Hot rods & resto-mods

[Sniper]

9 hours ago, jclars said:

Whoa!  A business coupe gasser!

 

The original gasser

[Loren]

39 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

I'm a lot more open to changes now than I used to be, but I'm reminded of what Tevya (in Fiddler on the Roof) says when his youngest daughter marries a Russian Orthodox guy.  For the older daughters, he bent his Jewish traditions to increasing degrees, out of love for his girls, and a changing attitude toward romantic love itself.  He went though his process of "On the one hand", and "On the other hand" wrangling with himself, but in that last case, he ended with "There IS no other hand!" It all just went too far.  That's where I am with some really drastic changes to antique vehicles.  Others can do it, fine by me - It's their vehicle, but for myself - my own vehicle - "There is no other hand." (Now if someone builds a complete custom body, I'm "all eyes", watching with interest and intrigue.)

There was a time when fiberglass copies of old Fords were popular. It was a cheap & quick way to build a hot rod. Then that fell out of favor and guys bought complete restored cars and built hot rods out of them. They took a lot of heat for that so now you can buy complete 32 Ford bodies that are much better than any original for a reasonable price. I love the sales pitch, “All original! Even has a brand new Chevy crate motor!” “One of 400 made and 600 still existing!”

We are stewards of cars that are older than we are ( in most cases ) they have survived wars and rumors of war ( I am thinking of the scrap drives of war ). To get to be 75 years old somebody had to preserve them. Actually many somebodies. So a great car can survive many owners. At 75 they start to get a little more respect than they did at 10 & 15. My goal is to be thought of as a good steward of my cars. I am not good at restoration but I can bring the mechanicals up to new standards and keep them there. You just have to do what you can….and have some fun!

 

 

[Eneto-55]

4 hours ago, Loren said:

There was a time when fiberglass copies of old Fords were popular. It was a cheap & quick way to build a hot rod. Then that fell out of favor and guys bought complete restored cars and built hot rods out of them. They took a lot of heat for that so now you can buy complete 32 Ford bodies that are much better than any original for a reasonable price. I love the sales pitch, “All original! Even has a brand new Chevy crate motor!” “One of 400 made and 600 still existing!”

We are stewards of cars that are older than we are ( in most cases ) they have survived wars and rumors of war ( I am thinking of the scrap drives of war ). To get to be 75 years old somebody had to preserve them. Actually many somebodies. So a great car can survive many owners. At 75 they start to get a little more respect than they did at 10 & 15. My goal is to be thought of as a good steward of my cars. I am not good at restoration but I can bring the mechanicals up to new standards and keep them there. You just have to do what you can….and have some fun!

 

There were a number of fiberglass bodied Model T's at the 1973 Hot Rod Nationals (Tulsa), some being really wild customs.  That was, I think, my first car show.  I was just 17, getting close to 18.  I remember that we thought the fiberglass bodied ones were "second class" to the real ones.  I wish I had been more interested in the post-war cars then - the salvages around north Tulsa were full of them. I wanted something older, something from before the headlights were incorporated into the fenders.  I didn't get my first P15 until nearly 7 years later.

 

EDIT: I just looked it up. The next time it was held in Tulsa was 76.  I was living in Nebraska that Summer, so I didn't attend.

Edited November 19 by Eneto-55

[jclars]

The ultimate truth being, as hobbyists, we get to play with the cars for awhile, then have to give them up as we downsize, maybe going to a place that has one parking space, if that.  Or we become unable to drive them, and they are of no interest to the few who might still be interested.  

 

I recall my 2nd "last" car, as in "this is my last project"  That was three cars ago counting my current Plymouth.  I had always wanted to do a "traditional hotrod".  The HAMB didn't put me off enough I guess.  So I targeted a fenderless Model A coupe for a starting point.  Do you know how hard it was to find a fenderless body as a starting point??  Well I started looking for a raggedy fender version, but really didn't want a bunch more body parts to store forever.  I answered several adds for complete running Model A coupes that were maybe restored in the 80's.  $6 to 8K.  Not bad, but I couldn't pull the trigger on ripping apart someone's dream.  I actually told one old fellow that as his son showed me the car.  The fellow says "I don't give a sh@# what you do with it, I want it out of here!"   I could see why, as it was now parked in his son's backyard under a tarp.  Its last home.  Eventually, I drove all the way to southern California to pick up just a body and some fake deuce coupe rails that went with it for half the price and no sheet metal to take up space!

 

The ultimate truth revealed.  The cars will outlast us, regardless of how they are put together.  That is unless combustion engines get restricted...then we can own some expensive shop art.  Now my hotrod resides in North Carolina because I feared that no younger generation would appreciate it if I held onto it.  I enjoyed the attention it got, but man was it uncomfortable!  (That's part of the deal too, as we age.)

 

[Loren]

Boy are you right! I have a 31 Model A 5 window coupe and it is tight quarters! Can you imagine a chopped top?! I couldn't drive such a car.

Mine has a Miller-Schofield over head ( early Cragar ) on an A block, an F100 steering gear and it will have a 39 V8 trans with a torque tube mounted R10 Overdrive ( once I get rid of the T5 ) Just about as old school as can be ( vintage 1950s )

If you've ever driven a Model T or a Model A, you really appreciate a "Bigger on the inside, smaller on the outside" KT Keller Plymouth.

Might as well be comfortable.

[jclars]

It was more the bone jarring ride of buggy springs under a '53 flathead (3x hp of original A engine) at speeds of modern traffic.  I had cut away the package shelf to gain about 6" of leg room, so not bad there with 60's era MGB bucket seats (from an earlier MG restoration).  I too used a F100 steering box and column including 3-on-tree  shifter cast off from my F100 truck.  Also the Dana rear end from that same source.  I was trying to do it the old fashioned way by using vintage  left overs from previous projects.  It succeeded in that regard and was a very satisfying build. I knew it wasn't going to be comfortable and it didn't disappoint!

 

Shhh!  I had electronic ignition and electric fuel pump, sight unseen.

[Sniper]

My GF's Grandfather has a 30 Model A, all stock and in really good shape.  He offered it to me for $5k.

 

I told him is was worth way m0re than that and passed on it as I didn't feel right paying so little for it.  Add in the fact that I don't have an appropriate place to keep it and I know I would hot rod it and it is way too nice to do that to it.  If I was ever to be a "keep it as stock as humanly possible" type of guy that is the car I would keep that way.

 

But I know me and I am not that guy.

 

[jclars]

Yeah, my sentiments too.  But on the other hand 😬 there were 5 million Model A's built in three years.   Price reflects that aspect I suppose.  Some models like the coupe will demand more, but not much more.  Ironically, they are only worth more by turning them into good quality hot rods.  Marketplace demand.

 

I now get more enjoyment out of watching this clip than I ever did from actually driving the car!  (But it was a totally fun build lasting over 3 years.)

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

47 minutes ago, jclars said:

I now get more enjoyment out of watching this clip than I ever did from actually driving the car!  (But it was a totally fun build lasting over 3 years.)

OOOH Lawdy! I luv's me some flatty.

 

I have a 1951 8BA lying around that will be a easy build. It was a fresh rebuild before it was parked .... really just needs cleaned and reassemble it.

I had a 51 Ford truck in High school.  I just love the way a Flathead V8 sounds. I had some wild idea about installing it into my 1949 Dodge truck .... some nostalgia.

The Dodge 6 is a much better motor in stock form ..... does not sound as good as the Ford though.

Then I came across a nice 1970 318 with 114K miles and ran good when pulled, needs freshened up and was replaced with a modern hemi.

 

The 318 makes more sense, Still on the fence on what to do with the 8BA ..... Boy the 218 6 sure runs good though.

 

I love the motor/trans/wheels on that Hot Rod .... install a truck body and I would be in heaven.