hot rod and a rat rod. And mine will be the former and not the latter.

 

yeah! i have had to give that same schpeil i dont know how many times. i like it when people ask, instead of assume, though.

and i do have one piece of billet, but i made it.

trey

 

I dunno, but I have always liked the old stuff, and startin to like it more than ever!

Skibo

 

I went over to Reath Automotive a little past 2 o'clock to pick up TRJ #29 and Joe was "busy" racking up free games on his "Playboy" pinball machine but he stopped and said "Come in the office and sit for awhile!?"
So I said "Sure"
Well, a bit passed 4:30 his wife came in and said, "I closed the parts counter already, are you ready to go home yet?"
I heard traditional hotrod stories about $8 Model A's from the late thirties, hotrod stories from the forties, I heard about being a passenger during A J Foyt's first flying lesson.
and some stuff I'm not going to "remember" because I don't know what the statute of limitations on doing it might be.
If hotrodding is a fad, then we all are just fads too, because it's a lot older than I am already.

 

I cant believe I ever gave you so much crap Doc, we seem to be on the same level for the last couple years!

TOO many people hot rods WILL be a fad. I am not trying to show cred or anything but when I was 14(early 80s) and building my HenryJ, prostreet was the last thing in my mind! I had pics of gassered up Willys,Anglias and HenryJs!

There will always be guys like me that grew up with the "RIGHT" kinda hotrod on their minds. I am lucky, I thank my dad.

Some of the newcomers will be in it for life. Some will get out when family and job takes precedence. Others will pass on when the next cool thing strikes their fancy.

 

I've always known that, what took you so long to figure it out?

I just checked my "Assholes, don't bother responding!" list...
You're not on it.
Never have been either...

 

\

+1, me too. i kinda just understand what to do and what not to do, if you know what i mean. not some pro street piece of crap.

and i hope the whole "rat rod" thing/hype dies down. to many people try to build these cars, but they do it the total wrong way by just painting it flat black and calling it a "rat rod" becuase they saw something on TV and decided they would jump on the bandwagon. i really dont like when they make their cars all rusty/crappy/muddy looking on purpose. its stupid. real/traditional hot rods will live forever. screw the wannabes....

 

It really dosnt matter what the flavor/tag of the day is on the hobby i love. The thing for me has always been sticking junkyard parts together to come up with a working vehicle, without altering the overall lines of the body "much anyway" . It dosnt matter to me whether or not i use 1900-2005 parts in the build as long as it looks correct, and pleasing to the eye. I lean way more to the custom side of rodding anyway, where the rules of pretty much anything goes applies. Im not interested in keeping anything "period correct" , or what iv coined to my buddies as "Scrapyard Concoures". Thats my 2cent.

 

That's like buying already 1/2 wore out jeans with frays and holes where no one would get them naturally, (unless they "work" on there back or on their knees maybe) Jeans wear out fast enough anyway, buy them new fray them yourself.
Paint your hotrod. Then wear the paint off in the wind, on the road...

 

exactly....

 

"Fad" my ass
Traditional rods and kustoms are the only thing I'll ever build or drive, cause thats what feels right to me. I dont give a crap about jumping into popular trendy scenes. For me it has a lot to do with the time period. If I had a choice, I would live in the '40s or '50s. I think people who belive "rat rods" are a fad are the ones who slap together cars with no historical integrity and literally use whats available to them now, and not what would have been avaialble to them 50 years ago. I know most of you hate to get anal about historical correctness when it comes to era's of cars and the parts they have, but thats whats important to keep traditional rods as a serious, here to stay way of building cars. If you just dont care that much, well then I guess that would be a "rat rod".
-Dean

 

I'm 57
What you call traditional is the only way I know how to build them.

I wear sneakers, jeans and a t-shirt in the summer
I wear sneakers, jeans and a flannel shirt in the winter.
Every 10 years or so fashion catches up with me.

Look back at cars over the years, what you are calling traditional has always been there, the other styles are the ones that change.

Same-Same Rock & Roll, listen to the TV commercials, what music do they use?

 

i guess you can say it is a fad to alot of the bandwagon jumper johhny come-latleys,
but those that were doing it long before it was a fad will be doing it long after when the fad is gone and the trendsters have moved on to the newest trend.

speaking of "fads" ,,
i was a lil suprized when i picked up the new CKDeluxe day before yesterday..there was an ad for SEMA stating something like "what will be the next big thing" in large print,,it was probably nothing,,but for some reason,,it being in that magazine it stuck out at me.

 

..there was an ad for SEMA stating something like "what will be the next big thing" in large print,,it was probably nothing,,but for some reason,,it being in that magazine it stuck out at me.[/QUOTE]

I seen that as well!
I also notice alot of other type's of magazines are showing much more traditional hot rod stuff lately,seeing alot more www's,steelies,cheater slicks,and more vintage style engine accessories and vintage style hot rod parts in more "Hot Rod" or "Super Chevy" type magazines?
magazines we rarely see covering our style of Rods and Kustoms are now jumping back on the traditional Hot Rod era stuff.

 

I don't think there's any huge movement to traditional rodding, or "rat rods". I don't know anyone beyond the HAMB that builds old style rods, there are very few old cars in my hometown at all.

I think we all read the hot rod magazines and do searches on Ebay and post on the HAMB and it seems like everyone and their grandmother is becoming a traditional hot rodder but it's mostly in our heads. We're still in the minority. If you want proof, drive down the highway and count how many 20" wheeled bling machines you see, and how many trad. rods you see, and compare.

Plus, I don't buy this "hot rod parts are getting hard to find/expensive" bullshit for a second. There are TONS of buildable car projects out there and parts for them, all availible at very reasonable prices. Don't believe me? Check out the Classifieds. Tons of cars in there that can be had for cheap, and would be worthy projects, most of them not selling because we all have more cheap shit than we can handle. "I'd buy that car in a second but I already have 20 other projects that I got for next to free" or "those wheels would look great on my car but I've already got 16 sets of wheels for it, BTT"

Come on guys, if rod and custom material is really "going through the roof", why am I drowning in the shit, and passing up deals left and right? And if everyone is getting into the "scene", why am I not seeing it every day?