I just enjoy teaching. Before the teaching gig, I trained workers at my former collision job. My school year is over. I spent this week at our local tech college. Worked with a group in the paint booth. I have an OT rust repair that requires new panels to be fabricated. I’ll do that there. A couple students have cars that need fab work. So I’ll do the work there to help show em how to do it.
So, I just got back from the Custom Car Revival. I must say that this show has changed my perspective somewhat on if Customs are dying. There were 200 of the best cars, finished out with full interiors, nice paint and nice folks. It was a laid back event and Kevin should be commended. It has given me hope. There were a few younger guys there, but not enough. I would say 20% were under 60. If nothing else, I caught a pic of the ever elusive Mark Moriarity. We were walking around the parking lot at the host hotel and John D'Agostino wanted a selfie with us. Probably because Moriarity is so famous. It was a great time. I'll post some pics over on Mark's thread when I recover. Right now it's nap time.
I don't think that customs are dead or dying at all A lot of them just aren't all Hamb friendly in that interiors or wheels and tires may be too modern.
Link yo my Tub build - John Williamson Vega Tribute album | Rik Hoving | Custom Car Photo Archive | Fotki.com, photo and video sharing made easy.
It's not that Customs that are dying, it's that there is less and less affordable HAMB-friendly raw material out there. Once you get that raw material, is it built in a HAMB-friendly manner, or do you build with modern conveniences? My "Fun" car is a dozen years too new for the HAMB, and it's still ancient. I still come here because I like what I see here. Elements of what I see end up in those OT cars, but, still OT.
I have had an opinion on this for years. First, since the early 70s cars have been half plastic/ There is nothing much to work with. Second, since about the same time, chrome has been disappearing and what is there is plated plastic or anodized aluminum. Customizable cars are ++50 years old and disappearing fast. It was a wonderful time, we are lucky to have lived thru it, but it is over. Worst of all, kids are being indoctrinated in the global warming hoax and taught to hate traditional personal transportation.
I’ve sectioned plastic bumpers and body panels. Shaved door handles in plastic door skins. We just got a nitrogen plastic welder. Cool tool. Materials change so do the tools. Those “indoctrinated” kids are building some very nice customs if you visit the correct show. And these young guys love when I bring my old ride to their gatherings.
Customizing doesn't necessarily have to break the bank. Look at something a bit out of the ordinary and it can be made to work fairly easily and without breaking the bank....
There are plenty of cars that can be customs available at a reasonable price, check out 46 to 54 Plymouth, Dodge, and Chryslers. Here's a great example Chopped 4 Dr plymouth. So lets get some built.
The son young of a neighbor bought a 51 black Merc 35 years ago. He had it chopped in the Hirohata style by Dean here in SoCal. It still isn’t done. He married he had and raised children and retired. The flathead and of trans gone it has a complete Alison chassis and a 460 Ford engine. The stock dash has been lengthen 6” back into the drivers area for more space. He still cannot agree on a grille or interior. He can only see perfection and nothing is ever good enough. His mother passed away a while back so my chances of ever seeing complete are slim. I’m sure this happens to many.
Respectfully, that's bullshit. Most, if not all, post-49 vehicles, if functioning properly, can keep up in modern traffic with a factory stock powertrain, with or without overdrive. Some do better than others. You may not be ripping past people in the left lane, but you'll hold your own at 65 mph in the right lane and get where you're going just fine. In fact, I'd venture to say many full bodied cars that came with OHV engines do significantly better than most flathead powered hot rods in this department.
You're absolutely right. Most of the new customs being built simply aren't welcome on this site. I've been knee deep in a 61 Olds build that I can't post on here. Grote's gorgeous Zephyr the same. All of the heavy hitters from the CCR this weekend would have their build thread locked on the HAMB. Custom people and hot rod people draw a line in the sand on what's an acceptable deviation from "strict traditional" in different places. I don't see anything wrong with that per se, other than that it creates a sub-genre where it pits two groups of people who are basically into the same thing against each other.
Got nothing to do with powertrain. The one's I'm talking about are so low they scrape the road at every opportunity, or bottom out their inch or two of suspension travel. Of course not all customs are this way and lots are bagged and can travel down the road at higher ride heights. I only mentioned 'some, not all' customs.
I like those cars too, but it has always been my understanding that 1964 is O/T on the HAMB. I actually had one of those myself a couple years ago. My father in law had a basically perfect set of Astro Supremes with skinny whites left over from one of his projects and gave them to me, but I don't have a car to put them on. I went on FB Marketplace, and looked up pre-1965 Thunderbirds for sale under $15000. Whatever it was they were asking, I offered half. Everyone told me to fuck off, except one dude, and I got a nice white 64 coupe with a 390 and factory A/C for $5200. I bolted my Astros on and called it a day.
I call bullshit on this one, too. I drove this 55 Olds from 1983 to 2003, all over the eastern half of the country. To Leadsled Spectaculars, James Dean Runs, Fiesta of the 50's. NJ to Iowa, Michigan, Alabama, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Canada, FLorida. 160,ooo miles. Stock 324 (with Tripower), Hydro, stock PS, and stock power drum brakes. Sitting THIS low. No bags, no air shocks. Many here on the HAMB can attest to this, as they've seen me at the big custom shows.
And my friend, Kenny, who I've been teaching how to build customs, has been following my exapmple and driving his 54 Plymouth all over as well. Several round trips to Nebraska, from NJ, as well as other custom shows, like CCR. He would be running even lower, if it wasn't for the narrow front fenders on the Plymouth scraping the tires when the wheels are turned.
According to Ryan, '65 and older is acceptable: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-h-a-m-b-rules-guidelines.44274/ "If you've come here to discuss anything other than Hot Rods or Customs built in a style representative of 1965 or before, you've come to the wrong forum." "4. We cover traditional '65 and older American cars only. All other threads will be deleted. We don't cover rat rods, muscle cars, mustangs, or VWs."
And herein lies a big problem. Is it over moderation? Micro managing? There are so many longtime HAMBers that do not post here for this very reason, right or wrong. I would rather look the LS powered Zephyr that @Plowboy built than some of the shitboxes guys are posting these days and calling them hot rods.
It's neither. This is not a custom car site it is a traditional custom car site. The rules got tightened some time ago and they are what they are. Those other cars don't belong here according to the guidelines set up by Ryan.
Great points. I got into this hobby late (30 ish) in the early 2000s. Guy that got me into it, had a '32 Ford roadster, a milld kustom '51 Merc 4dr daily driver and was working on a chopped '47 Ford coupe....on a printer's assistant salary living in Toronto. When he and his friends were building cars in the mid 1960s to 70, it was possible to pick up a 25 year old car cheap, get a low mile motor from a scrap yard and build your project. Pieces needed to kustomize were available at swap meets or yards for reasonable money. With decreased purchasing power over the past 20 years and increasing costs, its a lot more difficult, but not impossible. Just have to adjust expectations. If you want to build a chopped shoebox coupe in 2021 with a factory dual quad 327, a '54 Pontiac grill, '57 Desoto side trim, real Appleton spotlights, a Crestliner steering wheel, Olds Fiesta caps, chrome plated engine compartment and garnish moldings with a tuck'n'roll interior, etc. you'd better have a good job, lots of cash and a long build timeline. Try finding the stuff... Outside of traditional kustoms, hobby is doing OK from my perspective. Lots of guys building shoeboxes for example, just not traditionally styled with modern drivelines.
I saw it this weekend. Aaron (@Plowboy) hit a home run with that one. It will probably get him invited to the Hustler Mansion, where they are drinking Angry Orchard.
That's not low. This is low. If you want to see 100 more examples check any of the customs threads. You would never keep up with modern traffic, at least not with the hills and rough roads out west.
I agree with you. I think it's neither. The rules here were tightened and the subsequent threads have to conform to them. It is what it is. But I'd be kidding you if the tightening of the rules didn't have a chilling effect on folks who are into custom cars, or who are building custom cars, from posting them here. If you're asking for my personal opinion, I think the rules as they pertain to customs are too narrow on the HAMB, and don't accurately reflect the traditional custom world. When it comes to hot rods, I think the rules need to be tighter and more narrow. Engines, suspension, etc., are out for the world to see in a rod. For it to be a traditional car, they need to be right. The same is not the case for a full bodied custom. The hood stays shut and nobody has any idea what's under there. Same goes for the suspension. A hot rod needs to have a solid axle, but nobody knows whether a full fendered car has a stock control arm or have been clipped. Hell, nobody even cares about the tires since usually all you see is about 2" of the rear sidewall. There should be 2 different sets of rules. I don't think it's unfair either. We're building different types of cars. Why not have different criteria? Or leave it how it is and deal with the fact that most customs don't conform, and therefore ignore this message board. But I do find it ironic that most of customs that people oooh and ahhh over on here, wouldn't even pass muster to post about. In keeping with the notion of loosening guidelines, you have to remember that when it comes to customs, it's all a giant smorgasbord buffet. You see other cars and take it all in, sampling elements you like, and noting looks you don't like. Someone may look at ChopOlds 55, hate the quad headlights but love the 57 roof swap. Someone may look at my 56 Olds and love the 41 Lincoln push buttons but hate the continental kit. Someone may look at Plowboy's Zephyr and hate the LS but love the MII. I could hate a car's styling and 99 of the mods, but LOVE one of them. You get the idea. When the whole car is cast off as non-traditional, the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater, and the traditional elements of the car, even if they're the majority of the build, are cast away with the non-traditional elements. While it conforms to the narrow scope of the HAMB, in my personal opinion, it makes the hobby poorer as it discourages the sharing of information and alienates a group of people within the hobby who are, frankly, doing the most complicated and advanced builds.
That car is on air suspension, and has more ground clearance going down the road than my daily driver BMW. That is yet another example of a magnificent NEW build that is not HAMB friendly.
which brings me to ask , what is this?was not going to run the front bumper ,but got it back from the krome shop and just wanted to see what if . now i think i like it . am i just getting old ?
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