Loren Posted November 8 Report Share Posted November 8 When I was young and dumb ( friends tell me I may not be young anymore but not much else has changed ) I used to feel bad when someone stuffed a V8 in an old car. Even though I lived for 30+ years in Northern Nevada, I never once bothered with Hot August Nights. Every nice old car had a Chevy V8 which was nothing I cared to see. Well I am changing my tune. Took long enough I suppose. I now love hot rods & resto-mods! You see the folks that build them usually have some great stuff to sell so they can pay for their new V8! And you can get some great deals. In the last couple of months I scored a 50 Chrysler Windsor chassis which yielded 12 inch brakes, a 3/4 inch front sway bar and a set of wheels ( wider by about an inch and a half ). I haven’t done the measurements yet but the lower front A-arms have the spring plates on the bottom, so you could lower the front if you used stock springs. This came from a guy who is putting a Dakota frame under his car with a V8. Yesterday I scored a very nice 230 engine with an Edgy head, Thickstun manifold, Stromberg carbs, rebuilt damper, T5 adaptor ( which I will never use as I prefer an Overdrive ) Reds headers and boxes of parts. This came from a guy who is putting a Chevy V8 in his pre-war Plymouth. I love the charm of my two flathead Plymouths, I always have. Putting a V8 in one just doesn’t fit with how I enjoy them. However, I no longer look down on what other folks do with their’s. Now I get excited by their engineering and craftsmanship. I am no engineer but I appreciate those who are. Are we in any danger of “running out of stock unmolested” cars? Probably not in my lifetime. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eneto-55 Posted November 8 Report Share Posted November 8 Yes, for the preservationist it can be a "bitter-sweet moment" - get the now un-wanted parts to complete or improve one's own vehicle, while "mourning the loss" of another "original". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyd Posted Saturday at 05:40 AM Report Share Posted Saturday at 05:40 AM Well, as a hotrodder let me reply.....lol..........at 17yrs old & still at school I bought my 1940 Dodge 4dr Sedan in 1971 for $15.00, it was complete down to the hubcaps, owners manual & 6weeks registration but a non goer due to burnt ignition wires.....got it towed home, decided to restore it, over 18mths & my 1st well paying job I had the engine gearbox, diff, brakes all restored then the engine decided to leak & I pulled the sump & rear main & discovered swarf still in the sump and scored bearings.........severe dose of the shits occured so I decided to "hot rod" the car.......bought a 1962 Oz Chrysler Royal & installed its 313 Poly auto, diff etc and over the ensueing couple of years a rack & pinion, 4 wheel disc brakes, repaint, widened rear fenders, etc etc, etc.....sold off all the stock bits and what you see is what the car has been since essentially 1973.....a Hotrod........upsets the restorers but its my car, I've had it for 52 years now and I even get the odd grudgingly positive comment from those restorers who poo-pooed me and the car......BTW Loren.......that T5 adaptor that came with your recent purchase offers the ability to bolt a T5 OVERDRIVE gearbox without all the hassles of solenoids and electrical crap that accompanies the stock mopar overdrive gearboxes...... ........anyway.........heres a couple of pics of the ol' brown *******(1971 Chrysler Mahogany Metallic)...the 1st couple of pics shows the 1940 Dodge Coupe I'd pulled apart and originally bought the 4dr sedan to use as a parts car for, then a pic showing the Dodge on its 1st trip with the V8 in 1973 then a pic showing the rear fenders getting a 2" widening piece and a recent pic of the car & engine bay......regards from Oztralia......Andy Douglas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted Saturday at 12:25 PM Report Share Posted Saturday at 12:25 PM (edited) I have more than once made mention that the purist do look down their noses at the resto or rod builder while all the time not realizing if not for them, they would not have the pieces to maintain their cars in the original configuration. Can't save them all and many feels cutting up and parting out a car is blasphemy. Well, they are welcome to buy the heap and do the work but then that is not going to happen either. Talk is often fast and cheap. I went to look at a car last weekend.....picture and description made it a promising car. That is where it screeched to a halt. By looking at the lower medal, unibody frame...I think the roof was all that was keeping it from folding...but man it sure looked good on the outside. Oh, it could be saved for sure, just not economically. Perfect glass turned out to be windshield with perfect round holes...would be a nightmare finding a glass I would think. But, I did go look thus I am content on the pass. Edited Saturday at 12:30 PM by Plymouthy Adams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loren Posted Sunday at 05:38 AM Author Report Share Posted Sunday at 05:38 AM Please don’t think I still get upset about hot rods. I’ve out grown that. The hot rod guys love really nice paint and chrome. Their cars look fantastic! But the fact is, they were never built that nice even by accident when they brand new. I’ve had the pleasure of closely inspecting genuine “original” Model T Fords. Let me tell you they were just awful! However original Model Ts are extremely rare, they all have been repainted with modern paint and if the owner repaints the car they usually make the body parts fit right. Henry never made them that nice and if he ever saw one that was perfect, he would be mystified how that happened. lol In my miss spent youth I was a dealer mechanic. My Plymouths follow the formula of what a dealer mechanic would drive back in the day. If I can find an improvement from another MoPar vehicle that a dealer mechanic would know about, my car will have it. I have a Model A that the previous owner installed a T5 in. I really don’t like it. I am changing it to a 39 V8 gearbox with a torque tube mounted R10 Overdrive. As far as the wiring and switches and solenoids go….well a dealer mechanic would have an Overdrive that worked as designed. I appreciate the charm of the 49 to 52 Plymouths. I don’t want to get too far away from that charm. I think the Overdrive does nothing to diminish that charm. That’s my formula and while I like it, no one else has to like it. In fact I like the idea that most folks would think my car is dead stock. It’s all about fun and enjoyment. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerJon Posted Sunday at 11:15 AM Report Share Posted Sunday at 11:15 AM I started with zero interest in stock cars, wanted to hotrod the world. As I saw and owned more cars, I became interested in traditional hot rodding, which I feel better preserves the charm of the old cars, instead of turning them into a 1990s minivan. Even looking at '70s+ '80s vehicles, I like upholstery and accessories that match the style and age of the car. Of course they need to be faster, but only to the point to make them fun to drive, because no matter what, they will never actually be fast. If a guy wants a fast car, with all the modern amenities, just go get a mortgage on a new Challenger/Mustang/camaro etc with the performance package, it will be cheaper in the long run and you will actually get to drive it, instead of it languishing in the garage for decades being built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48ply1stcar Posted Sunday at 07:28 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 07:28 PM A few years ago I went to a car show that I had gone to a few times. A 48 Plymouth that was pretty original, but this time his hood was closed. when he opened the hood for me he had cut the frame about mid engine and slide a Dakota frame over it or in it. So now he had a 318, power steering brakes and AC, From the inside of the car the only thing that you could see was two small AC vents under the dash. Had I seen that when I started to work on my car I would have gone that way. My car is my $75 High School Car, in 1968. In 1995, five years after retiring from the Army I started the never ending repairing of a old car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam H P15 D30 Posted Tuesday at 09:12 PM Report Share Posted Tuesday at 09:12 PM I hotrod everything I touch. Nothing is safe from the torch in my garage... But, I am having second thoughts about swapping the 440 into my 49 so it is safe for now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge lancer Posted Wednesday at 06:16 PM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 06:16 PM I agree 200 % percent keep it all mopar i'm all mopar and won't ever change !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pep48 Posted Wednesday at 10:26 PM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 10:26 PM I love "resto-mods". Besides my P15, I have one: 1950 Ford business coup 350 SB Chevy...Racing cam, B&M 271 Blower pushing 300+HP, Datsun rack & pinion steering, 74 Maverick rear, Turbo 400, AC/ PS, Power brakes. Back in the day we would call this a Hot Rod (the term Street Rod was never used). "Patina" was called Rust Rat Rod was called a Jalopy. Engines were called "Mills" Auto transmissions were called "Slush-boxes" ...Now I feel really old 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyd Posted Wednesday at 10:41 PM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 10:41 PM Actually the "street rod" term was even used in the 1950's to differentiate from the speedway/dirt track "hot rods".....but no one drove their car with rust etc and called it finished.......it was always a work in progress......lol.....see my pic of my Dodge with the partially finished widened rear fenders........before a thin skim of "bog" & paint.....andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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