Well, she's ready for shiny paint

4t64rd's photoshop rocks!!!
That's the look.


Marcy

 

Thanks for letting me stick my 2 cents on this, speedaddict.

Your ride is a "Classic HAMB" ride. Fine like it is, but the car has the makings of a classic Kustom for all time and that's without the interesting header treatment.

There's nothing wrong with trying to build a Kustom that will be long remembered like the "Matranga Merc" or "Hirohata Merc". I think yours can, only without the headers. But, then it's so distinctive with 'em, hell I don't know!

I voted 'without"!

Good Luck with it.

Joel

 

Wait sorry, voted for the wrong one. Leave'em on, they just look too bad ass to come off.

 

Peter Pan, its definately a HAMB car when we have anxieties over eachothers cars... from your comment, seems like you also FEEL MY PAIN... haha

 

THOMAS!!!!


Either YOU take them off, or I take them off!!!


Travis

 

Leave them on they give that your car a unique identity,on any other car no but on yours leave them.

 

they gotta stay!!!!

 

Im with Barnett on this. I think it will be even better with smooth hoodsides and a nice, dark mettallic paintjob. Otherwise; it looks great!

 

Shiny paint... then they got to go. In my opinion you have created a very stylish custom car along the lines of those beeing built in the mid to late 40's. Very nice, and when you where still working on the car and driving it around in primer it was more than perfect to have the headers, but now you are going to shiny paint and to more of a finished custom look they just have to go, they dont flow with the beautifull lines of th car they actaully take away from it. With them you would still have a very intersting car, but without them you would have a perfect styled custom car.
But if you really want to keep them I think you have to modify them a bit. create some hood sides and make sure the headers sit level withthe beltline, also make sure only the cone shaped portion of it sticks out of the hood sides and the bended tubes will stay inside the engine compartment coverd up by the hood sides. Also the end tip on the header needs some refining, this way the header becomes a decorative element almost like a hood side scoop, and that might just work with the rest of the custom design.

 

First, you got a great looking car !

My two cents...
I'm with Rik here, but I'd like to add two important things on the pics above...
1. APPLETON SPOTLIGHTS !!!! For that heavy and cool fatness of the
early Kustoms. Shines up some too.
2. Side trim mouldings. Some nice ones along the beltline.

 

Keep the headers. They give your car personality. As other suggested, the mini covers to fill the firewall area would look nice. Maybe with the same shape as the front cut out.
Sorry for the crappy pic mod. All I have is MS paint here at work.

 

Your opinions are appreciated.

speedy

If you paint it, it won't be nearly as much fun as it is now. The constant worry about rock chips, mud, rain, and grubby little street urchin fingers will drive you crazy. My shiny car is in the backyard, under a California Car Cover in semi storage. My primered roadster gets driven every day, and if I paint it, I'm going to use a rattle can. Oh yea, keep the pipes!

pigpen

 

Your car is beautiful, but it is only "unique" because of the headers. I vote for you to leave them on. To me it looks like what an artist of the late '40s would envision a hot rodder would do to a more "modern" car. I like it a lot.

 

I voted for Take them off!
I tried to add little more gloss to your paint.

 

Very interesting split of opinions.

True, the headers are not the classic early traditional custom sort of thing, but I really like them. I think they really work for some reason.

Trendsetting even...

Maybe if some dude way back in the late 40s - early 50s would have tried it, there would be tons of people sporting them now because it would have become an acceptable style by now?

I say, don't be afraid to stretch the boundaries of acceptable "custom" modifications. Otherwise, it all just gets too stale.

 

whatever you do...just don't paint it green

 

Listen to Cleatus, he's a ruler. Actually everyone I've ever known named Cleatus was a ruler!

The headers are part of the car, listen to me! Have I steered you wrong yet Thomass?

 

For what it's worth I really like this car...and mostly because of the headers! Think I'd like it without 'em too...but...they make the car the badass that it is. But, it's yer car and you know what *you* like. Do that.

In fact, it's one of the cars that brought my attention to the hamb.

Olson

 

I think it would work green. Here is maroon one:

 

Dark green:

 

Lose the headers and go shiny. They scream hotrod to me, and don't do well on such a sleek custom.

Cars looking awesome...

 

First of all, the car is bitchin!

Second, craftsmanship should be displayed for the world to admire.

Third, the details are what make your car unequivocally unique.

We shouldn't be rubber stamping out cars or building them from molds.

I say leave the headers on it! Removing them would be like severing a limb.

Food for thought,RGV

 

Off.

 

wow, it sure is a split... I'm still uncertain. I've made plenty of good friends on here and I respect all the opinions, I STILL DON'T KNOW. Jaine, those pics are amazing btw. Any chance of doing one in dark blue?

Cleatus, I know you have an eye for these things, in fact, only reason why I have this 39 is because of your car...

I'm tempted to have a complete hoodside built AND a partial hoodside built. Voneyeball already hooked me up with some block huggers so I can go either way (would that be bi-custom?)

A friend of mine, also one of the builders of the headers, said to take them to cruise ins and see the opinions there also... I may do that.

 

either way. your car is bad. cant wait to see it in paint.

 

Hey how 'bout this? lol have it both ways...one side with one without...

Seriously though. This car is a badass the way it is now. I can understand that you may not have intended it to stay in this exact form, but it's got some serious mojo. Stands out far more than yer "average" ride. I can easily see why yer havin' trouble deciding.

Or I'd be glad to make the decision easier for ya...give it to me! There one less worry in life now doesn't that feel better?



Olson
--------------
little green men are comin' our way...tastes just like chicken they say

 

That car is a ruler... swing by the shop sometime.

 

I really like your car with the headers, but after seeing the pics that Janne and Rikster posted it looks really smooth without them. Either way I'm sure it will look great.

 

You got yourself in a real pickle. No matter what u do you will be wrong. I like it both ways. Westergard designed what he liked and set the trend. Hell, build a twin and leave off the headers.

 

I was thinking the same.Just think of Jack Calori's gorgeous A Roadster which had this wild upsweep pipes running along the whole body...I know you can't compare Hot Rods and Customs but...