When did we all become restorers?

I don't have the money required to restore anything. Not even close. Too damn expensive! I'm not raiding the 401k to buy a Hemi, DeSoto grille teeth, or a set of Eldorado bumpers.

I'll build what I can afford with my "fun money", and what I can manage by myself with my own tools, & we'll see how it comes out.

If it ends up not being acceptable to the HAMB then you can all watch the door bang me in the *** as I get kicked out.

More than that I simply cannot guarantee.

 

'lot o stuff in this soup.....try to scoop the things you like.

 

What a troublemaker....but right on.

 

The more I re-read this the more ridiculous it is. Who is 'everyone' for a start?

'Just putting things back as they were.' Really?

Not counting all the other builds out there, I look at them all on the HAMB and each one seems to be trying to re-invent the wheel. Some are successful, some are not. Some are complete abortions. Many would have done well to duplicate what someone else has done, but they don't. Sorry, but your statement is just flippant and can't be supported.

'Not building anything original anymore.' Well, this thread has already thrown up examples to put a lie to that comment. There are plenty more.

On top of all that, this is a traditional board.

Despite whatever build style you personally favor and whatever 'vibe' you get from the board, I believe you made a comment that is demonstrably not right, within the context of this place.

 

I'm one of the ones who mentioned "build to drive" and I stand by it, and also use it to gauge how to build a car for a customer ( usually one not so knowledgeable). I see a huge difference I see a huge difference in the way I build a car for "showing" or for driving.
For showing, I can be more era correct in all aspects. Original suspension, brakes, engine/trans, bias ply tires, etc. Yes, they are drivable, as everything is rebuilt or new, BUT almost everyone I build for is used to driving modern vehicles, and is not happy with the compromises of driving antiquated ride, handling, and comfort. Or they tend to forget how badly the old ones performed, and complain about braking distance, power, handling, steering, etc. Also, WE even tend to forget how limited the old cars were. Ask anyone driving a 39-54 Chevy on the highway, long distance, with a stock driveline. And forget it if someone panic stops on the highway in front of you! Even my relatively modern 55 Olds, with power brakes, went sideways on me trying to stop quickly on a highway stop for traffic in Missouri.
If a customer wants to use the car a lot, drive on the highway for long distances, I recommend at least suspension upgrades. and brakes as well. If the car was a flattie, or ancient six, I also recommend a more modern power plant. Safety, comfort, ease of repair, esp. on the road, and convenience all help my decision to upgrade.
I wore out my 55 driving all over the eastern half of the country from 1981 to about 2003, putting 160,000 miles on it. When I rebuild it, hopefully soon, I am upgrading the engine, trans and suspension/brakes. Much as I hate to do this, I love the car and want to drive it just like I did before, and I still remember the tense shoulders and neck from driving on bias tires, the sideways panic stops, and the difficulty finding repair parts in Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Michigan,when broken down, even 20+ years ago.
Theres' room in this world for both types of cars, true traditional, era correct ones, and trad styled, but mechanically modernized ones, as well.

 

Brian,
I guess I have been the "traditional police" more then once, but I can't imagine anyone having trouble with painted bumpers any more then they would have trouble with painted roll pans. If I build a car with bumpers and the chrome is **** I paint them. "Paint is better then peeling chrome or rust" I learned that from an old guy when I was just starting out. That was way before the monochrome years, even before "fit n finish" was a big deal.

Nope I think you bought a car and are driving it. If you found it all clapped out and "restored" it to its former glory that would make you a hotrod restorer.

 

One day , there will be "traditional pro touring" builds vs contemporary I guess.

 

31 I guess you posted before I edited.

For those of you that are just climbing aboard I went off on a tangent about pro-touring cars the edited as it had very little if anything to do with the conversation, so I edited it out.

But I can repeat it if anyone thinks I need to.

 

Not all of us Jim.
Sure....guys are AFRAID of chopping and channeling stuff like '32's for fear of "ruining" their "worth"....but I believe there are still a select few that ain't pussies. Marshall and crew just SECTIONED a '40 coupe.....and it's gonna rule.
I've gotten **** for my car here...it doesn't quite fit the "mold"....but as you, I prefer to use old photos from the '60's of stuff I like, as opposed to any opinions of the sheep....

 

In 60 Years people will be creating monochrome teal green cars with american racing billet wheels!!!

Because of the Hamb's focus I think it does make us restorers of sorts. We are trying to recreate a certain look to the vehicles we modify. In the more traditional sense of a restoration you take the vehicle back to factory appearance. In a HAMBstoration your making the vehicle look like it was modified during a certain period of time.

Now with that said I'm not a restoration stickler at all. I'm all about building what works, is affordable, and keeps the hobby enjoyable. Those three items are different for every person on the HAMB. I give props to cloth covered wiring, but don't fault a guy for using modern wiring. I will fault you for using 22" donks though. Just like I love a detailed flathead, but won't knock a nice looking SBC.

 

Well maybe a lot of people are "restorers" now


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Think back to years ago when hot rodders and customizers would chop up anything, but now we think about it like "Do I really want to chop this car" because of the fact that it has been kept original


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Manny
To chop or not chop for me has to do with will it be easy or hard to do and do I really want to do that.

A long time ago an older hot rodder/biker told me something that has always stayed with me and I pretty much live by it. The only way you get your value out of a modified car or bike is by enjoyment.

In my life I have never owned a single vehicle that I have not molested in same fashion or another, with the exception of a Chevy wagon once that was sufficiently molested from the factory to make me happy.

Like I said earlier I think the fact that at least some of us here are dedicated to keeping hot rod history alive that we are in a sense restorers. Although if you look and I mean really look aside from those who take a built vehicle and restore it to its former glory we are all individuals and are really doing our own thing. Preserving history yes, restoring it not so much.

 

It's relative I guess sometimes.
Today chopping up a 30 year old car would be a 1984 model. Who cares really what you might do to a 1984 anything. Or a 14 year old car wouldbe a 2000, chop it up twice.

50 years ago (1964) chopping up a 30 year old car would be a 1934 model. 66 years ago In 1948 chopping up a 14 year old car would be a 1934 model.

Chopping up an 80 year old car that's made it that far pretty much un****hed certainly causes some though. I know for me it causes some intestinal discomfort and a moral dilemma, however the next coupe I do I'm gonna start with a completely restored car and cut that SOB up and build a hot rod! I'm not going to look for all the missing pieces, I'm not going to build one damn patch panel either.

My plan is that ill probably need to fart to relieve the intestinal discomfort and ill sell every pristine part not used back to the restoring crowd to ease the moral issues. Lets see if it works

 

Works for me, you got room on your couch for a used up old mechanic? You may need a little help.

 

cut up a 30 or 40 year old pristine one owner car ?

 

1984-1974 - not Many in that range that would be off limits and not many pristine examples anyway.

I do know of a smokie and the bandit TA with less than 20 miles that probably shouldn't get ****ed with.

 

Im not into restoring nor rat rods
Im just building a home built hot rod


I will not buy a complete car i plan on hot rodding chopping up etc. i leave those for guys who like "stock" even if i found a great deal i couldn't do it
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I have a term, its called "rustoration" because it is hard to find a car 62 and older that does not need some rust repair. So I do the rustoration before I can do the customization. I just finished a 40 Ford convertible that had been buchered years back. I installed a new floor pan, quarters, tail pan, cowl side, grill, etc. before I could begin to modify it by leaning the windshield back 1" filling the cowl vent shortening the top and reshaping the wing windows and building flush door handles that fit into the br*** trim that was chrome plated. I would much rather build and modify than to do the rustoration work. And please don't even ask about the 69 fire turd that came from Nebraska that I am only doing rustoration on no mods, I hate it, let me chop something up and use my creativity!
Jim Ford

 

I bought a stone stock 32 roadster with the intention of just hopping it up,chopped screen,40 ford wheels and a repaint.....the problem was it drove like a stock 32 roadster....awful!

The car was a matching number car and I could not bring myself to do what needed doing so I sold it on.."the new owner blew it apart and made it into a highboy complete with blown flatty....

I understand the comments about people becoming restorers, but sometimes it's down to preserving a bit of history...On reflection, I could have bought a roadster that had already lost its original iden***y and built the version I wanted, but I wanted the experience of taking a stock car and doing what was done in the forties...trouble was I could not bring myself to do it.

No regrets here.

 

Wow a lot of words here.
I guess it's all about the words and what they mean to whoever.
The first hot rodder broke the rules to do what he wanted to do.
Then a second hot rodder shows up and says lets race, but here's the rules.
Now what do you have?
In my opinion the true " traditional" car guy follow no rules - so is this a true traditional site?

 

I've thought about this since it started and have been up and down on the topic myself. Just in my fewer years here than many the topic or "gospel" has been discussed at least a couple times annually. I don't truly follow the gospel here on these pages. Yes, a lot of 'our stuff' I find very interesting and I seem to keep it in context. My personal end of the line would be the last days of the Front Engine Dragster. I guess if I were to dredge up an old 69 Barracuda F/C with a vintage Logghe ch***is and all the good stuff still intact then it should not be welcome here. That's ***uming the actual HAMB gospel was brought down the mountain by our founder and any deviation is considered sinful. At the same time, I can't think of a single traditional show where the gate police would say "...**** off..." were I to show up with it. Over the years I've seen many embrace craftsmanship that simply didn't exist back in the day. If someone were to camouflage a late model Ford mod motor and stuff it into a Deuce with everything else being traditional, all the engine details looking like it was old and "restored", would they be unceremoniously deleted and shown the door? Would dozens or even hundreds of members swoon and applaud?

You have to maintain an open mind in this **** or it's no fun. Nobody wins. We can't be the A/V nerd from school with a pocket protector full of pens, ready to narc on the guy who used Wilwood brakes on his traditional Deuce. Ready to dismiss the car that has a 472 or 500 inch Caddy instead of a 390. You can hear it to the point of genuine nausea, the term, "You know it when you see it.", and I've always known that "it" never left. "It" has been here since day one. Not here in the HAMB, here within those who really do know it when they see it. The other thing that's nails on a chalkboard to me is that all of this has to be hands on built from scratch. I guess there was no aftermarket in the days we embrace here, right? ********. The aftermarket STARTED this **** into the life it is, back then AND today. No, not imported billet ********, genuine good stuff that we're willing to pay as much as 10 times it's original sale price from 1962, or for that matter 1970 as well. The gospel here that the board follows was the DNA that created the muscle car, yet the irony is how it's 'child', all grown up and graduated with honors, is dismissed, forbidden, not what the HAMB is about. I get it, I really do. I also know that a 1st gen GTO is welcome here as long as it's not equipped with 13" rotors, an LS1 and 18" hoops. Alter it's wheelbase and have a calliope of injector tubes poking out of the hood? That might generate 10 pages of homage and appreciation. If none of this makes sense or 'outs' me as a resident heretic, well I guess I have to take it.


Next...?

 

Thanks Highlander, I'd rather include innovators. Trad is what you make it. Certainly worth taking into account.

 

The highlander said, "I guess there was no aftermarket in the days we embrace here, right? ********. The aftermarket STARTED this **** into the life it is, back then AND today."

The first issue of HOT ROD in 1949 had ads for speed equipment available by mail order.