Pics from a hot rod show I went to last weekend. Pretty wide variety, I am so glad it wasn't just another one of those shows with row after row of just near factory original cars. This show had all sorts of different stuff. Wish I got more pics.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36845467@N05/sets/72157631798764521/
Whatever. Make it go faster and/or handle better, especially on the cheap, and you've captured the spirit. You can do that by putting a 40's Lincoln motor in a late '20's Ford, throwing a supercharger at your '60's Duster, trimming the fat off of and adding sticky tires to an '80's Mazda, or improving the ECU tune in a MkIV VW Golf.
Potaytoes, pot-ahtos.
I actually do like the "purist" hot rods but no way in hell I would ever build one.
JohnInKansas wrote: Whatever. Make it go faster and/or handle better, especially on the cheap, and you've captured the spirit. You can do that by putting a 40's Lincoln motor in a late '20's Ford, throwing a supercharger at your '60's Duster, trimming the fat off of and adding sticky tires to an '80's Mazda, or improving the ECU tune in a MkIV VW Golf. Potaytoes, pot-ahtos.
My point exactly. All the "traditional" rodders would be building Hondas and stuff were they born in my generation.
mndsm wrote:JohnInKansas wrote: Whatever. Make it go faster and/or handle better, especially on the cheap, and you've captured the spirit. You can do that by putting a 40's Lincoln motor in a late '20's Ford, throwing a supercharger at your '60's Duster, trimming the fat off of and adding sticky tires to an '80's Mazda, or improving the ECU tune in a MkIV VW Golf. Potaytoes, pot-ahtos.My point exactly. All the "traditional" rodders would be building Hondas and stuff were they born in my generation.
The "traditional" rodders of 2030 are the ones building Hondas today.
Yeah, it's all relevant to the decade where your interest was sparked. Hot rodders in the 'Fonzie/poodle skirt' vein like 50's style stuff, '70's go for the raked/big n' littles under a musclecar, etc.
In 25 years, I bet whatever replaces Barret-Jackson will be moving turbo Civics across the block as flatbillers with gray hair wave wads of money.
Aeromoto wrote: Wow! You guys seem to be authorities on the hot rod hobby. I'm 41, but the majority of the car owners i see at our events are in there 20s and 30s, but what to do I know?
If they are in their 20s at a show, they are called spectators. Out of a thousand cars, I doubt 15% would be owned by the under 35 crowd. And of those 15% maybe 5 individuals would pass the HAMB criteria.(Bound to be an iphone jack in the thing somewhere!)
As a group the kids today don't have the skills, time, money or interest in the old crocks.
NOHOME wrote: As a group the kids today don't have the skills, time, money or interest in the old crocks.
I really don't understand where people get this idea. It seems to me there are still tons of kids who love cars and work on them and modify them
In reply to 93EXCivic:
+1'ed by the 23 y.o. with 6 cars and 2 motorcycles all older than 1972.
93EXCivic wrote:NOHOME wrote: As a group the kids today don't have the skills, time, money or interest in the old crocks.I really don't understand where people get this idea. It seems to me there are still tons of kids who love cars and work on them and modify them
The issue is generally a lack of money to get started......I'm 26, and for the most part, myself and friends love muscle cars and hotrods......its just next to impossible to find them and my generation generally doesnt have the coin to throw around at price most have inflated to(I'm still trying to con my neighbor out of his '34 chebby truck shell though)
So, instead of just going to car shows and drooling over everything......I found a way to drive some(even at 5mph in a parking lot is better than looking).
I really liked this build, but with door poppers and electric rams for the tonneau and hood.....its obvious this fiberglass beast wasn't meant to be driven......it was also built over 5yrs by a couple in their homes 2 car garage.....yes, fiberglass kit, new chassis, etc.
For one reason or another, I liked this next one more.....perhaps the carbon monoxide fumes got to me.
:Edit......the nose of the benz behind the international truck was driven by a colorful gent(around 60yo) that addressed everyone the rest of that day as "Mein Fuhur"
My favorite car driving this year was my third car on the first day....95* outside and ended up in a white on red '58 MGA and absolutely fell in love. Just wish I had the 35k it took to buy it.
In reply to NOHOME:
Actually, I've been to a couple of Billetproof meets and I went because my 24 year old is interested in that type of rod. It's generally not what I would build but there are some neat cars and ideas. I'm 60 and the majority of the owners are significantly younger than me. Before going the first time I would have assumed I would see a bunch of gray hairs,like me.It's just the opposite, there appears to be a lot of young people who are way younger than their cars.
I wasn't talking about old cars in particular. I just hear it all the time on here that young people aren't interested in cars and it just isn't true.
yamaha wrote: The issue is generally a lack of money to get started......I'm 26, and for the most part, myself and friends love muscle cars and hotrods......its just next to impossible to find them and my generation generally doesnt have the coin to throw around at price most have inflated to
Which is actually the very thing that already makes you just as (if not more) "traditional" of a hot rodder as the the vast majority of people who have nefariously attempted to hijack the term.
I personally have nothing against the Billetproof show concept, or any other aimed at a specific type of car/builder, as there is absolutely nothing wrong with having separate events for different types of cars that share in a common set of goals...But it's the notion that any one group can lay rightful claim to ownership of the definition and phrase that I find absolutely ridiculous.
93EXCivic wrote: I wasn't talking about old cars in particular. I just hear it all the time on here that young people aren't interested in cars and it just isn't true.
It isn't true, its still very much alive......you just don't see many sub-30 people in $80-150k restored corvettes, muscle cars, rods, and so on....they're out there, but far less common than a young person thats into cars.
In reply to Driven5:
You haven't seen or heard about Ken Block and DC shoes then copyrighting the "gymkhana" name then.......
Also, thanks for the compliment, funny thing is, I own a bunch of ford taurii, a fukus, and a eurotrashed bmw.....
93EXCivic wrote: I actually do like the "purist" hot rods but no way in hell I would ever build one.
That was what I thought of the "Sylvester III" that Keith was talking about. As an example of artistry and craftsmanship, it's good to see somebody else built this even if it's not something I would build (or write a check for) myself if I had the resources. The high dollar cars often have ideas that could be applied on a lower budget. And I'm not sure it was really driven that often back in the '60s; I got the impression that even back then, it was an impractical show queen.
The same issue had a "Here's what happens when we throw some semi-reasonable priced suspension parts at a total beater" article. That one was a bit more my style - got me thinking about what I might do with my '72 Chevy C10 for a while.
Yes, Hot Rod Magazine is doing their best to be relevant these days, although they have more editorial changes of direction than a Camry at an autocross. It's been improving of late.
Sylvester III belongs in Rodder's Journal in my mind. Polishing bolt heads, sure. Polishing the bottom? Now you're just screwing around. Great work of art, but not a car. It's a calling card for the fab shop. Definitely worth using as inspiration for something a little more legit, though.
93EXCivic wrote:NOHOME wrote: As a group the kids today don't have the skills, time, money or interest in the old crocks.I really don't understand where people get this idea. It seems to me there are still tons of kids who love cars and work on them and modify them
OK, when I grew up (I'm a child of the '80s/'90s), getting your license and a car was a big deal. It meant that you could go places and hang out with friends.
Today, this thing called the Internet means you can hang out with your friends without actually being there. Video games, web cams, "social networking," whatever. When I was in high school, if you were 16 and didn't have a license, there was something wrong with you. The median age of people getting their license is steadily getting higher, because kids don't "need" to have their own method of transportation.
Furthermore, most kids today who do modify cars seem to only care about "stance" and appearance crap. They want a car that matches their DC Sports flat-brimmed ball cap and couldn't care less about the fact that it only has 5 mm of suspension travel.
As far as the kids today, the afore mentioned Fonzie and Betty Page types at our shows, the ones that really show up in heavy costumes, are mostly in their 20s. The 40 somethings such as myself dont do much costuming. I'd also say that most of the big national clubs, such as the Rumblers, Poor Boys, etc are mostly made up of younger guys. By my age, not many people have much tolerance for the drama that seems to come with the hot rod clubs.
A couple weeks ago we had a vendor spot at a local car show. Met a father and daughter there. The daughter is in high school and taking shop classes. She has a plan for her future. She's planning to get her college degree, and after that take some professional fabrication courses, like the Ron Covell classes. She wants to have her own business fabricating hot rod car stuff.
Also know of a couple other teens with older cars. These kids interested in muscle cars are playing with late '70's/80's stuff because it's still affordable to them. Some of their friends do the import thing, and that's cool too. So yea there are kids still into it.
There are deals to be had on muscle car era cars, but they won't be of the number matching/pedigree variety. When building up from scratch no need to pay the premium for a GTO when a LeMans or Tempest will do. Finding them for $500 doesn't happen in the rust belt anymore, but we're talking cars pushing 50 years old now. Not a 10 year old beater.
As for Sylvester II in Hot Rod, it was a street driven show car earlier in its life, then evolved into an ISCA style show rod. The show only cars have existed since the "traditional" days too. Some of the show cars from '60 are just as over the top as the lambo hinged/neon lighted/air bagged/thumpin show cars of today. There's always been a crowd for that too.
Sky_Render wrote: Furthermore, most kids today who do modify cars seem to only care about "stance" and appearance crap. They want a car that matches their DC Sports flat-brimmed ball cap and couldn't care less about the fact that it only has 5 mm of suspension travel.
Not too far off a lot of traditional hot rodders, then
Around here, every car show is just a parade of the same variations on a theme and they're all owned by old coots. And I'm in my 40's, so I'm not talking about people my age. I'm talking about guys owning the cars they wanted when they were in high school 50 years ago. The local car museum booked Chubby Checker for New Years. A few interesting cars will show up, but not many. The last show I went to had a nice LS-powered sand rail that was built by the owner, we had a good chat. But other than it and a certain rally-bred LS-powered Miata, all the cars were the same. Not a single other import, for example, and nothing made after 1972 or so other than the brand new Corvette the dealer brought.
The only local club with young blood is the one that runs regular track days. And it gets a wide variety of cars, from a rusty 2002 to new Evos. Ages range from 16 to however old Roger is - an evergreen mid-70's, I think. Some of the cars we see fit the original definition of a hot rod - a bit ugly but built for speed. Mostly Subarus.
Sky_Render wrote:93EXCivic wrote:OK, when I grew up (I'm a child of the '80s/'90s), getting your license and a car was a big deal. It meant that you could go places and hang out with friends. Today, this thing called the Internet means you can hang out with your friends without actually being there. Video games, web cams, "social networking," whatever. When I was in high school, if you were 16 and didn't have a license, there was something wrong with you. The median age of people getting their license is steadily getting higher, because kids don't "need" to have their own method of transportation. Furthermore, most kids today who do modify cars seem to only care about "stance" and appearance crap. They want a car that matches their DC Sports flat-brimmed ball cap and couldn't care less about the fact that it only has 5 mm of suspension travel.NOHOME wrote: As a group the kids today don't have the skills, time, money or interest in the old crocks.I really don't understand where people get this idea. It seems to me there are still tons of kids who love cars and work on them and modify them
I was in high school when Myspace was all the rage and I still know lots of people my age that are into to cars (whether racing, shows or the stance thing). But haven't kids always been doing something like the stance thing. I mean a lot of old hot rods had those fake lake pipes, in the 70s jacking up the rear of the car was really popular or the 90s had the body kits and stupid spoilers. Are they really that much different then the stance thing?
IMO, a "hot rod" is a car that has been modified to improve its performance. Age, make, model, etc are immaterial.
When I was in high school a hot rod Ford was a 40's to early 50's with a modified flathead motor. I had a 1950 and my BIL still has his 40 coupe.
<-- Today at age 68 I consider my car a hot rod. Sure it is a compact economy car but it has more than double the original horsepower and torque plus a beefed up suspension.
Hot Rod: any car modified for speed or appearance. ~ Grey Baskerville (paraphrased)
If Ol' Dad said it it must be true. Hotrodding is alive and well.
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