Customs Under the hood of customs

I do agree, customs with hood full open kill the lines. Popped 1' or less is the best way to show off compartment and not 100%kill the lines. I think the issue is alot of folks detail out their motors, spend a ton on em, and want to show it off, I get it..... I love my model A, I don't have to pop the hood for anything. haha...

But my 56 Dodge is the last year of a split hood on any pickup so it is fun to pop it sometimes at shows. Best part is I can keep my lines on one view and the other you see the goodies...

 

I am all about details and engineering. I could spend hours looking at cars like Marks and Mox's 58. And that's what I want to see when I go to a show. Profile and stance are a big part of a cars overall appeal, but those are best represented from a distance and most indoor and outdoor shows don't afford you that perspective. I don't want to go to a show and stand three feet away and the only thing I can say is nice paint job. Just my 2 cents. Larry

 

Being practical minded
I always thought they opened the hood to allow the engine to cool faster
after all they’r called hotrods, right!

I pop the hood on my 57 Tbird, but leave it down
will open if someone asked as Dana has previously mentioned

 

I guess I'm the odd duck, I like to see under the hood. I want to know 2 things, did they take as much time under the hood as they did everywhere else ? And does it run as good as it looks?

When young and poor all my cars got the engine compartment detailed first and foremost. All attention to detail started there first.

It was funny, I'd be pumping gas and pop the hood to check oil and have someone walk by and do a double take when they'd see the engine compartment, swore a couple of them about broke their necks swinging around. Many would come back and ask to look.

So I've always liked that aspect of any hot rod, because after all that was the heart of the entire vehicle.

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Yes it is, with a Weiand 4 barrel intake manifold

 

Back in my salad days, I was mostly about wrenching in the pits. Otherwise, the hood was closed because it was none of your damn business. But under the hood, the landscape was generally populated with black because that's easy to match as things evolved. Bits of chrome came and went as circumstances dictated. Somehow, I managed to impress more than my fair quota of women. Just never with an engine, however.
Now that I no longer can impress women, 'cept maybe with lower GI track noises, and I'm more into a cruising lifestyle, my hinges will get used regularly. Occasionally on the hood, too.

 

For me, it isn't a simple "open and shut case" , it depends. Sometimes I open them, sometimes I don't. As for other people's cars? Whatever toots your horn baby.

 

Depends if the engine is more interesting than the car. In the case of customs, that probably shouldn't be the case.

 

Being an old racer, I always want to know what is under the hood. I like to see how the builder engineered things. Maybe I want to copy what he has done (old racer trick, copy what the fast guy does).