Thread: Sensible hot rods?????????

Tweet

Don this is a good point . At 54 my back don't won't to ride with me if it's going to be rough , I would never be able to get out of the car . The A is set up for a soft ride but has the original seats will have to buckle up tight to stay in them .

Then the 37 came along , it will be a road cruise to go anywhere . Actually will be planning on going to W.V. in it after it's done . I went with a MII and some TCI parallel rear springs instead of the buggy on it . This should give this weight a very good highway manners to enjoy driving .

If you can justify having 2 cars it's a great idea. My 37 Dodge will be a fun ride, and probably good for the occasional trip to Tucson and maybe even Phoenix but much farther than that I don’t think so.

Call it old age, 35 years ago I was blasting all over the country in V8 Pintos and Vegas…… not much more than a body and engine (and even those have more room than most 30’s hot rods). 20 years ago I decided I wanted a nice road car for the long trips and got into the 50’s stuff. More modern suspension, AC (really nice in AZ), comfortable seats, PS, cruise, good fuel capacity etc really make the road trips (especially those over 1000 miles) something that is truly enjoyable.

With the availability of overdrive transmissions good performance and decent gas mileage don’t have to be mutually exclusive. The drivetrain in the 57 Plymouth (354 Hemi, Tri Power, OD 4 Speed and 4.10 Posi) and the drive train I’m putting together for the 37 (331 Hemi, Drag Star 6X2 intake, 518 OD automatic and 4.56 Dana) would be equally at home in either type of car and fully capable of making long trips.

Even though the HEMIs may be a little extreme and expensive for some, the engines don’t have to be as mundane as a SBC……. IMO other good options would be 400 Pontiac, 403 Olds, 455 BOP, 500 Cadillac, even old nail heads or early Cadillac engines would be good choices once properly rebuilt.

To paraphrase an old quote, there are no new ideas. There are only new people who think them.

I would guess that since a number of the BP participants are young folks with families beginning they're thinking just like a lot of the beginning family folk from our generation back in the late '70s into the '80s. The "fat fender" craze, the implementation of air conditioning, power brakes, cruise control....i.e. all the things that morphed "hot rods" into the evil, dreaded "street rod"!!!..........................

Likewise, as some have mentioned here, some of the older guys who might have done the "family rod" thing a couple decades ago, rekindled their nostalgic dreams of the hot rod (when the nest cleared) they wished they could have built back when they were teens. But the creaky ol' body just doesn't cooperate like it used to.

Kinda reminds me of a few conversations we had on here say 7 or 8 years ago about not being surprised if some of the "young punks" that were ragging on the older guys for not remaining faithful to "real hot rods" and had lost it, would end up evolving their views and skills just like those "ol' farts" did. Viva la rat rod!!!!!!!!

So now we see the more talented of these younger guys upping their game, building in more style, safety, and craftsmanship. Next is the resurgence of the family rod? It's Golden Oldie time my friends.....................

My '35 will be a very good well rounded car I believe. Not traditional, but recently I have been going out of my way not to turn it into a billet-mobile. Fuel injection and an overdrive will get about 18/24 mpg similar to Stu. We have a sunroof for open air enjoyment. After some shake down miles I will be excited to regularly drive it 160 miles round trip to the lake on weekends in the summer (starting this summer?? ) and where ever else we want to go. Ocean City Cruisin', Street Rodder Road Tour?? My dad is less than excited to put premium gas in it, but I'm so used to that everyday I don't even look at what 87 costs and with decent gas mileage its hard to complain.

In short the '35 will not be done the way everyone wants, but imo it is staying true to the way it has been for the majority of its years with 'corvette' on the valve cover/fuel rail cover and 3 pedals . The only difference this time may be the lack of push starts and fewer broken parts

when i 1st started my 27 chevy build i had a few demands.
it has to be comfortable
best gas milage possible
able to handle potholes and speed bumps
and it has to be able to drive in the rain.
so i have a stock 302 in it and am looking at 2.73 or 3.00 gears.

Vanners do provide some very sensible answers.At summer car shows,easy travel and with a BBQ,a place to sleep,could save you some cash too.They can tow a open trailer with whatever on the trailer too.The "Ole Yellar" project V8 Astro at a show I promise not to disappoint.The all around WOW factor for those that look will be there even if it isn't a roadster or coup.

This is my first Hot Rod build, but every decision was for being comfortable in my drives. I put the smallest fuel tank in the car so it would force me to stop for fuel to get out and stretch my legs I put tall rear end gears in for fuel mileage, I have built and drove fast race cars, so going fast is not on my list. I was going to build my on seat out of ply broad but went with the Glide seat frame for comfort. To be honest I have never even drove a 32 ford roadster it may kick my butt ,but i tryed to make it ride and drive great. We will see because like my Buddy Don says drive the piss out of them.

Originally Posted by sg4356

This is my first Hot Rod build, but every decision was for being comfortable in my drives. I put the smallest fuel tank in the car so it would force me to stop for fuel to get out and stretch my legs I put tall rear end gears in for fuel mileage, I have built and drove fast race cars, so going fast is not on my list. I was going to build my on seat out of ply broad but went with the Glide seat frame for comfort. To be honest I have never even drove a 32 ford roadster it may kick my butt ,but i tryed to make it ride and drive great. We will see because like my Buddy Don says drive the piss out of them.

i am putting 2 tanks in mine
a 9 and an 8 gallon plumbed together.